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Winston-Salem, North Carolina

 Sub-Series
Identifier: Series 3

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection documents activities and interests of Mary Reynolds Babcock. The bulk of the material consists of articles and clippings from journals, magazines, and newspapers dating to the 1930s and 1940s. The collection also includes bulletins and newsletters, colored prints, correspondence, invoices and receipts, journals, magazines, maps, photographs and negatives, sketches, and telegrams. In addition to Babcock, subjects include American art, flower arranging, home design and furnishing, R. J. and Katharine Smith Reynolds, and William N. Reynolds (1863-1941). The papers are also interesting for a look at the consumer culture developing in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s – items to improve your home and/or life and the advertisements that highlighted them.

The collection is also valuable for a better understanding of one of the most significant individuals in the history of the Reynolda Estate. Babcock lived at Reynolda both as a child while her parents created it and as an adult after she oversaw expansion and remodeling of the house. Moreover, she and her husband were key figures in Wake Forest’s relocation to Winston-Salem in the 1940s and 1950s. Though the papers focus less on Reynolda and more on Babcock herself, understanding one of its key figures helps illuminate the estate’s history as well. This guide highlights some of the Reynolda references found in the collection.

Dates

  • 1922-1953

Extent

From the Collection: 2.5 Cubic Feet (8 hollinger boxes, 1 oversize box)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Reynolda House Museum of American Art Repository

Contact:
2250 Reynolda Road
Winston-Salem NC 27109 United States
336-758-5139