| Creator | Isabella Leland |
| Date | 1970-1983 |
| Physical description |
2 linear feet |
| Preferred Citation |
[Identification of the Specific Item], [Title], Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, SC |
| Repository | Charleston Archive, Charleston County Public Library. 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29401 |
| Compiled By | S. Hisnanick-Murphy, March 2023 |
| Access to materials |
Collection is open for research. |
| Subject Headings |
Charleston (South Carolina) -- Tour Guides Charleston (South Carolina) – Tourism Charleston (South Carolina) – Lecturers Lectures and Lecturing – South Carolina – Charleston -- History |
Scope and Content
The collection is comprised of 35mm slides, organized by category, that depict various elements of Charleston/Lowcountry history as well as lecture notes and specific slide titles used for various lectures that Leland gave. Also, in the collection are several sets of Zettelkasten (card files). The slides include Lowcountry imagery, mostly of Charleston, that have been divided into categories like “Backgrounds and Overviews” which delves generally into Charleston history, famous figures, paintings, maps, etc., Churches, Flora/Fauna, Ironwork, Buildings, Plantations, and more. The Zettelkästen appear to have various methods of information gathering: some are documenting certain periodicals or publications, date ranges, and streets and their structures, while others are more general in nature. Of interest might be the “general” card set in box five, which seems to index more oral history and family reminiscences than the other “general” sets. The “publications at local institutions” set in box four are all labeled in the top right corner with one or more of the following abbreviations: CL, CCPL, SCHS, HS, CC, MPF. It is believed those stand for Charleston Library Society (CL), Charleston County Public Library (CCPL), South Carolina Historical Society (SCHS) which is duplicated in shorthand with Historical Society (HS), College of Charleston (CC), and Middleton Place Foundation (MPF).
Administrative/Biographical History
Isabella Middleton Gaud Leland was a historian, teacher, author, and tour guide in Charleston, South Carolina. Leland regularly gave lectures at College of Charleston and for various other societies and events. She died in May of 1985; her obituary was published in the Charleston News & Courier on 05 May 1985. Her published works include: “Charleston, Crossroads of History” and “The South Carolina Society of the Colonial Dames of America: History of the South Carolina Society, 1983-1983”. She also wrote feature articles for Charleston’s News & Courier and co-authored Charleston’s Junior League’s history booklet: Our Charleston.
System of Arrangement
The slides in this collection were originally housed in slide carousels – the slides were placed into slide preservers for protection and are labeled with the number that corresponds to the slot of their original slide carousel placement. The slides remain in folder sets that are titled the same as the carousels original titles. The only deviation to this method were the “Plantations” slides which had already been taken out of their carousels and were in envelopes sorted by plantation name at time of acquisition. The Zettelkasten sets are presumed to be Leland’s organization and the order was not altered in processing other than combining multiple file sets into one box. The distinction between sets remains clear.
Custodial History
Leland’s daughter, Harriott Cheves Leland, also a historian and researcher, continued giving these lectures on Charleston history for several years after her mother’s death. Harriott Cheves Leland donated the materials to Charleston County Public Library/Charleston Archive in January 2023.
Collection Outline
- 35mm Slides and Photographs BOX 1
- Notecards and Information Files BOX 2-3
Container List
- Slides and Photographs:
|
Title: |
Location: |
|
Backgrounds & Overviews |
Box One |
|
Churches |
Box One |
|
Circular Church |
Box One |
|
Flowers |
Box One |
|
Growth |
Box One |
|
Houses |
Box One |
|
Ironwork |
Box One |
|
Miscellaneous |
Box One |
|
Plantations I |
Box One |
|
Plantations II |
Box One |
|
Public Buildings, 1980 |
Box One |
|
Special |
Box One |
|
Photographs |
Box One |
- Notes and information files:
|
Title: |
Location: |
|
Lecture notes |
Box Two |
|
Zettelkasten: streets & structures |
Box Three |
|
Zettelkasten: general |
Box Four |
|
Zettelkasten: South Carolina Historical Magazine |
Box Four |
|
Zettelkasten: publications at local institutions |
Box Four |
|
Zettelkasten: general |
Box Five |
|
Zettelkasten: African Americans |
Box Five |
|
Zettelkasten: time periods |
Box Five |
|
Zettelkasten: periodicals |
Box Five |
|
Zettelkasten: general |
Box Six |
|
Zettelkasten: Circular Church epitaphs |
Box Six |