Byron Baldwin photographs

Collection

Identifier: MS0530

Staff Only

Byron Baldwin Digital Photographs

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Scope and Content Note

The Byron Baldwin photographs consist primarily of images depicting Matthews Pottery and local businesses along Central Avenue, particularly in Plaza Midwood.

Matthews Pottery was a pottery shop where pieces were handcrafted and sold. The series is comprised of 67 printed photographs on 6 sheets of papers. Includes 43 medium format 2 1/4 inch negatives and 197 35mm negatives. All photographs are black and white. Focus of photos: flower pot mold and old steam engine.

Central Avenue and Charlotte businesses consists of prints and digital images taken by Byron Baldwin of businesses around the Plaza Midwood and NoDa neighborhoods in Charlotte, NC.

Dates

Creation: 1970 - 2010

Creator

Baldwin, Byron, 1943- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical Note - Byron Baldwin

Byron Baldwin has been making photographs since 1970. He finished his graduate work at Ohio University in 1972 and has since lived in Charlotte, NC. He was a founding member of The Light Factory in 1973 and taught photography at Myers Park High School in Charlotte NC and at area colleges and universities for forty years. His work has been exhibited widely and is included in the collections of the High Museum in Atlanta, Bank of America, the Library of Congress, R.J. Reynolds Corporation, the State Museum of South Carolina, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The Mint Museum, The Levine Museum of the New South, New Mexico State University, Wells Fargo Bank and numerous private collections. His book “The 521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community” was published in 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and is represented by The Hodges Taylor Gallery in Charlotte. In 2012 he received the Cato Arts and Science Council Lifetime Achievement Award for Teaching.

Biography provided by the donor.

Historical Note - Matthews Pottery

Matthews Pottery was founded in 1922 by William Outen, who learned his craft from a line of traditional potters extending back to mid-nineteenth century in nearby Union County, North Carolina. At that time, Matthews Pottery was owned by W.F. (William Franklin) Outen and his two sons Rufus (R.F.) and Gordon (J.G.). Located on Shelby Street in Matthews, they operated a successful pottery with three large walk-in kilns and employed about fifteen people. Matthews Pottery was a large-scale producer of cast and machine-stamped pottery, especially flower pots, and was demolished in the 1980s. A retail store named Matthews Pottery was opened in 1991 in Stallings, NC by William Outen's grandson. All types of terra cotta pots, purchased for resale, were a staple as well as cast cement lawn and garden figures, benches and fountains, which were made on site. The store closed in 2007.

Sources:

Survey and Research Report on the R. F. Outen Pottery, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Historic Landmarks Commission: http://www.cmhpf.org/S&Rs%20Alphabetical%20Order/Surveys&rOutenPottery.htm
Foundations, Matthews Historical Society newsletter, February, March, April 2014: http://www.matthewshistoricalfoundation.org/Newsletter_February_%202014.pdf
National Register of Historic Places nomination for R. F. Outen Pottery, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office: http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/MK3151.pdf

Extent

4.5 Linear Feet

617 Megabytes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Byron Baldwin photographs consist primarily of images depicting Matthews Pottery and local businesses along Central Avenue, particularly in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.