Rather than a single artifact, this month I want to focus on how the Site uses historic photos of the house.

Prior to September 6, 1901, the home of Ansley and Mary Grace Wilcox was just a moderately impressive home – at least compared to the other mansion on Delaware Avenue. As such, there wasn’t a reason to take photos of the exterior of the house – and certainly none of the interior.

That changed when Ansley met his friend Theodore Roosevelt at the train station and invited him to stay at his home after the shooting of William McKinley at Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition. Ansley’s home became the focus of the nation – and indeed the world – after President McKinley’s death on September 14th. News reporters and photographers surrounded the Wilcox home to capture history and a variety of photos were taken of the house during this time. While, sadly, there are no known photos of TR taking the oath of office in the home’s library (a commotion over a camera resulted in photographers being expelled from the room during the inauguration), photographers were allowed back in the room to capture the scene shortly afterward.

The historic photos became invaluable in the 1960’s during the restoration of the house. As with any home, additions and changes had been made to the house throughout the years and photos were used to make decisions on how best to restore the house to its 1901 appearance. Photos of the library were carefully studied to identify what furniture was missing, in hopes of either finding the original pieces or getting reproductions made, and what aspects of the room needed to be reconstructed, including the bookcases and fireplace. Even more subtle details, such as the wrinkle in the carpet on the window seat and the stack books on the east wall’s bookcase were carefully replicated.

Over the years, every upgrade to the house and property has been informed by the photos. The 1921 photo of the carriage house became the basis for the building’s reconstruction in 2008. In 2005 the Site worked with the National Park Service to upgrade the furnishings in the library, using current digital tools to make the replica furnishings that more closely resemble those in the 1901 photo. And these are just a couple of more recent examples from an extensive list.

So much in historic restoration is about the details and thankfully the photos provide the Site with the information that we need to “get it right” – or as close as we can. As technology advances and new sources of information are found, we look forward to finding out new things about this historic building.

— Amy Sanderson, Collections Manager