Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials of interest to anyone wishing to research the lumber, architectural and housing industries in the first half of the twentieth century. In particular, it illustrates the overlapping nature of these related industries and their efforts to advertise home products, promote interest in the industry, and generate consumer demand. Howeowners wishing to find photos and floor plans of their house as it may have been originally constructed are also likely to find this collection of interest. Some architectural drawings exist and are available for the houses featured in the Williamson plan books. The collection consists of 14 series and a total of 40 boxes.
Series 1: Plan Books - Williamson -- Plan books include a house photo and its accompanying floor plan on one page. Typical plan books have 25 pages. The series is organized by plan book number.
Series 2: Plan Book Pages - Williamson -- Loose pages taken directly from the Williamson plan books. The series is organized by plan number.
Series 3: Floor Plans - Williamson -- Floor plans used in the Williamson plan books. Plans are in various formats. Most are printed on heavy stock paper and some are drawn on delicate tissue paper. The series is organized by plan number.
Series 4: Photographs -- This collection contains hundreds of photos, primarily of house exteriors. House photos with plan numbers* were separated according to number. Plan numbers preceded by a letter were separated according to letter. Some effort was made to separate and organize house photos without numbers by identifying characteristics such as floor levels (1, 1 1/2, or 2 story), material (wood, brick, or stucco), roof type (front gable, side gable, hipped or pyramid roof, etc.), and building type (barns, garages, and duplexes). A handful of photos were separated because they depict lumber companies, trade shows, model homes, and so on. Boxes 31 and 32 contain hundreds of unnumbered house photos.
*A Note About House Plan Numbers: Plan numbers range from one to four digits (0 to 9999) and may be preceded by a letter. It is difficult to discern the relationship between a house plan number and the type of house associated with it. In many cases, the numbers associated with a certain style or type of house seem quite random. Only a few consistencies have been observed: 3800s (i.e. 3800 to 3899) are brick structures. 7000 through 7020 are brick as well. 7400s are duplexes. D4100s are duplexes as are the H4120s. Plan numbers preceded with "S" are stucco. Plan numbers preceded with F.B. all indicate they have "Interlocking Tile" while some suggest they have both "Interlocking Tile" and "Face Brick"
Series 5: Financial -- Materials of a financial nature were separated into this series. Materials include individual stock holdings of Williamson, stock prospectuses and guides as well as financial materials relating to Williamson's business. General publications on home financing and credit are in series 6, Publications - Lumber / Housing / Etc.
Series 6: Publications - Lumber / Housing / Etc. -- Printed brochures and pamphlets from companies, industry trade associations, and governmental agencies pertaining to housing, home finance, and credit.
Series 7: Publications - Lumber Journals -- Mostly "American Lumberman", however, this series contains a wide array of lumber journal titles.
Series 8: Publications - Advertisements -- Lumber and housing industry advertisements.
Series 9: Plan Books - non-Williamson -- Plan books not published by Williamson.
Series 10: Family -- Very little personal family materials exist in the collection. Most items in the series from Mrs. R.M (Effie) Williamson are shopping catalogs. Most items in the series from the daughter, Marjorie Williamson, pertain to her academic career.
Series 11: Correspondence -- Mostly business correspondence from clients, lumber dealers, and others with whom Williamson worked. Some correspondence is likely personal. Telegrams to Wm. Carwile in box 13 folder 9 suggest Williamson was involved in the oil speculation boom in Brownwood, Texas.
Series 12: Maps and Travel Brochures -- The wide selection of U.S. maps, several automotive publications, and nature of Williamson's work imply he traveled extensively by automobile (and perhaps bus) during the formative years of state and federal highways and suggest he maintained at least a marginal interest in automobiles and the developing highway system.
Series 13: Plans - Architectural Drawings -- Architectural drawings of various Williamson house plans. Many plans do not exist. See detailed list in the container listings below.
Series 14: Wallpaper Rolls