By Cherie Acierno
Title: Joseph G. Weld Collection, 1916-1919
ID: RG1/032
Creator: Weld, Joseph G. (Joseph Garneau) (1897-1970)
Extent: 3.07 Cubic Feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The material in the albums and scrapbooks are in Weld’s original order, which is roughly chronological and topical. All but one album was inventoried by AFS Archives staff at an unknown date, and corresponds to a hard copy inventory available in-house. The loose materials have been separated three folders in Box 11. The folder containing loose photographs is in no particular order.
Joseph Garneau Weld served as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service during World War I. The Joseph G. Weld Collection consists of thirteen photographic albums, two scrapbooks, one published booklet of Section 625 of the United States Army Ambulance Service, about fifty loose photographic prints, and a canvas bag inscribed with his name and AFS unit, all from his service during the First World War.
The Joseph G. Weld Collection consists of thirteen photographic albums, two scrapbooks, about fifty loose photographic prints, and a canvas bag inscribed with his name and unit, all representing Weld’s time with the American Field Service (AFS) and the United States Army Ambulance Service during the First World War. This collection is the largest World War I personal photographic collection (containing nearly 1,500 photographic prints) in the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs.
The bulk of the collection consists of the photographic albums and scrapbooks, which primarily contain photographic prints. Most albums contain photographic prints of around 6.5” x 10.5” in size, taken by Weld. There are two albums and two scrapbooks containing smaller photographs by Weld, mostly 1.75” x 2.5”, 2.75” x 4.5”, and 3.5” x 5.5.” Weld’s images trace the experiences of Section Sanitaire [Etats-] Unis (SSU) 1 of the AFS and its later incarnation, SSU 625 of the U.S. Army Ambulance Service (USAAS.) Photographs include images of groups, individual ambulance drivers, ambulances, ruins, tanks, airplanes, and landscapes (including trenches.) The albums and scrapbooks cover a significant portion of SSU 1 and SSU 625 history, including battles in Argonne and Verdun (1916-1917), the Battle in Champagne (1917), the Battle of the Chemin des Dames (1917), the Battles of Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, Fismes and Soissons in the Aisne-Marne region (1918), and the demobilization of the USAAS (1918-1919.) One of the scrapbooks also contains seventy-nine official French Army photographs. The French Army photographs are undated, but include images taken in places unvisited by Weld’s unit. The two scrapbooks, while primarily containing photographic prints, also include pages of non-photographic materials, including Weld’s military orders and permits, correspondence, clippings, and ephemera from the war.
Photographs and documents in twelve of the albums and both scrapbooks have been inventoried at an item-level (1,242 items total.) The remaining album has not been inventoried; however, the photographs in the album are mostly captioned.
In addition to the albums, the collection includes fifty-four loose prints (6”x9” and 8”x10”), some of which are backed with canvas. The prints depict scenes viewed or experienced by Weld and SSU 1/625 during World War I, including the loading of ambulances with wounded soldiers, troops marching, a tank, and ruins. There is one smaller image of Weld taken by photographer H.C. Ellis. One other print was sent to Weld as a postcard by an unidentified friend. A second folder contains a description of unidentified photographs, and a final folder contains Weld's copy of the "History of Section 625: United States Army Ambulance Service with the French Army." Finally, there is one box containing a canvas bag, with a string cinch tie,inscribed with his name and AFS unit SSU 1.
Alternate Extent Statement: 12 boxes
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Cotton gloves are required for the handling of all photographic material. Permission to access some of the fragile albums (noted by item) is required from the AFS Archives in advance.
Use Restrictions: Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the AFS Archives. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition Method: The collection was donated to the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs at an unknown date.
Appraisal Information: No items were deaccessioned, separated, or removed from the collection.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], [Date]; Joseph G. Weld Collection; Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs, New York, NY.
Processing Information: This collection was partially processed by AFS Archives staff at an unknown date and again by Cherie Acierno in 2011. The collection was rehoused by Nicole Milano in June 2015. Preliminary finding aid written by Cherie Acierno in May 2011 and encoded in EAD in May 2011 under the scope of the 2010-2011 Basic Processing grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The finding aid was updated by Nicole Milano in 2015 and again in 2018.
