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Secrets & Symbols: Desk by John Shearer
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Desk, 1817
John Shearer (about 1760–after 1818)
VMHC Collection, Gift of The Children of Louis and Harriett Waldrop
John Shearer, a Scottish immigrant...
Secrets & Symbols: Temperance Quilt
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Quilt, about 1890–1900
Rena Effinger Coyner Koiner (1869–1949)
Cotton fabrics
VMHC Collection, Gift of Dennis and Kay Stockdale
Rena Koiner, the maker of...
Secrets & Symbols: Teresa Blount Portrait
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Portrait of Teresa Blount, about 1710–20s
Unknown artist
VMHC Collection
Traditionally, portraits contain clues to a sitter’s social identity. This...
Secrets & Symbols: "Crown of Thorns" Chest of Drawers
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“Crown of Thorns” chest of drawers, late 1800s
Unknown maker
VMHC Collection
So-called tramp art was popular across the U.S. from the 1870s to the 1930s...
Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend
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According to the ballad that made him famous, John Henry did battle with a steam-powered drill, beat the machine, and died. Folklorists have long...
Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel
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On September 14, 2017, Sharon B. Smith delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel.”
During the Civil War and throughout...
The Feud: The All-American, No-Holds-Barred, Blood-and-Guts Story of the Hatfields and McCoys
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On June 20, 2013, Dean King delivered the 2013 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society entitled "The Feud: The All...
The Ghosts of Eden Park
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On October 10, 2019, Karen Abbott delivered a Banner Lecture entitled, “The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the...
The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality
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On July 9 at noon, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality."
History occupies a...
The Life and Legacy of Emily Winfree: From Enslavement to Carnegie Hall
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On June 16th, 2022, authors Jan Meck & Virginia Refo held a thoughtful talk and discussion about their new book, The Life and Legacy of Enslaved...
The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History
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On March 24, 2022, Carl R. Lounsbury delivered a lecture about four centuries of Chesapeake history as revealed through material world of Eyre Hall.
...The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life
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On October 13, 2022, Dr. Philip Levy gave a fascinating lecture on the principal archaeological sites associated with George Washington and what they...
The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth during Reconstruction
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On February 10, 2022, historian William Blair delivered a lecture about the early Reconstruction era effort by Freedmen’s Bureau officers to document...
The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond
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On June 22, Edward L. Ayers spoke with Paul Levengood in a Banner Lecture entitled “The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond.”
Reconstruction...
Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery
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On December 9, 2021, historian Bruce A. Ragsdale presented a lecture about his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of...
What Made George Washington Tick
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George Washington very much wanted to be famous. Yet, he did not wish to be known, and there is a remoteness about him that will perhaps always remain...
What's Wrong with Black Beard?
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On March 19 at noon, Kevin P. Duffus delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "What's Wrong with Black Beard?"
The traditional historical interpretation...
When the Sun Stood Still: Reflections on the Reverend John Jasper in His Bicentennial Year
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On February 23, 2012, Samuel K. Roberts delivered a lecture entitled "When the Sun Stood Still: Reflections on the Reverend John Jasper in His...