The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
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George Washington Portrait by Charles Peale Polk
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![VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=zW_zU62S)
This depiction of George Washington (1732–1799) as commander of the Continental army was painted in the 1790s by Charles...
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Glee Clubs
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The VMHC has several glee club items in its collection. The earliest item, an 1848 broadside entitled “Rally Whigs”...
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Jefferson’s Desk
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![Jefferson's Writing Desk A rectangular wooden desk, with writing surface propped at an angle and drawer opened](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Desk.1956.1_Open_SLIDE.jpg.webp?itok=TN1yHIPN)
There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...
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John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore
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![VHE_Lord Dunmore_teaser.jpg VHE_Lord Dunmore_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Lord%20Dunmore_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=9ZnQ15VM)
John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, was Virginia's last royal governor.
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Let Us Commence: Graduating At A Distance
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![Let Us Commence: Graduating At A Distance Samantha Hukeless’s diploma from Van de Vyver Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/LetUsCommence_Screen%20Shot%202020-05-19%20at%2012.53.58%20PM.jpeg.webp?itok=MbIdG0xM)
Learn about the history of commencement ceremonies and traditions in Virginia.
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Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington
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![VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=MvRERM1q)
This portrait of Martha Washington (1731–1802) is the work of Charles Willson Peale, who also painted the sitter several...
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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
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![Still Relevant by Ed Trask Ed Trask paints a mural of flowers](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/FreshPaint_StillRelevant_DSC0887_e1%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=vx9S_GnP)
Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
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Olaudah Equiano
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![VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=pUL5Qd1M)
Snatched from his Ibo village in Nigeria at the age of eleven, Equiano (c. 1745-1797) was transported to Barbados...
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On Dueling
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In the United States and elsewhere, traditional and patriarchal conceptions of honor prescribed that men could respond...
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Oysters in Virginia
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![VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=2BC7sR7V)
Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.
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Shaving Kits
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Before the invention of the disposable double-edged safety razor in 1895, a straight razor was the easiest, most...
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Stamp Act Spoon, 1766
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![Stamp Act Spoon A spoon](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Stamp-Act-Spoon_stampactspoon-1972-12_front_0.jpg.webp?itok=FhfU0jgh)
In order to help fund the expense of defending its American colonies, Great Britain instituted a tax on printed paper...
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Surrender of the English Army at Yorktown
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![Surrender of the English Army at Yorktown A painting of the surrender of the English army.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/SurrenderofTheEnglishArmyAtYorktown_SOV_BecAm_SurrenderAtYorktown.1993.213.jpeg.webp?itok=PaCHSd7L)
View how the surrender at Yorktown was represented by artists.
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The Brook Hill Collection
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![The Brook Hill Collection Books from the Brook Hill collection](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/BrookHillCollection_New-Book-Images-001_edited.jpeg.webp?itok=dOOK5X9w)
In 2018, the VMHC was gifted an extraordinary collection of books, documents, and art associated with the Stewart and...
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The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge: "So Beautiful an Arch"
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![The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge Hand-colored Lithograph of Natural Bridge](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/TheHistoryOfVirginia%27sNaturalBridge_VHC_SU21_NaturalBridge.199.161.jpeg.webp?itok=EUIe6WK1)
In the late eighteenth century, when Thomas Jefferson “discovered” Natural Bridge and purchased it from the King of...
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The Honor of Membership
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![membership guys.jpg membership guys.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/membership%20guys.jpg.webp?itok=RnPi2pS6)
The governing body of the museum has elected close to 200 honorary members in its 175-year history. The long list...
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The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations
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The Resurrection of Henry "Box" Brown
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![VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=Md-vto04)
Learn about Henry "Box" Brown and one of the most memorable escapes from enslavement.
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Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
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![VHE_ThomasJefferson_teaser.jpg VHE_ThomasJefferson_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_ThomasJefferson_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=EUHGdBq-)
Jefferson sent a paper to the Virginia Convention of 1774, later published as A Summary View of the Rights of British...
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Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 Summary View of the Rights of British America
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![A Summary View of the Rights of British America A sepia-toned detail of the typeset A Summary View of the Rights of British America](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/SummaryViewOfRights_e211-j45-1774-rare_Crop.jpg.webp?itok=iz80LRmg)
The importance of Summary View is proven by the reappearance in the Declaration of most of its ideas, beginning with...