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A Beardless Boy of Seventeen Years

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Even before Aristophanes wrote of Lysistrata’s plan to end the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) by convincing the women...

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A Connected Legacy: John Marshall and George Washington

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Both the first object acquired by the Virginia Historical Society and arguably one of the best objects in the VMHC...

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A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree

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Emily Winfree, an African American woman who lived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, never...

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Abolitionist Pitcher

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Learn about how this pitcher based on Uncle Tom's Cabin was used as propoganda in the mid-1800s.

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Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735

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See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.

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Audubon's The Birds of America

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In the VMHC collections are several rare editions of his work, including a first edition of Viviparous Quadrupeds and...

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Audubon's Viviparous Quadrapeds

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Following the success of his Birds of America, John James Audubon began to gather material for an equally ambitious...

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Booker T. Washington

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Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was born enslaved on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia. After emancipation...

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Bookplates

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The use of bookplates is almost as old as printing itself. They were used to record ownership and to reassure the owner...

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Clarise Sears Ramsey

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Charlotte Clarise Sears Risley Harrold Ramsey (1867–1922), whose parents were Joseph Henry Risley and Mary Elizabeth...

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Convict Leasing

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For much of the twentieth century, convicts worked on Virginia’s roads. This practice grew out of the convict lease...

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Diary of William Gwathmey, 1859

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On October 16, 1859, John Brown led eighteen followers in a raid on the federal arsenal and armory at Harpers Ferry...

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Dolley Madison

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Dolley (Payne) Todd Madison (1768–1849) lived through three wars, knew eleven presidents, and was a gracious and...

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Double Take

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Daguerreotypes are the earliest form of permanent photographic imagery. They are made by capturing an image on a...

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Elizabeth Keckley

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Born a slave in Dinwiddie County, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818–1907) purchased her freedom in 1855 and supported...

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Freedmen's Schools

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In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...

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Indian Tribes of North America

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In the museum's rare book collection, a remarkable compilation of images exists in History of the Indian Tribes of North...

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Industrialization in Virginia

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The 1920 census revealed that, for the first time, more Americans were living in urban areas than rural ones. However...

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Jefferson’s Desk

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There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...

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John Marshall's Robe

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The only surviving judicial robe from John Marshall’s 34 years of service as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court...