The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Article
A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree
Image

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

Learn about how this pitcher based on Uncle Tom's Cabin was used as propoganda in the mid-1800s.
Article
Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735
Image

See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.
Article
Booker T. Washington
Image

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

Christmas cards are ephemeral, and this essence is the very reason they can be of interest to researchers. Scholars...
Article
Clarise Sears Ramsey
Image

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

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

Born a slave in Dinwiddie County, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818–1907) purchased her freedom in 1855 and supported...
Article
Freedmen's Schools
Image

In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...
Article
Jefferson’s Desk
Image

There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...
Article
Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
Image

Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
Article
Silver in Virginia
Image

Colonial Virginians acquired much of their important silver from London. After the Revolution, population growth, a...
Article
The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations
Article
The Resurrection of Henry "Box" Brown
Image

Learn about Henry "Box" Brown and one of the most memorable escapes from enslavement.
Article
Tiny Tomes
Image

Defined as no more than three inches in height or width, miniature books were first produced with convenience in mind...