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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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Advice and Etiquette Books
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Studying etiquette books offers researchers a glimpse of how people interacted and how they adapted to their changing...
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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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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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Children's Manuscripts
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Prominent Virginians are well represented in the many manuscripts housed at the VMHC. However, documents by individuals...
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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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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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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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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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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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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 Randolph Dueling Pistols (c. 1820)
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The death of former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton — resulting from his famous 1804 duel with Vice President...
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Letterhead
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Correspondence between individuals plays an important role in our understanding not only of how people communicated in...
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Liberated Books
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During the Civil War, looting by soldiers was a common practice. The hungry soldier usually confiscated food and...
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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
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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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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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Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.