The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
General Content
Determined Traveling Exhibition
Learn how you can bring the "Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality" exhibition to your venue!
Article
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...
Article
Dolley Madison
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Dolley (Payne) Todd Madison (1768–1849) lived through three wars, knew eleven presidents, and was a gracious and...
Article
Dugout Canoe
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The dugout canoe was an Indian concept but one so well suited to the Virginia rivers that Europeans and Africans also...
Article Set - Intro
Early Images of Virginia Indians: The William W. Cole Collection
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![VHE_EarlyImagesAmericanIndians_townofPomeiocc_teaser.jpg VHE_EarlyImagesAmericanIndians_townofPomeiocc_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_EarlyImagesAmericanIndians_townofPomeiocc_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=OngB_uMv)
Explore engravings and illustration of early Virginia Indians.
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Edgar Allan Poe: Lessons for Creative Success from Literature’s Greatest Antihero
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On October 28, 2021, writer Catherine Baab-Muguira presented a lively and informative look at Edgar Allan Poe and how his life can teach us...
Time Period Chapter
Exploration of the New World
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Initially, European nations were searching for a water route to the Far East, not a New World.
Article Set - Chapter
Fanciful Figures
View illustrations of Virginia Indians as they were imagined by artists.
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First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama
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On June 2 at noon, Joshua Kendall delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama."
Ev...
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First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families
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On October 10, Mary Miley Theobald, delivered a banner lecture entitled "First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families."
Conceived...
Article
Fore-edge Painting
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Rarely are books prized as objects of art; often the content of the text, or the plates accompanying the text, are...
Article
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”...
Article
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...
Media
Inside the Jemima Code: The Joy of African American Cooking
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On April 6, 2018, Toni Tipton-Martin presented a Banner Lecture about her book, “Inside the Jemima Code: The Joy of African American Cooking.”
Women...
Article Set - Chapter
Interpreting Historical Images
A historical image can be interpreted in a number of ways. Each approach brings a different set of considerations, or frame
Article Set - Chapter
Invented Scenes for Narratives
When artists were hired to illustrate written accounts of events in Virginia, they did not aim to make realistic
Article
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...
Article
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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Life Portrait of Pocahontas
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The only life portrait of Pocahontas (1595–1617) and the only credible image of her, was engraved by Simon Van de Passe...