COLLECTIONS BY TOPIC

Virginia History and Culture

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  Virginia Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection

  Primarily covering the years 1922–1972, the VCC collection documents a wide range of subjects, including bridges and dams; the cotton, peanut, textile, commercial fishing, and tobacco industries; farming and harvests; the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive; hunting and fishing; and numerous local festivals.

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  1939 World's Fair Photograph Collection

  This VCC collection, displayed in the Virginia Room at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, contains more than 3,000 photographs representing twelve aspects of Virginia life: scenic tours; recreation; historic homes; culture; history; colonial archaeology; scenery and natural wonders; physiography; agriculture; education; government and the people; and industry, commerce, and transportation.

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  Virginia Historical Inventory

  photographs, maps, and detailed reports documenting the architectural, cultural, and family histories of thousands of 18th– and 19th–century buildings in communities across Virginia. This collection was originally assembled by the Virginia Writers' Project, part of the depression-era Works Progress Administration.

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  Tantilla Gardens Poster Collection

  The Tantilla Gardens poster collection consists of 27 unique pieces of promotional art from a variety of musical performances that took place at this Richmond venue between 1933 and 1969. From soul to the psychedelia, orchestral to country and western, these posters evoke fond memories of very good times for those who remember "The South's Most Beautiful Ballroom."

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  Civil War Legacy Project

  This project, initiated in cooperation with the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, is creating a digital archive of original sources of information about the Civil War in Virginia that still remain in private hands. Letters, diaries, and other material identified through this project will help put a human face on the period that transformed the United States. Citizens across the commonwealth will be invited to share their family treasures with the project so that their items will be available to future researchers. Images will be added to the project web site as they are scanned and described by Library of Virginia archivists.

Biographical and Genealogical

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  WPA Life Histories Collection

  This collections provides a fully–searchable index with images to approximately 1,350 life histories, social–ethnic studies, and youth studies plus more than 50 interviews with former slaves which were created by the staff of the Virginia Writers' Project.

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  S. Bassett French Biographical Sketches

  This collection of digital images provides biographical information on almost 9,000 men, compiled by French between 1890 and 1897.

Maps and Architecture

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  Charles F. Gillette Virginia Photograph Collection

  This collection of photographs highlights Virginia houses, estates, gardens, and other landscape design projects created by the famed landscape architect Charles Gillette.

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  Civil War Map Project

  Nearly 200 Civil War cartographic items from the Library's vast map collection originally digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Library, the Library of Congress, and the Virginia Historical Society.

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  Mutual Assurance Society (Richmond/Henrico County, Virginia, Policies)

  indexes insurance policies issued by the Mutual Assurance Society between 1796 and 1867 for buildings in Richmond and Henrico County. Document images available.

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  Richmond Esthetic Survey/Historic Building Survey

  An online search engine providing interactive access to maps, photographs, and detailed written survey reports documenting the architecture of central Richmond, Virginia, in 1965. Report, photograph, and map images are available online.

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  School Buildings Service Photographs

  a visual record of hundreds of elementary and secondary school buildings across Virginia from the 1920s to the 1970s.

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  Alan M. Voorhees Map Collection

  The Alan M. Voorhees Map Collection extends from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle through the U.S. Civil War period with the bulk of the collection consisting of pre–20th century maps. Included are maps made by Schedel, Ptolemy, deBry, Mercator, and Smith among many others. In a variety of map formats, such as nautical charts and views, the collection focuses primarily on the Chesapeake Bay area and the development of Virginia within the larger geographical and historical contexts of Europe and America. Virginia Memory hosts 67 of the approximate 72 titles housed in both the Library's Map Collection and Special Collections. Many of these maps were part of the exhibit Maps, Charts, & Atlases: The Alan M. Voorhees Collection at the Library of Virginia held from March 1, 2004–July 3, 2004 for the inaugural Voorhees lecture.

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  Carneal & Johnston Negative Collection

  The Carneal & Johnston digital collection consists of 215 images created from glass-plate negatives documenting some of the many designs created by the Richmond architectural firm, including interior and exterior views of various commercial buildings and private residences designed by the firm. William Leigh Carneal Jr. (1881-1958) and James Markam Ambler Johnston (1885-1974) began their firm about 1908 after spending a year working independently while sharing office space. The firm went on to become one of the most prolific and long-established architectural practices in the state and by 1950 had helped to mold the architectural environment of central Virginia, especially Richmond. Responsible for more than 1,300 buildings, Carneal and Johnston practiced in a wide range of project types, from the mundane to the monumental. Some of the most notable structures represented in the collection include First Virginia Regiment Armory (1913), the Richmond Dairy (1914), the Colonial Theater (1919-1920), the Virginia State Office Building (1922-1923), and various structures on the campuses of Richmond College (now the University of Richmond) and Virginia Military Institute. The collection, purchased at auction by the Library of Virginia Foundation in 2009, complements some of the Library's several Carneal & Johnston architectural drawings and plans related to state government buildings.

County and City Research

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  Chancery Records Index

  The Chancery Records Index (CRI) is a result of archival processing and indexing projects overseen by the Library of Virginia (LVA) and funded, in part, by the Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP). Each of Virginia's circuit courts created chancery records that contain considerable historical and genealogical information. Because the records rely so heavily on testimony from witnesses, they offer a unique glimpse into the lives of Virginians from the early 18th century through the First World War.

African American Resources

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  Cohabitation Registers

  A cohabitation register, or as it is properly titled, Register of Colored Persons…cohabiting together as Husband and Wife on 27th February 1866, was the legal vehicle by which former slaves legitimized both their marriages and their children. The information about an individual person contained in a cohabitation register is literally priceless as it is often the first time that a former slave appeared officially in the public record and because of the extensive kinds of information that the register recorded. Though recorded at the local level, registers may not exist for every Virginia county. Images of certain cohabitation registers are available here, along with accompanying full-text searchable transcriptions (pdf) of each. The Library is pleased to make registers in our collection or those that we can borrow available for public use as soon as we are able to digitize and index them. Check back often for new additions.

Military Service

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  Confederate Disability Applications and Receipts

  applications to the Board of Commissioners on Artificial Limbs from injured soldiers

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  Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows

  searchable database of pension applications and amended applications filed by resident Virginia Confederate veterans and their widows.

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  Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants

  accumulated documents intended to verify dates of service of officers, soldiers, and sailors in a Virginia or Continental army or naval unit during the Revolutionary War.

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  Revolutionary War Rejected Claims

  index and images of the documents of applicants who had military service of insufficient length to qualify for the bounty land requested.

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  Revolutionary War Virginia State Pensions

  index to and scanned images of the surviving records that veterans and their widows presented to the county courts to certify their eligibility for pension.

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  Robert E. Lee Camp Confederate Soldiers' Home Applications for Admission

  Index and images of applications to the benevolent society established in 1883 in order to aid needy former Confederate veterans in Richmond, Virginia.

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  World War I History Commission Questionnaires

  surveys completed by returning soldiers, or their surviving kin

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  Dunmore's War (Virginia Payrolls/Public Service Claims, 1775)

  Index and images of the payrolls and muster rolls from Dunmore's War, a conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Native Americans of the Ohio Valley

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  U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection

  Photographs from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation series, 1942-1946, taken by Army Signal Corps photographers assigned to the port historian's office. The nearly 3,500 photographs depict the arrival and departure of U.S. military personnel and equipment, the preparation and loading of war materials, civilian employees, Red Cross workers, wounded personnel, and German and Italian prisoners of war.

Newspapers

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  Lewis and Clark : "We send from this place with dispatches."

  Enjoy an online sample of newspaper accounts created in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

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  Born in the Wake of Freedom: John Mitchell, Jr., and the Richmond Planet

  John Mitchell, Jr., founder of the Richmond Planet was a man of enormous stature and complexity. This web exhibition images provide a context to understand Mitchell's life and work better, as well as his contributiosn to the social and political life of Virginia's African-American Community. The images and accompanying text also provide viewers a glimpse into the world of newspaper publishing as America entered the twentieth century.

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  R. M. S. Titanic: Ninety Years Later

  The story of the Titanic -- its building, as well as its destruction -- is a great human story with cultural significance, enduring appeal, and old and new controversy. This web exhibition highlights how newspapers told the story, showing the pathos of 1500+ casualties, the heroism and/or cowardice among the passengers and crew, the very real questions relating to cause and effect, and the continuing aftermath.

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  The Engraver's Art: Newspaper Mastheads

  There was once an artistry in the creation of a newspaper's masthead. Whether they came from an original name, an artistic image, or a declaration of intention, newspaper mastheads (and titles) were much more vibrant than today's rather staid, computer and color enhanced examples. The Virginia Newspaper Project offers a small selection of the more interesting mastheads we have uncovered to date. Many of the linked images below are fairly large, but well worth the wait.

Historic Virginia Government

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  Virginia Colonial Records Project

  fully-searchable index to almost 15,000 reports that survey and describe documents relating to colonial Virginia history that are housed in repositories in Great Britain and other European countries. Survey report images are available online with references to microfilm reels for the original documents.

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  Governor's Letters Received, June 1776 - November 1784

  a calendar of the manuscript collection of letters and other documents received in the Governor's Office of Virginia first six governors.

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  Early Virginia Religious Petitions, 1774-1802

  images of 423 petitions submitted to the Virginia legislature between 1774 and 1802 from more than eighty counties and cities. A joint project with the Library of Congress

Web Archiving

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  Capital Square Renovation Collection

  This collection preserves the web sites that document the 2004-2007 renovation of the Capitol building designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1785, and the associated Capitol Square complex in Richmond, Virginia.

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  Governor Timothy Kaine Administration Collection

  The Web archive of the Administration of Governor Tim Kaine (2006—2010) contains archived versions of Web sites for the Governor's Office, his initiative sites, and the sites of his cabinet secretaries. Also included are the related sites for the First Lady (Anne Holton), as well as the Lt. Governor (Bill Bowling), and Attorney General (Bob McDonnell and William C. Mims), two statewide officials elected in the same cycle as Governor Kaine.

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  Jamestown 2007 Commemoration Collection

  In 2007, the Commonwealth of Virginia will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. This collection documents the web presence of this commemoration across and beyond Virginia.

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  Tragedy at Virginia Tech

  This collection captures Virginia Government Web sites related to the shooting at Virginia Tech on Monday, April 16, 2007. This collection includes audio excerpts from press conferences held on Tuesday, April 17, audio excerpts from the Convocation ceremony held on Tuesday, April 17, and a video stream of the entire Convocation. Also included is a list of the victims.

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  Virginia Organization Web Archive

  In addition to the papers of individuals, families, businesses, churches, and other entities, the Private Papers section of the Library of Virginia also collects materials from Virginia organizations. Hoping to capture the online presence as well as the more traditional records of these groups, the Library has begun the process of archiving Web sites of organizations that are already represented in our collection. These include social, civic, service, cultural, and other groups that may be either entirely Virginia-based, or the Virginia branches of larger organizations.

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  Virginia State Government Web Sites Collection

  This collection preserves the web sites of Virginia state agencies.

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  Virginia Statewide Election Campaign Web Sites

  This collection was created to capture the websites of candidates for the Virginia race for U.S. Senate 2006 November. Included are the websites for George Allen (Republican Party), Gail Parker (Independent Green Party), and Jim Webb (Democratic Party). The websites were crawled daily throughout the last three weeks of the election.

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  Virginia's Political Landscape, 2007

  This collection preserves the web sites that document Virginia's 2007 General Assembly elections (primary and general). All 140 members of the Virginia General Assembly are up for election in 2007. Included are Web sites for candidates for the House of Delegates and Senate, the state Virginia Democratic and Republican Party Web sites, as well as Web sites for local and regional Democratic and Republican party committees. Also included are Web sites for Virginia's Congressional delegation (official and private), former Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore's 2008 Presidential campaign Web site, former Governor Mark R. Warner's PAC Web site, and two political "sunshine" Web sites: Virginia Public Access Project and Richmond Sunlight.

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  Virginia's Political Landscape, 2008

  This collection preserves the Web sites that document Virginia's 2008 Congressional elections (primary and general). All 11 members of Virginia's Congressional Delegation as well as one U.S. Senate seat are up for election in 2008. Included are campaign Web sites for candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, official sites for Virginia's Congressional delegation, the state Virginia Democratic and Republican Party Web sites, as well as Web sites for members of the Virginia General Assembly. Also included are Web sites for the Political Action Committees of Governor Tim Kaine and former Governor George Allen, the personal Web sites of Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Attorney General Bob McDonnell and former Governor (and U.S. Senate candidate) James S. Gilmore, and two political "sunshine" Web sites: Virginia Public Access Project and Richmond Sunlight. The general election is 4 November 2008.

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  Virginia's Political Landscape, 2009

  This collection preserves the Web sites that document Virginia's 2009 statewide and Virginia House of Delegates elections (primary and general). All 3 statewide offices (Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General) as well as all 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates are up for election in 2009. Included are campaign Web sites for candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and the House of Delegates, official sites for Virginia's Congressional delegation, the state Virginia Democratic and Republican Party Web sites, as well as Web sites for members of the Virginia General Assembly. Also included are Web sites for the Political Action Committees of Governor Tim Kaine and former Governor George Allen, and two political "sunshine" Web sites: Virginia Public Access Project and Richmond Sunlight. The primary election is 9 June 2009 and the general election is 3 November 2009.

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  Virginia's Political Landscape, 2005

  This collection preserves the web sites that document Virginia's November 2005 state-wide election. Included are former governor Mark Warner's web site, the first lady's web site, the Virginia Democratic and Republican Party web sites, as well as sites for the candidates for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. Also included are blogs related to the election, web sites of cabinet secretaries, and sites for Warner administration initiatives.

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  Governor Mark R. Warner Administration Web Archive

  The Web archive of the Administration of Governor Mark R. Warner (2002-2006) contains archived versions of Web sites for the Governor's Office, his initiative sites, and the sites of his cabinet secretaries. Also included are the related sites for the First Lady, as well as the Lieutenant Governor and the Attorney General, two officials elected in the same cycle as Governor Warner.

Photograph collections

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  Virginia Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection

  Primarily covering the years 1922–1972, the VCC collection documents a wide range of subjects, including bridges and dams; the cotton, peanut, textile, commercial fishing, and tobacco industries; farming and harvests; the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive; hunting and fishing; and numerous local festivals.

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  1939 World's Fair Photograph Collection

  This VCC collection, displayed in the Virginia Room at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, contains more than 3,000 photographs representing twelve aspects of Virginia life: scenic tours; recreation; historic homes; culture; history; colonial archaeology; scenery and natural wonders; physiography; agriculture; education; government and the people; and industry, commerce, and transportation.

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  Richmond Esthetic Survey/Historic Building Survey

  An online search engine providing interactive access to maps, photographs, and detailed written survey reports documenting the architecture of central Richmond, Virginia, in 1965. Report, photograph, and map images are available online.

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  School Buildings Service Photographs

  a visual record of hundreds of elementary and secondary school buildings across Virginia from the 1920s to the 1970s.

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  Virginia Historical Inventory

  photographs, maps, and detailed reports documenting the architectural, cultural, and family histories of thousands of 18th– and 19th–century buildings in communities across Virginia. This collection was originally assembled by the Virginia Writers' Project, part of the depression-era Works Progress Administration.

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  U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection

  Photographs from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation series, 1942-1946, taken by Army Signal Corps photographers assigned to the port historian's office. The nearly 3,500 photographs depict the arrival and departure of U.S. military personnel and equipment, the preparation and loading of war materials, civilian employees, Red Cross workers, wounded personnel, and German and Italian prisoners of war.

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  Callahan Photograph Collection, Eastern Shore Public Library

  Photographs from the Doran S. Callahan collection depicting scenes from the counties of Accomack and Northampton. Subjects include homes, churches, gravestones, important landmarks, courthouses, and other buildings. 85 photographs taken between 1895 and 1900.

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  Fairfax County Public Library Photograph Collection

  two photographic collections -- the Henry H. Douglas Collection of Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Photographs and photographs relating to Fairfax County Extension Service activities.

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  Hamblin Studio Photograph Collection, Suffolk Public Library

  1,300 photographs taken by four photographers associated with the Hamblin Studio 1910-1975. Subjects include business, commerce, manufacturing, government, education, religion, social and cultural activities, and African American community life.

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  Hampton Public Library/City of Hampton Historical Collection Photographs

  1,400 photographs from the Christopher E. Cheyne collection depicting businesses, the seafood industry, the hotel and resort industry, prominent Hampton families, Confederate veterans, and other subjects; taken between 1894 and 1945.

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  Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection

  A fully-searchable index to the Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection of glass plate negatives located in the Picture Collection at the Library of Virginia

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  Newport News Public Library Photograph Collection

  two photographic collections — more than 40 photographs of the Hotel Warwick taken before 1925 which are part of the Old Dominion Land Company Records and more than 230 photographs of Hilton Village taken during the construction phase in 1918 and 1919.

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  Portsmouth Public Library Photograph Collection

  two photographic collections; more than 800 photographs of the Olde Towne historic area depicting homes, churches, streets, commercial structures, and other historic sites and the Lee F. Rodgers collection of approximately 1,500 photographs primarily of African American subjects.

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  Radford Public Library Photograph Collection

  Photographs published in The Radford Record Album in 1915. More than 225 photographs depicting residences, commercial and manufacturing buildings, churches, educational institutions, monuments, railroads, community activities, individuals, and views of the New River.

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  Roanoke County Public Library Local History Photographs

  Roanoke County Local History Photograph Collection located in the Local History Room at the Hollins Branch of the Roanoke County Public Library.

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  Tazewell County Public Library Photographs

  Photographs originally published in a series of volumes by the Tazewell County Historical Society. Subjects include civic, agricultural, commercial, industrial, educational, social, and religious topics. The nearly 3,900 photographs taken between the late 19th century and the 1960s also include many individuals, families, and groups.

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  Waynesboro Public Library Photographs

  photographs and post cards depicting a variety of subjects from the cities of Waynesboro, Staunton, and Harrisonburg and the surrounding counties of Augusta, Rockingham, and Rockbridge. More than 1,500 photographs and approximately 380 post cards.

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  Adolph B. Rice Photograph Collection

  The Adolph B. Rice Studio Collection constitutes a unique photographic record of life in Richmond, Virginia, from 1949 to 1961. The Library offers here digital versions of over 400 of the 16,000 images from Rice's commercial studio, covering studio portraits, aerial views, advertising shots for local department stores, and local religious and educational events. This collection is also available on Flickr. If you're familiar with the people, places, and events covered in the Rice Collection, you can add comments and metadata that will help us identify this content even better.

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  Stereograph Collection

  Stereoscopic views were a popular 19th century recreational pastime that enabled photographs to be viewed in three dimensions. What appear to be two identical images adjacent to each other on a cardboard support are actually slightly different. When viewed through the lenses of a stereoscope, they "merge" to form a single 3-D image. The Library of Virginia's Stereograph Collection contains 318 images from many prominent and well-known photographers from the early 1860s to the early 20th century.

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  Carneal & Johnston Negative Collection

  The Carneal & Johnston digital collection consists of 215 images created from glass-plate negatives documenting some of the many designs created by the Richmond architectural firm, including interior and exterior views of various commercial buildings and private residences designed by the firm. William Leigh Carneal Jr. (1881-1958) and James Markam Ambler Johnston (1885-1974) began their firm about 1908 after spending a year working independently while sharing office space. The firm went on to become one of the most prolific and long-established architectural practices in the state and by 1950 had helped to mold the architectural environment of central Virginia, especially Richmond. Responsible for more than 1,300 buildings, Carneal and Johnston practiced in a wide range of project types, from the mundane to the monumental. Some of the most notable structures represented in the collection include First Virginia Regiment Armory (1913), the Richmond Dairy (1914), the Colonial Theater (1919-1920), the Virginia State Office Building (1922-1923), and various structures on the campuses of Richmond College (now the University of Richmond) and Virginia Military Institute. The collection, purchased at auction by the Library of Virginia Foundation in 2009, complements some of the Library's several Carneal & Johnston architectural drawings and plans related to state government buildings.

Land Office Patents & Grants

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  Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys

  database including patents and grants from the crown and commonwealth from 1623 to 1992 and database of grants in the Northern Neck Proprietary from 1692 to 1862 (images available online).