The University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library offers much, much more than old books. It holds more than 16 million objects, including manuscripts, archival records, rare books, maps, broadsides, photographs, audio and video recordings and more.
Here’s a look at some of the things you can find on exhibit now.
First Floor
U.Va.’s first writer-in-residence, William Faulkner served two terms beginning in 1957. This typewriter was located in his Alderman Library office and was used by Faulkner to write “The Mansion.”
Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection
Special Collections is home to the most comprehensive collection of items related to the Declaration of Independence. The patron is looking at one of two U.Va. copies of the “John Dunlap Broadside.” Historian Joseph Fields has traced this copy to George Washington through his personal secretary, Tobias Lear.
William Blake, Visionary / Envisioning William Blake
William Blake (1757-1827) was an English Romantic poet, artist and engraver. This book, “Europe: A Prophecy,” is one of the author’s “prophetic books” series. The book is part of the Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski Reference Collection of William Blake.
Arthur P. and Christopher P. Young World War I Juvenile Series Collection
Before “Nancy Drew” and “American Girl,” young women growing up during World War I had the “World War I Series Books for Girls.” The series followed the adventures of teenage girls serving as Red Cross nurses.
Second Floor
Flowerdew Hundred: Unearthing Virginia’s History
Flowerdew Hundred was a site located 22 miles upriver from the Jamestown settlement. Artifacts from the property give clues about the lives of Native Americans as well as the first African slaves.
In 1825, U.Va. founder Thomas Jefferson ordered the casting of this bell. It once hung in the Rotunda and was one of the few things recovered from the 1895 fire.
Currently on display as part of the Rotunda exhibit, the Alexander Galt statue of Thomas Jefferson will return to its home in the Rotunda once renovations are complete.
“Who shall tell the story?”: Voices of Civil War Virginia
Walt Whitman (pictured) visited wounded Civil War soldiers from 1863 to 1865. This is one of the notebooks kept by Whitman during that period. Read a transcript from one of the notebooks.
A medicine case belonging to W.H. Church, a once-prominent Norfolk physician (left), and a trephine set (right) are parts of the Civil War exhibit. Trephination was an early form of brain surgery. The trephine set is on loan from the U.Va. Health Sciences Library Historical Collections.
Charlottesville photographer Rufus Holsinger captured U.Va.’s Confederate alumni in this image taken during the 1912 Final Exercises.
Third Floor
Taylor Collection of American Best-sellers
Looking for a new place to study? Try the Lillian Gary Taylor Room. Lillian was the wife of Robert Coleman Taylor, who earned three degrees from the University in the 1880s. The Taylors were lifelong supporters of the University, and the room features items from their home, including several chairs, a grandfather clock and a bookshelf with a few books. Mrs. Taylor’s impressive collection of popular American fiction is housed in the Small Special Collections Library.
Rotunda cross stitch in the Lillian Gary Taylor room.
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February 16, 2015
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