Randolph-Macon Woman's College photograph album

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16930, Randolph-Macon's Woman College, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Cubic Feet One small oversized flat box
Creator:
Auger Down Books
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16930, Randolph-Macon's Woman College, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This material contains images of racist imagery. The purpose of this note is to allow users to decide whether they need or want to view these materials. This collection includes a photograph album compiled from 1910 to 1913 documenting the Randolph-Macon Woman's College, now called Randolph College, in Lynchburg, Virginia. It contains approximately 274 photos, mainly measuring 3 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches and smaller, with some small panoramas. All photographs have numbers written in silver ink, and many are captioned. The creator of the album is unknown. This album features pasted, dated, and captioned photographs documenting student life. The pictures include images of sports events, Greek life, many themed parties, including Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese parties -- the latter with a photo of Sieu-tsung Lok, the first Asian student from China. There are photos of organized events like May Day, Field Day, and graduation celebrations. Also captured are a variety of plays put on by the students. There are also two photographs of an unidentified Black man who may have been a porter at the college. There are also landscapes around Virginia and exterior shots of the campus buildings. One page of photographs titled "Milestones, 1913" contains two photos of students in blackface.

Biographical / historical:

Randolph-Macon Woman's College was among the earliest liberal arts institutions for women in the southern United States. It was founded by William Waugh Smith, then-president of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, in response to the original institution's refusal to admit women. Smith's vision led to the development of a separate campus dedicated to women's education, situated on a 100-acre site overlooking the James River. The college officially opened in 1893 and enjoyed a reputation for academic excellence, offering a rigorous curriculum in the humanities, sciences, and fine arts. Randolph-Macon Woman's College's most accomplished alumna, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning writer and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck, attended from 1911 to 1914.

Acquisition information:
This collection was a purchase from Auger Down Books to the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 10 October 2025.
Dimensions:
Album measures 9.5 X 15 inches
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard