Richmond Print Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Richmond
Rare Books and Special Collections
Boatwright Library
University of Richmond
28 Westhampton Way
Richmond, VA 23173
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lynda Kachurek
Phone: (804) 289-8458
Fax: (804) 287-1840
Terms of access:

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

[Box Number, Folder Number], MS-17, Richmond Print Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
2 Linear Feet 1 box
Abstract:
This collection of contemporary (and near-contemporary) maps, woodcuts, and steel engravings illustrates the history of Richmond and environs from the 1830s to the 1870s, largely centered on the Civil War Era, but also featuring several illustrations of the disasters of 1870.
Language:
English German
Preferred citation:

[Box Number, Folder Number], MS-17, Richmond Print Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of two series: maps and illustrations. Series I, Maps, is subdivided into Civil War era, arranged chronologically by year of publication and including several campaign maps from the definitive Atlas, and two additional maps.

Series II, Illustrations, tends to come from contemporary newspapers, and as such, the reverse sides may feature editorials and propaganda in support of the Union and ridiculing both the South and the pro-reconciliation views of the British, as well as fiction, poetry, and advertisements for patent medicines and sundry other items.

Biographical / historical:

The majority of pieces within the collection come from one of three sources: weekly newspapers Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (in one case, a German-language edition printed in New York), and one-time publication Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Harper's Weekly was published in New York from 1857 to 1916 as an offshoot of the more popular Harper's Monthly; both publications covered a variety of topics, including politics, literature, arts, humor, and illustrations, although the Weekly was especially famed for coverage of the events of the Civil War as they unfolded. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper was published in New York from 1855 to 1921 under a variety of titles; the German language edition, Frank Leslie's Illustrirte Zeitung, was published from 1857 to 1894, also in New York. Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, often referred to by historians as the War of the Rebellion Atlas, was created as a companion piece to the Official Records of the American Civil War, a collection of primary sources from both sides of the war, including orders, correspondence, and diagrams; maps were compiled into the Atlas. Of special note here are those included on Plate LXXXI, which were created originally by Jedediah Hotchkiss for Stonewall Jackson and whose detail and precision are credited as being a factor in Jackson's success.

Acquisition information:
The immediate source of acquisition for this collection is unknown.
Processing information:

Titles included in the finding aid are taken from the items themselves.

Processed by John Durvin.

Arrangement:
  • Subseries 1A: Civil War maps
  • Subseries 1B: Other maps
  • Subseries 2A: Pre-Civil War Richmond
  • Subseries 2B: Richmond in the Civil War
  • Subseries 2C: Campaigns of the Civil War
  • Subseries 2D: Post Civil-War Richmond
Physical facet:
27 items: 8 maps, 19 illustrations (4 color, 15 black/white)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard