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The Christopher A. Dorrance collection consists primarily of original autographs of important and/or famous people of the United States of America from its founding to the early 21st century. The subjects of the autographs include presidents and first ladies, government officials, political and military figures, musicians, authors, actresses and actors, athletes, reformers and civil rights era activists, foreign leaders and celebrities, flyers and people associated with aviation and aeronautics, etc. The autographs in this collection are written on various mediums including, framed posters, official documents, photographs, books, cards, letters, and various forms of paper ephemera. The series titles reflect what the donor prescribed to his collection. The one change made at the discretion of the archivist was to change the word "foreign" to "international." The signatures were originally housed in three ring binders. The order established by the donor has been maintained. Several signatures are part of larger manuscript pieces, such as letters or ephemeral items such as programs.

This collection includes primarily correspondence written to Carter, though there are some letters written by him. The majority of the correspondence concern Shenandoah and Spearhead publications. Correspondents include Washington and Lee faculty James Boatwright, Marshall Fishwick, Fitzgerald Flournoy, and James Leyburn. There are numerous letters from leading contemporary literary figures, such as Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, E. E. Cummings, T. S. Eliot, Ray Bradbury, and Flannery O'Connor, as well as typescripts from Shenandoah (vol. 3, no. 2, 1952 and vol. 4, nos.2-3, 1953). Authors of the letters vary from editors and publishers to personal friends and prospective contributors to the aforementioned publications. Manuscripts by George Fox and Joe Kennedy are also present as are letters of condolence sent to Mrs. Carter upon the death of her son in 1963.