Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Date range 2000 Level Collection

African-American Heritage Exhibit materials 0.25 Linear Feet

Rockbridge Historical Society

This collection contains research materials gathered during 2001 for an African American heritage exhibit put on by Rockbridge Historical Society. It also contains a booklet from 125th anniversary of the First Baptist Church in Lexington, Va.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities records 18.5 Linear Feet

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

This collection contains records of the association, such as meeting minutes, budget information, membership records, constitution and bylaws, as well as information about preservation easements and county mills, the organization's promotional materials, newsletter, publications, photographs, and a survey, by questionaire, of the portraits painted before 1914 that are owned and located in Rockbridge County and Lexington, Virginia. The survey was conducted under the auspices of the APVA. Eighteen questionaires have photographs attached. Survey includes the following artists; Ellen Graham Anderson and Charles Willson Peale.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Ben Benson Collection 2 Linear Feet

Benson, Ralph Ben

The Ben Benson Collection includes original portrait art of presidents and first ladies by Ben Benson, various formats of printed presidential iconography and related presidential and U.S. political memorabilia from George Washington to Barack Obama.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Camp Okahahwis collection 13.0 Linear Feet

This collection includes photographs, printed materials, artifacts, scrapbooks, film, and correspondence created and/or acquired by Camp Okahahwis, former campers, and the Camp Okahahwis Scholarship Fund. Subjects include campers, counselors, buildings, traditions, everyday camp activities, and reunions. Four of the photos in the collection are of particular note because they highlight several African American women who served on the kitchen staff. Also significant is a booklet titled "As We Were," created by two former campers. It details the history of the camp by each decade along with important figures.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Christopher A. Dorrance collection approx. 15 Linear Feet 6 document cases, multiple framed pieces

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.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Collection about John W. Elrod 16 Item

Elrod, Mimi Milner

This collection contains articles on John Elrod's inauguration as president of Washington and Lee University; articles on his death; a program from the Service of Witness to the Resurrection and in Celebration of the Life of John William Elrod in Lee Chapel on July 19, 2001; a program from In Memoriam John William Elrod in Lee Chapel on September 13, 2001; and a letter from his wife, Mimi Elrod, to the Leyburn Library staff dated August 10, 2001 thanking them for their words of sympathy, support and care during the death of her husband.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Collection of research materials about William R. Clark 0.01 Linear Feet 1 folder

Wood, Alexander Barbour

This collection consists of a donor letter and accompanying materials about William R. Clark, specifically a photograph of Clark with Michael Dukakis and a copy of his Curriculum Vitae. The letter includes memories of interactions with Clark. There is also a photograph of male members of the Randolph Street Methodist Church, Lexington, Virginia (circa 1955).

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Collection of U. S. Army Infantry publications 1 Linear Feet

Taylor, Richard B. (Richard Blackburn)

This collection includes publications covering the U. S. Army 4th Infantry Division, especially regarding its duty in Vietnam, with 31 issues of The Ivy Leaf, from Camp Enari, Vietnam (1967-1968), and several issues of Ivy Leaves, the publication of the National 4th Infantry (Ivy) Division Association.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

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