Series I: Real estate records

Containers:

Box 1-149

Scope and content:

Arranged into Virginia and out-of-state sub-series, this series contains advertising, clippings, correspondence, deeds, maps, notes, obituaries, photographs, plats, postcards, property descriptions, surveys, and real estate agreements pertaining to properties George B. Lorraine brokered, purchased, advertised, or sold. The Virginia sub-series consists of real estate listings arranged alphabetically by county or township. The out-of-state sub-series is arranged alphabetically by state. Within both the Virginia and out-of-state sub-series, properties are arranged alphabetically first according to name. Properties without names follow second and are arranged alphabetically by property owner's surname. For most counties and states, there also exists miscellaneous letter and miscellaneous real estate listings files. The file arrangement for Series I remains consistent with the order established by the brokerage.

Material within this series highlights the buying and selling process undertaken by Lorraine and his real estate brokerage for each property. The correspondence principally consists of letters exchanged between Lorraine's brokerage and other brokers and realtors, prospective buyers, estate administrators, property owners, real estate attorneys, and government officials. Real estate agreements between Lorraine's brokerage, owners, and buyers detail well-defined property descriptions and often accompany the correspondence, as does a profuse amount of property descriptions written for purposes of promotion and distribution to prospective buyers and advertisers. An extensive array of photographs includes exterior, interior, and aerial views of a respective plat's buildings and the adjoining landscape. Copies of these photographs often were distributed to prospective buyers and also occasionally reappear in advertisements written by Lorraine for distribution to prospective buyers, magazines and newspapers. The large bulk of advertisements does not contain images and exists in the form of newspaper clippings from the classifieds. For some of the more famed and recognized properties, clippings held in these files help to establish the history of an estate or a past owner of an estate. There are also obituaries that often denote the death of an estate owner. Smaller maps and plats also are included in these files, while larger maps and plats have been removed and placed in the oversize collection. These maps and plats often denote acreage, architectural measurements, boundaries and bordering property owners, crop and building placement, natural resources, survey information, and geographical location. Also of mention are handwritten notes detailing various business activities including phone conversations, contract negotiations, and advertising drafts. Deeds also appear for a small number of properties in this series.

Access and use

Contents