Jefferson Wallace collection, 1890/1950

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
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16338, Jefferson Wallace collection, Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.6 Cubic Feet 1 letter size document box and 1 half-width letter size document box
Creator:
Wallace, Jefferson, 1864-1951
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16338, Jefferson Wallace collection, Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains typescript and manuscript books, all richly illustrated with watercolor paintings and illuminations by commercial artist and Richmond resident, Jefferson Wallace. These include The Fairy Book, The Story Teller, Anthology of English poetry, The Virginia Text Book: Containing a history of Masonic Grand Lodges and The Book of Myths. The content mainly focuses on mythological stories, fairy tales, original stories and selections from English

Biographical / historical:

Jefferson Wallace (1864-1951) was a commercial artist from Richmond, Virginia. Wallace was born in Richmond on August 8, 1864, to Charles M. and Joyce W. Clopton Wallace. He was active in state and city politics. He was the Secretary of Richmond's Democratic Committee and challenged Joseph Bryan, an American publisher and industrialist from Richmond to a duel in 1894. Bryan refused him publicly in The Richmond Times, effectively ending the practice in Virginia, saying that duels were uncivilized.

Wallace went on to study commercial art in New York and returned to Richmond to work. He was active in fraternal organizations and served as a Master Mason of Dove Lodge for nearly 52 years. He served as a high priest of the Temple Chapter No 32, Temple Chapter No 32, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (AF&AM), and an honorary member of Fraternal Lodge No 53. He married Anne Wynn Hawthorn in 1906 in Lunenburg, Virginia. They had one child, Anne Wallace, and would divorce. He died in Richmond on March 31, 1951, and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Acquisition information:
This collection was purchased from Black Swan Books by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library in July and August 2017. An addition to the collection was purchased from Charles Agvent on February 17, 2026.
Physical facet:
typescript books and unbound pages; Virginia text-book unbound
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard