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This collection contains one official certificate issued under the Virginia law of March 17, 1856, aimed at preventing the escape of enslaved individuals from ports "for the better protection of slave property in this Commonwealth." It recorded the inspection of a vessel prior to departure, authorized inspectors to search vessels and detain them if necessary, and offered monetary rewards for those who captured freedom seekers.

This collection contains a certificate of a local Virginia election in the first district of Accomack County on October 22, 1867, preliminary voting for delegates for the upcoming Constitutional Convention, marking the first time African-Americans voted in the state.

This collection contains seventeen albumen photograph cabinet cards on cardstock mount of portraits taken by African American photographer James Conway Farley during his time at Davis Studio in Richmond, Virginia, and later at Jefferson Fine Art Gallery at 528 East Broad Street, Richmond, Va. Eight of the cards are from the Jefferson Fine Art Gallery and eight are from Davis Studio.

This material contains images of racist imagery. The purpose of this note is to allow users to decide whether they need or want to view these materials. This collection includes a photograph album compiled from 1910 to 1913 documenting the Randolph-Macon Woman's College, now called Randolph College, in Lynchburg, Virginia. It contains approximately 274 photos, mainly measuring 3 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches and smaller, with some small panoramas. All photographs have numbers written in silver ink, and many are captioned. The creator of the album is unknown. This album features pasted, dated, and captioned photographs documenting student life. The pictures include images of sports events, Greek life, many themed parties, including Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese parties -- the latter with a photo of Sieu-tsung Lok, the first Asian student from China. There are photos of organized events like May Day, Field Day, and graduation celebrations. Also captured are a variety of plays put on by the students. There are also two photographs of an unidentified Black man who may have been a porter at the college. There are also landscapes around Virginia and exterior shots of the campus buildings. One page of photographs titled "Milestones, 1913" contains two photos of students in blackface.