Collections

The C-SPAN records consist of materials created and collected by the C-SPAN Corporation and its founder Brian Lamb from the years 1809, 1978-2012. The materials created by C-SPAN originate from 1978-2012, with one antique newspaper from 1809 gifted to Lamb. The records document C-SPAN's functions as a broadcasting network, as well as its continuing engagement in the political and public affairs sphere of the United States.

The L. Claire Kincannon theatre collection contains promotional materials for theatre productions attended by theatre critic and radio journalist Lois Claire Kincannon in Washington D.C., Dayton, Ohio, New York City, London, Paris, and other areas across the United States and Europe, dating from 1941-2015. Materials include programs, playbills, photographs, press kits, newspaper articles, drafted and published reviews, and articles, as well as visual and audio materials from a project in Hungary and Kincannon's radio show Behind the Scenes.

Personal, medical, and business papers, account books, and daily journals of a Harpers Ferry physician (d. 1883). Subjects include the practice of a small town doctor, his related business interests, and the education and careers of his children, three of whom became medical doctors. Included are the papers of William V. Marmion (1840-1922), who studied eye surgery in Vienna and established a practice in Washington, D.C. There are letters from George Marmion, acting surgeon and secretary of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and letters of Robert A. Marmion (1844-1907), who was a naval surgeon and the first president of the Naval Medical School in Washington, D.C. Many of the letters, especially after 1883, are those of the Marmion heirs and are concerned with family, personal, and financial affairs. Some letters shed light on the condition of the gold market after the Civil War and family activities as prominent members of the Roman Catholic faith. There are a few fragmentary records regarding John Hancock Hall, a relative, who invented and patented the first American breechloading rifle in 1811. He was later hired by the government in 1819 to establish and operate a "rifle works" in close proximity to the federal armory at Harpers Ferry (see box 17).

This collection contains meeting minutes and grant proposals from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as correspondence on civil rights and race relations between senators and NAACP members. Many of the materials deal with the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), issued by Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 as executive order 8802.

This collection includes postcards, souvenir photographs, and stereoscopic photographs of Washington, D.C. from 1900-1960s. There is also one photo album of Washington, D.C and one foldable postcard booklet of Arlington, Virginia.

Collection consists of a variety of transportation-related documents, maps, and images. The most numerous group in the collection is approximately 150 postcards of Washington, D.C. from the early to mid-20th century, many of which include streetcars as well as famous streets and buildings.

This collection contains records of the Saint Andrew's Society and books on Scotland and Scottish Clans. Records include newsletters, letters and pamphlets about the ongoings of the Saint Andrew's Society along with ledgers documenting the society's financial transactions during the period of 1861-1956.

Material regarding the Sommerville family of Berkeley County, mainly concerning Robert A. Sommerville and his son Obed W. Somerville. Includes a family history narrative (folder 1), transcript of a journal (folder 1), copies of legal documents (folder 2), and colored copies of photographs and portraits of Sommerville family members and of artifacts associated with the family (folders 3 and 4). Material regarding Robert A. Sommerville includes a transcription of family and personal memoranda he recorded in 1852; the transcript contains an account of the emigration of his father William from Ireland to the American Colonies in the 1770s, and excerpts from a journal kept by William Sommerville in 1794. Material regarding Obed W. Sommerville includes documents regarding his Civil War service, pension records, copies of legal testimony regarding his placement in a mental asylum, and his death certificate. All items in this collection are reproductions.