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: SCA Staff
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Places Virginia -- Warm Springs
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Robert E. Lee Family papers, 1792/1935, bulk 1833/1870

24 Linear Feet

This collection contains primary and secondary resources pertaining to Robert E. Lee and the Lee family. Included are correspondences from, to, and about Lee and various family members; memorabilia, pamphlets, photographs, reminiscences, miscellaneous personal papers, family history and genealogy. The collection includes materials acquired from the Lee family and items donated to and purchased and compiled by W&L University since Lee's tenure as president of Washington College from 1865 - 1870. Adminstrative papers, such as President's Reports, etc..., from Robert E. Lee's presidency of the school may be found within the W&L University Archives. Please contact W&L Special Collections for information regarding the University Archives.

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Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee Related Photographs, 1885/1995

4 Photographic Prints

Four photographs related to Mary Randolph Custis Lee. This group compiled by Washington and Lee includes two images of an early portrait of Mrs. Lee, a modern photograph of Mrs. Lee's soaking chair that was designed for her at the Warm Springs in Bath County, Va., and a modern photograph of a child's doll that was likely in the Lee family. The images of the Lee portrait are 20th century photographic prints of glass plate negatives of the portraits made by Michael Miley of Lexington, Va. in 1885.

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Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee Related Photographs, 1885/1995 4 Photographic Prints

Four photographs related to Mary Randolph Custis Lee. This group compiled by Washington and Lee includes two images of an early portrait of Mrs. Lee, a modern photograph of Mrs. Lee's soaking chair that was designed for her at the Warm Springs in Bath County, Va., and a modern photograph of a child's doll that was likely in the Lee family. The images of the Lee portrait are 20th century photographic prints of glass plate negatives of the portraits made by Michael Miley of Lexington, Va. in 1885.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Unidentified travel diary, 1835

1 Item

This manuscript copy of a diary dated May 26 through August 15, 1835 was kept by an unidentified traveller journeying by railroad, boat, and stagecoach from New York to the springs of Virginia (and the present-day West Virginia) and then on to Cincinnati, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky before returning to New York. The traveller made stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Fredericksburg. Most of the journal's accounts deal with the period when the writer was at White Sulphur Springs and the adjacent area. He records his impressions of inns and places visited, persons encountered, going to balls, calling on ladies and even a trip to Lexington, Virginia where he visits 'Mr. Clay,' presumably Henry Clay, who was at that time a Senator from Kentucky.

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Unidentified travel diary, 1835 1 Item

This manuscript copy of a diary dated May 26 through August 15, 1835 was kept by an unidentified traveller journeying by railroad, boat, and stagecoach from New York to the springs of Virginia (and the present-day West Virginia) and then on to Cincinnati, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky before returning to New York. The traveller made stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Fredericksburg. Most of the journal's accounts deal with the period when the writer was at White Sulphur Springs and the adjacent area. He records his impressions of inns and places visited, persons encountered, going to balls, calling on ladies and even a trip to Lexington, Virginia where he visits 'Mr. Clay,' presumably Henry Clay, who was at that time a Senator from Kentucky.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Virginia Hot Springs Company Records, 1860/1913, bulk 1892/1903

.25 Linear Feet

This collection contains records, mostly in printed pamphlet form, of the Virginia Hot Springs Company, formed in 1892 from the Southern Improvement Company, with Decatur Axtell as its president. Also included in the collection are several pamphlets about other springs, e.g. Healing, Warm, and White Sulphur: information about automobile travel in western Virginia circa 1913, and a few letters to and from Mr. Axtell.

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Virginia Hot Springs Company Records, 1860/1913, bulk 1892/1903 .25 Linear Feet

Axtell, D. B. (Decatur Boynton)

This collection contains records, mostly in printed pamphlet form, of the Virginia Hot Springs Company, formed in 1892 from the Southern Improvement Company, with Decatur Axtell as its president. Also included in the collection are several pamphlets about other springs, e.g. Healing, Warm, and White Sulphur: information about automobile travel in western Virginia circa 1913, and a few letters to and from Mr. Axtell.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

William Alexander Graham Narrative, 1816/1819

1 Item 1 (notebook.)

A narrative of William Alexander Graham's journeys, medical training, and career from 1816-1819, in Lexington, and Abingdon, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, taken from his diaries and letters, including references to some well-known contemporary figures like actors James Wallack and Thomas Cooper and artist Benjamin West.There is a summary of included names and places in the control folder.

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William Alexander Graham Narrative, 1816/1819 1 Item 1 (notebook.)

Graham, William A. (William Alexander)

A narrative of William Alexander Graham's journeys, medical training, and career from 1816-1819, in Lexington, and Abingdon, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, taken from his diaries and letters, including references to some well-known contemporary figures like actors James Wallack and Thomas Cooper and artist Benjamin West.There is a summary of included names and places in the control folder.

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