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[Editor's introduction]

(includes signature of Washington Irving

The records of the Secretary of Finance consist of correspondence and subject files relating to the fiscal management of state government (accession 38947) and constituent correspondence to the Governor referred to the secretary for response (accession 38989). The secretary's correspondence are arranged chronologically and consist of invitations, congratulatory notes to Tillett on his reappointment as Secretary of Finance, and letters to the editor in response to editorials or op-ed columns concerning fiscal issues including the car tax. Additional correspondence are arranged by department. The subject files are organized by headings. Notable topics include the car tax (Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998), queries from members of the General Assembly, Freedom of Information Act requests, briefing material for Governor-elect Mark Warner, presentations made by the secretary before the General Assembly's joint money committees, annual meetings with representatives of the major bond rating agencies and monthly revenue reports.

The Richmond Academy of Medicine Joseph Lyon Miller Collection of prints consists of engravings, lithographs, photographs, prints, and silhouettes dating from the 17th to 20th centuries that are related to the history of medicine. Many of the items were initially included in publications while others were issued as individual prints. The highlight of the collection is the silhouettes of American and British physicians. These silhouette portraits were cut from life and date from 1750 to 1850. A number of prominent silhouettists are represented including Charles Wilson Peale, William H. Brown, and Auguste Edouart.

This addition to the Papers of Stephen Philip Holt, 1815-1907, consists of ca. 790 items (1.3 shelf feet) concerning Joseph Miller's machinery manufacturing business in London, from 1815-1860, and Mrs. Mary Ann (Miller) Harper's domestic correspondence and business papers, from ca. 1820-1875, from Albemarle County and London. Also included are correspondence and business papers of Mrs. Harper's children, Warner Wood and Lucilla Wood, both of Farmington, Albemarle County. Of possible interest to those researching the history of machines are sixteen engravings, n.d., produced by Sharp, Stewart and Company, Atlas Works, Manchester, England.