Language, Identity, and Control: Print Culture and Early Native American History
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A 1677 document in Special Collections explores how the British used print and language to both build relationships with and exert control over Native peoples.
Making a Queen: The Symbolic Imagery of Elizabeth I's Reign
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In 1574, as well as the rest of her reign, Queen Elizabeth I's place as England's monarch was continually challenged based on her mother's reputation, her lack of a husband, her religion, and her gender. Even as one of the most powerful women in the 16th century, she still needed to prove herself.
Libraries in the Library: How We Know What Early Virginians Liked to Read
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Do you keep your receipts? Special Collections has a good number of receipts and these seemingly mundane documents can provide valuable insight into early Virginians' lives.
Explain'd From History: Euhemeristic Mythology and its Ties to Colonialism
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L'abbé Antoine Banier and his Mythology are unique in the position they take on the historical nature of myth and legend. Banier was a proponent of euhemerism, a school of thought that claims myths, legends, and folklore all have real historical basis.
Redrawing France with the "La Hire Map"
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Joe Catanzaro explains a pivotal moment in cartography captured in our collections.
Arthur Lee "Philanthropos" and 18th Century Abolitionism
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Abolition was not a radical nineteenth century idea that miraculously emerged from the political ideologies of the Age of Revolution. A 1767 address from Arthur Lee of Virginia serves as a reminder that the abolitionist movement did not have a linear trajectory, and that individuals protested slavery throughout its existence.
Iconoclasts in the Archives
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Before Jon Stewart '84 and Trevor Noah, before Stephen Colbert and John Oliver and Saturday Night Live, before Tina Fey and Samantha Bee and Andrea Gibson, there was George Jean Nathan and H.L. Mencken. A slice of the Nathan/Mencken story lives in the Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library.
"A Classical Education": A British Student's Outlook, 1808-1812
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This summer we're publishing a series of blog posts written by students for the class HIST 211 Books: Technology and Culture. Their posts are based on materials in the Special Collections Research Center. Check out their bright insights every other week. Today's entry is written by Chela Aufderheide.
Recent Acquisition Documents the Italian Service Unit
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During World War II, thousands of Italian prisoners of war were sent to the United States to help fill labor shortages created by the war.
Travel Grant Recipient Research Report: David Silkenat
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On August 23, 1812, Robert Stevens wrote to his parents in Rhode Island from New Orleans in the aftermath of a hurricane, "a Scene of horror & devastation."
Part medical guide, part... civics textbook?
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In early 1792, Thomas Dobson, a prominent Philadelphia printer in the middle of printing the first American edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, took a much smaller commission: William Currie's An Historical Account of the Climates and Diseases of the United States of America.
Flying Further: More Stories from the William & Mary Flight School
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Recent visitors to Swem Library will have noticed a change in the exhibit facing the front entrance.
The Ghost of Edmund Mitchell
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A daguerreotype of a young Baltimore merchant, the first victim of a bitter, homicidal political era, resides in the Special Collections Research Center in Swem Library—a ghostly message from the past.
Rev. Curtis W. Harris, Hopewell's Drum Major for Justice
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The Reverend Curtis W. Harris is best known for his role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Civil Rights organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., though he has not been studied closely by historians.
The Rising Cost of Information: University of California Splits from Elsevier
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On February 28, 2019, the University of California System announced the end of its relationship with publishing giant Elsevier, when a deal between the two could not be met despite months of negotiation.
Your Whiteboard Responses Help W&M Libraries Build Its Book Collection
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On a whiteboard in the lobby we asked, "Which book best captures your identity or culture?" Students gave us over 50 fantastic responses that highlighted the wonderful diversity in our community!
Finding my second home in the Reeder Media Center
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It only took one tour of William & Mary for me to know that the College was for me. I remember that day fondly.
Getting to know library student assistants: Alicia Draper
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W&M Libraries is lucky to have many talented student employees. Today's post will introduce Alicia Draper.
Once a Student, Now an Intern: Examining the History of African-American Spirituals
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A broadside for the performance of a traveling minstrel show, advertising "an evening of singing, dancing, music, and jokes," caught the attention of a student in the Special Collections Reading Room this past week.
Blind date with a book
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With February officially behind us, we say good-bye to that infamous holiday of love--Valentine's Day. This year the Libraries celebrated Valentine's Day with an event universally known (among libraries anyway) as Blind Date with a Book.