Posts – Page 55 – The UncommonWealth

Newspapers

"Of Liquid Death, To Which Men Flee:" Temperance Reform Efforts in Antebellum Norfolk

Restricting the use of alcohol was not a novel idea in the Roaring Twenties when Prohibition banned illicit spirits nationwide. Inspired by the reforming impulses…

John DealSeptember 27, 2017

Conservation The Stacks

CCRP Grants Review Board Awards Funding

The Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) Grant Review Board met on 24 August 2017 at the Library of Virginia to consider records preservation grant…

Greg CrawfordSeptember 21, 2017

Education & Programming

Open Data for Public Good

Occasionally, we ask guest writers to share information or stories about researching in our collections, public library programming or activities, and other topics which Library…

Guest ContributorSeptember 20, 2017

Archives

Antiguo Dominio: The Virginia Latino Advisory Board

Latinos and Hispanics have roots in Virginia dating back five centuries. In honor of Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month in Virginia (15 September to 15…

Roger ChristmanSeptember 13, 2017

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Letterhead in the Archive, Prohibition Edition

As promised in a previous post, here’s another look at some of the plethora of letterheads and stationery found in our archives. In honor of our current…

Vince BrooksSeptember 6, 2017

Archives

"Breeding Places of Drunkenness:" Prohibition Crackdowns and UVA Football

College students have never been known for their avoidance of alcohol, and it was no different in the 1930s, despite the fact that alcohol was…

Claire RadcliffeAugust 30, 2017

Digital Projects The Stacks

Higher Aim: Guns, Safety and Healing in the Era of Mass Shootings

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, sponsored four residential fellows for the 2016-2017 academic year to conduct in-depth research…

Tom KapsidelisAugust 23, 2017

Newspapers

Awaiting the Great Path of Darkness – The Total Eclipse of 1900

On a Monday, in late May, 1900, a corner of Virginia, under clear skies, experienced not the partial eclipse we’ll experience here in the Commonwealth,…

Henry MorseAugust 18, 2017

Archives

The Fives Battery and the Injured Lynchburg Lott

When processing a collection of old court papers, sometimes archivists have to use their imagination to interpret what was written. The words don’t always make…

Eddie WoodwardAugust 16, 2017

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Food for Fighting: Food Conservation During World War I

During WWI there was shortage of food for the people of war-torn Europe. Prior to the United States entry into the war, we were already…

Dana PugaAugust 10, 2017

Archives

Beachhead Revisited: Parramore’s Island on the Eastern Shore

In the late 1800s, land speculators became interested in selling islands along the Atlantic Coast to be used as summer resorts. “Parramore’s Island,” a barrier…

Louise JonesAugust 9, 2017

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Looney Tunes: the World War I Cartoons of M.A. Dunning

This is the latest entry in a series of blog posts spotlighting stories and records of Virginia’s involvement in World War I. The M.A. Dunning…

Trenton HizerAugust 2, 2017

Archives

I’m A Sap: The WWI Letters of David J. Castleman

My name is Chloe Staples, and I am from Richmond, Virginia. I am a rising senior at Lynchburg College with a major in United States…

Chloe StaplesAugust 1, 2017

Archives

Complicated History: The Memorial to Robert E. Lee in Richmond

People have always been complex, making history a complicated topic. When history is distilled down to be straightforward, the reality of human failings and flaws…

Olin JohnsonJuly 27, 2017

Archives

Drink Wet and Vote Dry

One of the hallmarks of the age of Prohibition is a certain level of contradiction. After all, the country was supposed to be entirely dry;…

Claire RadcliffeJuly 26, 2017