A Manuscripts and Rare
Books Sampler
We are pleased to present this website of a sampler of treasures from the
Manuscripts and Rare Books Department. These treasures represent gifts and purchases over
the last ninety years. Many of the items are classics in their own right; others are
representative of larger collections. All are landmark works which reflect Swem Library's
diversity and strength. Unfortunately, this website cannot convey the strength which the
Department has in collections of materials relating to non-elites: ordinary people whose
contributions are the fabric of our republic: cabinetmakers, carpenters, slaves, servants,
women. In choosing to exhibit what curators refer to as treasures, we chose single works
which are highlights of our holdings. We invite researchers to visit our library and dip
into all of our collections.
Cataloging records for manuscripts and rare books are available through
the online webcat.
Hand-colored Engraving
of Hummingbirds |
Mary Randolph's Virginia Housewife, 1824 |
| Photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew, Civil War Spy |
Lady Jean Skipwith's List of Flowers |
| Aliquando Press Broadside |
Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va. |
| William Parks Imprint, 1719 |
Free Black Register, Rockbridge County, Va.
l811-l828 |
| Illustration from West Running Brook by Robert
Frost |
Thomas Jefferson Letter in Code |
| Martha Jefferson Letter, 8 August 1780 |
Chief Justice John Marshall's Student Law Notes |
| Christopher Wren Letter, 21 June l699 |
Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, l5 August
l774 |
| Tower Hill Plantation, Sussex County, Va. |
Dard Hunter's Stained Glass Window |
| John Marshall's Letter to "My dearest Polly",
8 August 1800 |
St. George Tucker's Diary of the Battle of
Yorktown |
| William Bartram's Travels, 1791 |
First Printed English Indian Treaty, l677 |
| St. George Tucker's A Dissertation on Slavery,
1796 |
George Washington's Journal, 1753 |
| Peyton Randolph House |
Hand-Colored Engraving of a Chinese Woman
Embroidering |
| Cotton Mather's Work on the Salem Witchcraft Trials, 1693 |
Fry and Jefferson Cartouche |
| Charles Mills Sheldon, English Journalist and Illustrator |
Gideon's Band (Sheet Music) |
| Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights
of Women |
Phillis Wheatley, America's First Black Female
Poet |
| St. George Tucker's Copy of Virginia's Bill of Rights |
Williamsburg, Va. City Directory, l898 |
| St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei, 1489 |
Daffodil from Curtis' Botannical Magazine |
| Thomas Jefferson's Comments on
the College of William and Mary Law School, in Letter of 26 July l780 |
Woodcuts from Henkel Press' ABC Book |
| Paul Revere Engraving |
Bookplate of the Peter Chapin Collection of Books
About Dogs |
| John Caius on Cynegetica |
Frenchman's Map |
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College of William and Mary. Swem Library. Special Collections
P. O. Box 8794, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8794
spcoll@mail.wm.edu
http://www.swem.wm.edu/spcoll/Sampler/revere.html
Last updated October 28, 1998