Historians for a Day
A class of history students from Powhatan High School spent a day in Washington and Lee Special Collections and Archives, where they got to work with original materials from the vault.
Out of the Vault Archive (14 Stories)
A Little Book with Big Contents
An extremely rare printing of the U.S. Constitution has been restored and returned to Washington and Lee Special Collections just in time for Constitution Day.
Washington’s Will is ‘a True National Treasure’
The will, a favorite piece for use in accounting and taxation classes at W&L, reveals much about Washington's character and views.
A Book Fit for Royals
Washington and Lee's Special Collections is an educational resource fit for a queen, but this 543-year-old book really has royal connections.
Rediscovery and Restoration of a 279-Year-Old Treasure
The Benjamin Borden Grant, the original grant for the land on which W&L now sits, turns 279 this month. It has been conserved and is stored in W&L's Special Collections.
A Literal Treasure Chest
Charles Philip Blackledge ’38 gifted an important and fascinating collection of Roman coins to Washington and Lee Special Collections.
Phillis Wheatley: ‘Favored by the Muses’
Washington and Lee's Special Collections contains a rare volume of poetry by Wheatley, the first published African-American poet.
Rare by Association
Two tiny, leather-bound volumes in Special Collections feature signatures and bookplates that make them extraordinarily rare.
Prelude to Reformation
Four Martin Luther tracts housed in W&L's Special Collections were fully restored in time for the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation.
By Royal Decree
A Bible in the Special Collections vault turned out to be the 1642 New Testament that belonged to France’s King Louis XIII.
James Dickey, Masked and Unmasked
The life mask is perhaps the single most valuable item in a collection of more than 1,000 Dickey items in W&L Special Collections.
On the Origin of One of W&L’s Most Valuable Books
Washington and Lee University owns a first edition of one of the most important — and controversial — books ever written.
Discovery Takes Historic Document from Ordinary to Extraordinary
This seemingly ordinary subscription list from 1776, which has long been a part of W&L Special Collections, has a fascinating connection with American independence.
Ancient Tablet is ‘Exquisite in its Simplicity’
In the first installment of this new series, Tom Camden offers the story of a Sumerian clay tablet that is the oldest recorded document in W&L's Special Collections.
