A Guide to the Records of the Office of the State Librarian, 1827-1887
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 44953
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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Phone: (804) 692-3888 (Archives Reference)
Fax: (804) 692-3556 (Archives Reference)
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2010 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Craig S. Moore
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Virginia. Office of the State Librarian. Records of the Office of the State Librarian, 1827-1887. Accession 44953, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Acquired prior to 1905.
Historical Information
For many years, The Library of Virginia had no definitive home. Valuable early records were kept at Jamestown as early as 1676 and were then moved to the College of William and Mary for a brief period at the century's end. By 1780, extant records were moved to the Capitol in Richmond. Coincidentally, in 1779, the Virginia General Assembly was presented among its legislation, "A Bill for Establishing a Public Library" drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. The bill provided for 2000 pounds yearly to be expended to maintain a State Library in Richmond. The facility was to be a reference library only without books being lent for home use. Perhaps ahead of its time, the bill failed to pass.
The Virginia State Library was created by an act passed by the General Assembly on January 23, 1823, to establish a public library with funds derived from the sale of William W. Hening's The Statutes at Large. From 1823 to 1828, the Library was under the control of the governor and council. In 1828, the General Assembly created a joint committee on the library (located in a room in the southeastern corner of the Capitol) to oversee its administration. Use of the State Library was restricted to members of the state government in a policy that continued until at least 1856. The Secretary of the Commonwealth served ex officio as state librarian from 1832 to 1903.
The growth of the State Library was somewhat erratic. Book holdings increased from 1,313 in 1828 to 17,480 in 1856. Lack of funds and politics frequently intermingled to slow library development. General William H. Richardson, State Librarian in 1852, became embroiled in an effort to remove him "to make way for some politician of democratic principles." At the close of Reconstruction, Dr. George William Bagby, then State Librarian, was terminated and his position abolished at the hands of Readjusters. Eventually, on May 15, 1903, the General Assembly passed an act that created a library board to administer the library, authorized the deposit of public records in the library, provided for the publication of historical records by the library, and established a library fund for the purchase of books and private papers. The Library Board, which was responsible for naming the State Librarian, was itself appointed by the Board of Education. The General Assembly passed an act on March 29, 1944, transferring the power to appoint the Library Board to the governor.
While many public records somehow survived the Commonwealth's early years, many losses occurred due to fires, the ravages of war and negligence. When the library was moved, for example, in 1895 to a building separate from the Capitol, "chutes were constructed from the upper story of the Capitol to facilitate the delivery of books to the wagons of the junk dealer who had bought them." The move was poorly planned and the library's contents suffered great loss at the hands of those very authorities assigned to protect them.
The new facility quickly was found to be inadequate and efforts were made both in 1910 and 1920 to construct a proper building for the State Library and its collections. Ground was broken for the current facility on December 7, 1938. At last, on December 23, 1940, the newly completed Virginia State Library was opened to the public.
The Virginia State Library adopted the name, the Virginia State Library and Archives, in early 1987 to more adequately reflect its mission and purpose today. In July 1, 1994 the name was changed to The Library of Virginia.
Scope and Content
The Records of the Office of the State Librarian are housed in eight archival boxes and are organized chronologically. This collection documents the exchange & sale of books, publications, maps, and other items between the Commonwealth, other states, historical societies, colleges & universities, and other institutions. These papers consist of incoming correspondence, receipts, vouchers, accounts, catalogues, lists, reports, statements, contracts, resolutions, bills of lading, and other sundry items.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I. Records of the Office of the State Librarian, 1827-1887.Separated Material
Oversized documents have been separated to Box 8.
Contents List
The correspondence in this collection was sent to several secretaries of the Commonwealth serving as state librarian including William H. Richardson, George W. Munford, & J. M. Herndon. Correspondents include E.L. Carey & A. Hart, booksellers in Philadelphia; P.H. Nicklin & T. Johnson, booksellers in Philadelphia; John S. Meehan, Librarian of Congress; Henry S. Tanner, map maker; Francis H. Smith, Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute; Peachy R. Grattan, author of Grattan's Virginia Reports; Alexandre Vattemare, Agent of the Commonwealth for International Literary Exchanges; and others. Noteworthy correspondence includes the following: Peter Cottom, bookseller & publisher in Richmond, re. a dispute with the State Librarian concerning the sale of Randolph's Reports (1838 Mar. 6); William Y. Sturman, Westmoreland County, re. the portrait of Lord Chatham hanging in the court room (1833 June 26); B. Shreve, Jr., re. the sale of Col. James Monroe's property including his library for the use of the state (1836 Mar. 18); William H. Cabell, Lewisburg, re. the purchase of books for the library of the Court of Appeals (1836 July 21); John S. Meehan, Librarian of Congress, re. the purchase of "Warden's Biblioteca America" (1837 May 18); John S. Meehan re. journals of the House & Senate of Virginia (1837 June 21); Henry S. Tanner, Philadelphia, re. orders from the King of France for a map of Virginia (1838 Dec. 17 & 26); Francis H. Smith, Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, re. common schools (1843 Dec. 29); B.W. Leigh, Richmond, re. payment for his reports which were appropriated by the Legislature on 26 March 1842 (1843 Jan. 17); William H. Richardson to Alexandre Vattemare re. the exchange of publications (1845 Aug.); Peachy R. Gratton re. copyright of the Virginia Reports owned by the state (1845 June 4); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, re. the transfer of documents & maps (1846 Nov. 30);William Y. Sturman, Clerk of Westmoreland County, re. the portrait of Lord Chatham (1847 Dec. 21); Alexandre Vattemare, Richmond, encl. a list of the states & scientific establishments of Europe to exchange books, maps, etc., with Virginia (1848 Nov. 2); C. Crozet, Civil Engineer, re. a proposal to make a new map of Virginia (1849 Feb. 14); John S. Meehan, Librarian of congress, re. their classification system (1849 Feb. 20); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, re. the forwarding of the national publication "La Galerie Nationale de Versailles" (1850 Dec. 26); Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, encl. official acknowledgment of receipt of publications from the state of Virginia (1851 Feb. 25); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, re. the transmission of a map of France & other publications (1851 June 27); C.C. Jewett, Librarian of the Smithsonian Institute, sending "Notices of Public Libraries in the U.S." (1851 July 9); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, re. an appropriation of $300 for the support of the agency in Paris (1851 Aug. 27); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, encl. a catalogue of works presented to Virginia by the French government (1851 Oct. 14); Governor Bringham Young, Utah Territory, acknowledging receipt of acts of the Assembly of Virginia (1853 Oct. 6); Lyman C. Draper, Madison, WI., re. the nomination of William H. Richardson as an honorary member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and requesting a set of Hening's Statutes at Large (1854 Mar. 4); Alexandre Vattemare, Paris, re. the exchange of publications from France (1854 June 10); John M. Seigfried to the Secretary of Virginia requesting signatures of Masonic autograph letters including George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, & others (1855 Jan. 29); George W. Munford to John Seigfried, Easton, PA, re. sending him signatures of notable Virginians from old documents (1855 Mar. 16); John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, forwarding copies of the General Regulations of the Army for the Virginia milita (1857 May 12); George W. Munford, Secretary of the Commonwealth, to Alexandre Vattemare re. receipt of four parcels of seeds from France & grape cuttings from the vinyard of the Imperial Jardin Du Luxombourg (1859 Mar. 19); and Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, submitting copies of the laws of Congress (1859 May 25).
Additional noteworthy documents include the following: a report of the committee appointed to select a room for the Public Library & prepare rules (incl. rules & regulations of the Library) (1828 Nov. 4); a list of fines received from the commencement of the Library to 31 December 1829 (1829 Dec. 31); a catalogue of books to be purchased for the Virginia Library (1830); a report of the State Librarian suggesting creating agencies for the sale of books & maps belonging to the Library Fund (1830 Jan. 7); a statement that the Librarian should be constituted selling & purchasing agent and authorized to dispose of the books & maps constituting the Library Fund (1831); an agreement between William H. Richardson and Colin & Nowlan, printers, for copies of reports of the Court of Appeals & General Court by Peachy R. Gratton (1832 June 18); a petition of the New York Historical Society requesting copies of the laws of Virginia (1840 Dec. 1); a report of the Joint Committee of the Senate & House of Delegates appointed to examine the Library (1840 & 1841); a contract between William H. Richardson and Shepherd & Colin, printers, to print, bind, secure copyright, & deliver seven hundred copies of a volume of reports of the Court of Appeals (1842 Sept.,1844 Jan. 30, Nov. 1, & 1845 Nov. 1); a report of the Joint Committee of the Senate & House of Delegates appointed to examine the Library containing the 5th section of the act of February 1830 which placed the Library Fund under the control of the joint committee and made it their duty to receive the reports of the Librarian, examine & settle library accounts, and prescribe rules for the good order, preservation, & police of the library (1843); a report of William H. Richardson re. the sale at auction of various books & maps (1843 Mar. 3); a resolution of the General Court to remove the law books from the State Library to the State Courthouse or to provide a law library there (1847 Dec. 11); a catalogue of purchases (1847); a list of maps, books, engravings, etc., presented to the state of Virginia through Alexandre Vattemare (1848 Nov. & 1849); a resolution of the Joint Committee of the House & Senate that one of the alcoves in the gallery of the Library be set apart for the books which have been presented to the state of Virginia under the system of international exchanges originated by Alexandre Vattemare (1849 Feb. 16); a resolution of the Joint Committee of the House & Senate re. the accounts of the librarian & the necessity of enlarging the accommodations by removing the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth (1851); receipts of clerks of localities for copies of acts of the Legislature (1853); an agreement between George W. Munford, Secretary of the Commonwealth, & William F. Ritchie, Public Printer, to print, bind, secure copyright, & deliver one thousand copies of a volume of Reports of the Court of Appeals by Peachy R. Gratton (1853 Oct. 7); and a contract of William F. Ritchie, Public Printer, to print one thousand copies of volume 11 of the Court of Appeals by Peachy R. Gratton (1855 Apr. 10).
Arranged chronologically.
- Box 1
Folder 1
1827
- Box 1
Folder 2
1828
-
1829
- Box 1
Folder 3
Jan.-June
- Box 1
Folder 3
July-Dec.
- Box 1
Folder 3
-
1830
- Box 1
Folder 4
Jan.-May
- Box 1
Folder 5
June-Nov.
- Box 1
Folder 6
Dec.
- Box 1
Folder 4
-
1831
- Box 1
Folder 8
Jan.-Sept.
- Box 1
Folder 9
Oct.-Dec.
- Box 1
Folder 8
- Box 2
Folder 1
1832
- Box 2
Folder 2
1833
- Box 2
Folder 3
1834
- Box 2
Folder 4
1835
- Box 2
Folder 5
1836
- Box 2
Folder 6
1837
-
1838
- Box 2
Folder 7
Jan.-Sept.
- Box 2
Folder 8
Oct.-Dec.
- Box 2
Folder 7
- Box 2
Folder 9
1839
- Box 3
Folder 1
1840
- Box 3
Folder 2
1841
- Box 3
Folder 3
1842
- Box 3
Folder 4
1843
- Box 3
Folder 5
1844
- Box 3
Folder 6
1845
- Box 3
Folder 7
1846
- Box 3
Folder 8
1847
- Box 3
Folder 9
1848
- Box 3
Folder 10
1849
- Box 4
Folder 1
1850
- Box 4
Folder 2
1851
- Box 4
Folder 3
1852
-
1853
- Box 4
Folder 4
Jan.-July
- Box 4
Folder 5
Aug.-Dec.
- Box 4
Folder 4
-
1854
- Box 4
Folder 6
Jan.-July 15
- Box 4
Folder 7
July 17-Sept.
- Box 5
Folder 1
Oct.-Dec.
- Box 4
Folder 6
-
1855
- Box 5
Folder 2
Jan.-July
- Box 5
Folder 3
Aug.-Dec.
- Box 5
Folder 2
- Box 5
Folder 4
1856
-
1857
- Box 5
Folder 5
Jan.-Aug.
- Box 5
Folder 6
Sept.-Dec.
- Box 5
Folder 7
Vouchers (No. 1-68)
- Box 5
Folder 5
-
1858
- Box 6
Folder 1
Jan.-Aug.
- Box 6
Folder 2
Sept.-Dec.
- Box 6
Folder 1
-
1859
- Box 6
Folder 3
Jan.-June
- Box 6
Folder 4
July-Dec.
- Box 6
Folder 5
Vouchers (No. 1-105)
- Box 6
Folder 3
- Box 6
Folder 6
1860
- Box 6
Folder 7
1861 - Vouchers (No. 1-86)
- Box 6
Folder 8
1864-1869
- Box 6
Folder 9
1869 - Vouchers (No. 1-149)
- Box 7
Folder 1
1870-1887
- Box 7
Folder 2
Undated
-
Oversized
- Box 8
Folder 1
1827-1829
- Box 8
Folder 2
1830-1832
- Box 8
Folder 3
1834-1849
- Box 8
Folder 4
1850-1855
- Box 8
Folder 5
1856-1858
- Box 8
Folder 6
1859-1866
- Box 8
Folder 1