HUM/RLCL5204: Art, Artifacts, & Memorabilia in Special Collections and University Archives

The August Dietz Civil War Collection contains materials originally collected by August Dietz, Richmond, VA, philatelist and printer. The collection contains single editions of Civil War-era newspapers, photographs, a woodcut and prints, quartermaster records, playing cards, a handwritten memoir, correspondence, and reproductions of stamps from the Civil War.

The entire collection has not been digitized, but the majority of it is available online.

This collection includes some small artifacts in Box 7, housed in Viriginia Tech Special Collections. The majority of the artifacts have been transferred to Solitude (on campus), but are listed on the finding aid.

This collection contains subject files, clippings, memorabilia and artifacts related to the American Civil War. There are seven series, five of which predominately contain Civil War materials. The other two series in the collection also contains files on other subjects of Billings' historical interests, including aspects of military and United States history.

The diaries in this collection begin an unknown amount of time after Deuel has been with the 17 th Regiment, Michigan Infantry. On several occasions, he notes a date as the anniversary of an event and it seems he was with the regiment at least as early as 1863. The first diary (March-November 1864) provides some detail of his experiences surrounding the Battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. It was during the latter he was wounded. The remainder of the first diary details Deuel's experiences in the hospital, on furlough in Michigan, and his return to Philadelphia. The last pages contain plant pressings from several battlefield sites. From this point on, there is no further mention of the war, except for occasional news items (the fall of Richmond and Lincoln's assassination, for example). Instead, the second diary (November 1864-January 1866) describes Deuel's day-to-day life as a clerk in the hospital, his religious activities (attending church and bible classes), and who he visited. Artifacts in this collection include used and unused bullets, one of which is marked "Union bullet Bull Run, Va 1864"; arrowheads; several buttons; and a leather pouch. The collection also contains a small drawing of Stirling Castle in Scotland, and remnants of a flag labeled "Piece of Rebel Genl. Malone's (most likely Mahone) Division Flag Petersburg, Va 1865."

The collection contains the condolence materials received by the Marching Virginians after April 16, 2007. Much of the material pertains to Ryan "Stack" Christopher Clark, baritone and student leader in the Marching Virginians. This collection incorporates a variety of materials and artifacts, including correspondence, posters, banners, an American flag flown on the USS Constitution, scrapbooks, and a band uniform.

The Virginia Tech April 16, 2007 Archives of the University Libraries consists mainly of condolence items received by the university following the events of April 16, 2007. The bulk of materials were received in the first few months following April 16, 2007. The collection is arranged using standard archival procedures. Due to the unique nature of this collection (i.e., the way it was received, the variety of formats, and the content), archivists developed specialized arrangement and description procedures. Since the collection and its contents are unique, the arrangement and description of individual series and subseries may differ.

The collection contains two series, Series I: Condolence Series and Series II: Individual Collections. Series I: Condolence Material includes twelve subseries, described in the "Arrangement" note below. Series II: Individual Collections has no subseries.

The Virginia Tech Ring and Class Collections document the work of the Ring Design Committee, Ring Dance Committee, and individual classes at VPI, including their reunions. Items include ring design proposals and collection brochures, invitations and flyers for ring dances, and memorabilia for graduating classes and class reunions.