The Virginia Museum of History & Culture, a non-profit organization established in 1831, has published The Story of Virginia: Highlights from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, a new book featuring highlights from a collection of more than nine million artifacts representing Virginia’s history. The 200-page book is co-authored by Jamie O. Bosket, President and CEO, and Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, Senior Curator of Exhibitions and Lora M. Robins Curator of Art, both of the VMHC. The book examines hundreds of evocative objects from the museum’s collections, including rare letters, fine paintings, furniture, silver, maps, prints, firearms, uniforms, and photographs.
“The story of Virginia matters,” said VMHC president and CEO Jamie O. Bosket. “It has helped define our national path. This new book is meant to capture that important contribution, and there is no better collection to draw from in illustrating this history than that of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.”
The new hardcover book introduces more than 400 significant items, from a slave whipping post erected in Portsmouth to the bell that once rang at St. John’s Church atop Richmond’s Church Hill. Other items include an annotated farming guide of George Washington, beer taps representing one of today’s burgeoning agricultural industries, a Conestoga wagon, an electric streetcar, a pen used to sign Virginia’s secession declaration, and a U.S. flag that flew over Richmond when it was reclaimed in 1865.
Artifacts featured in the new book provided inspiration for a new exhibit opening on October 27. Fresh Paint: Murals Inspired by The Story of Virginia will feature large-scale art by ten Virginia artists. The chosen artifacts will be displayed along with the art in the exhibit. Featured artists include Mickael Broth, Nico Cathcart, Hamilton Glass, Chris Milk Hulburt, Amelia Black Langford, Austin Miles, Toobz Muir, Noah Scalin, Ed Trask, and Wing Chow. Artist commissions and exhibit support was provided by Pam and Bill Royall. A special exhibition preview with the artists, lecture and official book launch will take place on Friday, October 26.
The book is available for pre-order at shopvirginiahistory.org/storyofvirginia and will ship mid-October. For more information about the upcoming exhibit can be found at VirginiaHistory.org/VirginiaBook.