John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library

Special Collections preserves and makes available over 100,000 items including:

• Rare books from the 15th-20th centuries
• Original manuscripts from the 17th-20th centuries
• 18th-century American and British newspapers
• Reproduction maps with a geographic focus on Williamsburg and the Virginia Peninsula
• Reproductions of 17th-19th century manuscripts in microform, transcription and photocopy formats including the microfilm of the Virginia Colonial Records Project

Access to Special Collections is available by appointment only.

Housed within Special Collections, the Visual Resources Collection preserves and makes available over 500,000 items including:

• Colonial Williamsburg’s analog photo archives, black & white and color, 1930s-1990s
• Pre-restoration and restoration era photographs and drawings of Williamsburg
• Photos and drawings of architectural precedents studied in conjunction with Williamsburg’s restoration
• Postcard collection
• Other visual formats such as lantern slides, autochromes, stereographs, scrapbooks, and photo albums
• Twentieth-century artwork depicting Williamsburg
• Donated visual collections that offer additional perspectives on the African American community in Williamsburg, decorative arts donors and collectors, architectural study of Williamsburg, and the tourist experience in Williamsburg

Access to Visual Resources is available by appointment only.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the repository of drawings of restored and reconstructed buildings produced by its architectural departments. While these drawings are available to the public for on-site viewing and research, they may not be copied or photographed.

The Foundation's collection of architectural drawings is housed in multiple locations. Researchers wishing to access drawings can expedite their work by giving notice well in advance of their intended arrival and indicating the drawings they wish to see. Please note that the research needs of Foundation staff may supersede the use of drawings by the public.

A number of Colonial Williamsburg buildings were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and may be accessed through the Library of Congress website.

Print copies of these drawings may be obtained from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation at a charge of $3.00 per full sheet and $0.25 per letter size sheet. Buildings available are:

• Archibald Blair Dairy, Smokehouse & Privy
• Bowden-Armistead House
• Brafferton
• Bruton Parish Church
• William Byrd House
• Carter's Grove
• Courthouse
• Custis-Maupin Necessary House
• Finnie House
• Ludwell-Paradise House
• Magazine
• Prentis Store
• Public Records Office
• George Reid Wellhead
• Redwood Ordinary
• St. George Tucker House
• Tayloe Office
• Wren Building
• George Wythe House

For additional information about architectural drawings held by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, please contact Special Collections at the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at: [email protected] or 757-565-8520.

Corporate Archives preserves and makes available records dated from 1926 to the present related to the corporate history of the Restoration and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation that document the major subject areas of:

• Development of the physical buildings and spaces of the Restoration, including architectural and archaeological history, landscape design, and interior design
• Interpretation of the colonial history of Williamsburg and of the Restoration
• Historic Trades mission and programs
• The visitor experience at Colonial Williamsburg
• Decorative and folk art collections of the Restoration buildings and art museums
• The administrative, business, and legal history of the Restoration and the Foundation
  
  

As a corporate archive, the collection exists principally to serve the research needs of Foundation staff, although external researchers may use the collection with previously granted permission. All researchers should be aware that as a private archive, access procedures and restrictions may be markedly different from those of public institutions. Access to entire collections of records is not permitted and some collections may be restricted in part or in whole. Currently, no publicly-available catalog records or finding aids exist to inform the researcher. External researchers undertaking major research projects may, at the discretion of the director, be required to submit a detailed research proposal in writing at least two months prior to any planned visit. Reference interviews may also be required prior to beginning research. Research proposals that are vague or overly broad will need to be narrowed prior to any visit to the archives.

Access to Corporate Archives is available by appointment only.

Media Collections collects and preserves Colonial Williamsburg’s audiovisual assets in both analog and digital format, including more than 400,000 digital images created by Colonial Williamsburg photographers, motion picture films, and educational audio and video productions. The unit also manages Media Collections Online, a database of Official Colonial Williamsburg Photography that offers images for personal or commercial usage.

• Media Collections Online
• Colonial Williamsburg Education Resource Library
• Podcasts