The Power of Givin g GW Museum
Capital Correspondence Albert H. Small donates historic letter to GW.
Albert H. Small speaks to members of the GW community at the inaugural Washingtoniana Symposium and Luncheon.
Collector Albert H. Small has donated a 220-year old letter from President George Washington for the George Washington University Museum. Purchased at auction for $240,000, the letter will become a part of The Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection in the new GW Museum on the Foggy Bottom Campus, where it will be accessible to students, scholars, and the public. Dated November 30, 1792—eight years before Congress would hold its first session in Washington, DC—the letter
gives insight into President Washington’s perspective and feelings about Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the architect of the nation’s capital. Mr. Small says he knew the letter would be a significant addition to his Washingtoniana Collection, which includes maps, drawings, letters, documents, lithographs, and books relating to the history and evolution of the nation’s capital that he collected over a period of more than 60 years. He donated the materials to GW in 2011.
Mount Vernon History on Display It’s not uncommon to see students reading on the lawn or playing softball on the George Washington University’s Mount Vernon Campus (MVC), but GW students studying in Eckles Library and walking between classes in Ames Hall may soon find such scenes from the campus’s history as an all-girls school on display. Images – like this one of two Mount Vernon Seminary students reading on the school’s Nebraska Avenue campus in 1920 – and other memorabilia will be on display on the Mount Vernon Campus with support of the Mount Vernon Archives Fund.
Utilizing materials from the Mount Vernon Seminary and College collection, these exhibits will provide a visual and historical representation of the school. The Mount Vernon Archive Fund was recently established to increase the visibility of the archives by supporting such historical exhibits on the “Documenting over 120 years of the school’s existence, Mount Vernon campus. The Mount Vernon Archive Fund will the Mount Vernon Seminary and College collection is an also support the processing of amazing resource for students, faculty, and researchers archival materials to make them on the history of the institution and its context in available to GW students, faculty, Washington, DC, history.” and researchers. -University Archivist Bergis Jules “Documenting over 120 years of the school’s existence, the Mount Vernon Seminary and College collection is an
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amazing resource for students, faculty, and researchers on the history of the institution and its context in Washington, DC, history,” says University Archivist Bergis Jules. “Most importantly, it keeps the story of the Seminary and College and the young women who studied there alive and vibrant.” As the first academic institution of higher learning available to women in the District of Columbia, Mount Vernon Seminary and College holds tremendous significance for scholars studying women’s history, the history of higher education in the United States, and the history of Washington, DC. Mount Vernon Seminary and College merged with George Washington in 1999. Today its campus in northwest DC is home to GW’s Women’s Leadership Program, six varsity athletic teams, and several academic programs. Individuals interested in supporting the Mount Vernon Seminary and College collection can contact the GW Libraries Development Office at 202-994-1163.