Yesterday I received an e-mail from Coy Barefoot referring to my speculations about the identity of one “Buzzard Pete” and what he may have meant to the University of Virginia community: Enjoyed your post about “Buzzard Pete.” I believe that is Mr. Peter Briggs (1828–1912). I discuss him (with a photo) on page 89 of my book [...]

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As part of its celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the University of Virginia will help to sponsor a discussion titled “Charlottesville Civil War Monuments: Do They Hold Significance for Today’s Society?” From the official press release: In Charlottesville, Civil War monuments play a very prominent role in defining the landscape. Often displayed in parks [...]

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I was taken with the above photo of an otherwise unidentified S. T. Carter—something about those eyes. It’s like they’re still seeing the war. Click on the photograph and you can see that he’s wearing a number of ribbons and medals. Although I couldn’t find examples of the Robert E. Lee pin and the badge [...]

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Detail from Cash Food Mart by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated). Interior. 1107 West Main Street, Charlottesville. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

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Untitled by Rufus W. Holsinger (undated). Mattress window display. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia) UPDATE: Although the photograph is attributed to Rufus Holsinger, it’s likely the product of his son Ralph. Rufus died in 1930, and just eyeballing the photograph, it looks later than that. But our associate editor, [...]

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Virginia Restaurant Charlottesville by Rufus W. Holsinger (May 11, 1918). Sidewalk construction on West Main Street. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

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Detail from Confederate Veterans Convention by Rufus W. Holsinger (June 24, 1931). (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia).

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Mrs. Joseph by Rufus W. Holsinger (March 29, 1919). (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

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Main Street, Charlottesville by Ralph W. Holsinger (ca. 1920–1929). This part of Main Street is now a pedestrian mall, and according to this article, the camera is facing east, with the electric street car about to pass what is now Christian’s Pizza, or the third full building on the right (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special [...]

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University of Virginia Rotunda Fire by Rufus W. Holsinger (1895). From the university’s website: A fire, caused by faulty electrical wiring, started in the annex on October 27, 1895. In a dramatic attempt to save the Rotunda, engineering professor William H. Echols tried dynamiting the bridge between the annex and the Rotunda. Unfortunately, this blew a [...]

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Thompson John Reuben (undated copy of another photograph). An alumnus of the University of Virginia, John Reuben Thompson (1823–1873) was a poet, essayist, and critic. In 1847, Thompson purchased the Southern Literary Messenger, and published work by many of the most prominent southern authors, including Edgar Allan Poe, Philip Pendleton Cooke, William Gilmore Simms, and Henry Timrod. [...]

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W. Howard by Rufus W. Holsinger (January 25, 1919). A costumed member of the cast of musical revue O Susie Behave, performed by the University of Virginia Theatrical Club. (Here’s another great image from the same production.)  O, Susie Behave was a 1918 silent film starring Fay Tincher as well as a popular song. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and [...]

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Room (with Woman) Unidentified by Rufus W. Holsinger (undated). This woman, who has a book opened on her lap, is definitely a reader—and a fan of Stonewall Jackson, whose portrait hangs from the wall. And is that President James A. Buchanan resting on the bookshelf? If so, points for originality. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley [...]

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Cavalier Diner by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated). The Corner, University Avenue, Charlottesville. The image has been reversed. Notice, too, the two men unobtrusively reading the newspaper. And could that be Holsinger himself in the mirror behind the counter? (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

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From a profile of George C. Marshall by A. J. Liebling that appeared in the New Yorker on October 26, 1940 [emphasis and links added]: George Marshall was just a fair student—he stood fifteenth in his class when he was graduated—and his V. M.I. legend has been complicated by the fact that he had a [...]

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Stonewall Jackson Cafe by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated; ca. 1927). Although the image is undated (and the located noted only as “Lexington?”), the poster in the bottom left corner of the window provides a clue. It advertises a traveling show, Love-in-a-Mist, starring Madge Kennedy and Sidney Blackmer, which will appear on Friday, January 7. That [...]

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Untitled by Rufus W. Holsinger (undated). An unidentified man. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia)

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Agnes Boxley* by Rufus W. Holsinger (May 5, 1927). The typed text around the image reads: “Mr. C. L. Carter, Manager of Virginia Public Service Company, testing giant Sperry Search Light recently installed on the roof of the Monticello Hotel, Charlottesville, Virginia. 1,380,000,000 Candle Power. Beams of light declared visible at 300 miles at proper [...]

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Main Street at 4th Street by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated, ca. 1940). This photograph shows downtown Charlottesville during the 1940 presidential election, when the dark-horse Republican nominee Wendell L. Willkie ran and lost against the incumbent Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Playing at the Paramount Theater was the comedy I Love You Again, starring William Powell and [...]

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Our friends at the University of Virginia Library are digging the Holsinger pics we’ve been posting of late (including these of Lambeth Field), and posted to Twitter this great composite. The earlier photo is of a player called Rub Barker, and can be found here.

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University of Virginia Football Game No. 1 and No. 2 (1919). Virginia vs. Vanderbilt, Lambeth Field, Charlottesville, 1919. (Holsinger Studio Collection, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia) According to the College Football Reference, the game was played on November 15, and Virginia lost 10–6. The Cavaliers ended the season 2–5–2, their only wins coming against [...]

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Travelling Puppet Show by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated; ca. 1940). Photograph taken on Main Street, Charlottesville, across from Dunlop Tire, Victory Shoe Shop (the “r” on the sign is ripped), and Pender’s. While the title of the photograph directs your attention to the puppet show, I was most interested in the Safety Crusader Car and [...]

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Earlier today we posted two photographs of the Monticello Guard, one of Charlottesville’s National Guard units during World War I, parading across town in 1917. In the second image, the boys are marching down West Main Street in the direction of the Corner (seen at top, above), and it occurred to us that it would be [...]

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Two photos: Main Street Parade Charlottesville and Monticello Guard, West Main Street Charlottesville by Rufus W. Holsinger. In the first, dated September 24, 1917 , the Monticello Guard marches near the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War I. A long vertical sign that reads “Jefferson” can be seen in the right background near today’s Jefferson Theater. The [...]

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Union Station News Stand by Ralph W. Holsinger (undated; ca. 1934). This photograph of a Charlottesville news stand carries no date, but the magazine covers suggest that it is September 1934. A black-and-white photograph, of course, does zero justice to the gorgeous design aesthetic of the era, so I’ve added a few color versions. The [...]

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