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Featured Articles from Past Issues
Physical, Intellectual, Biographical:
Our Ideas of Privacy and Their Evolution
by Cathy Hellier | Zoom in on Benjamin Waller's Letter | Extra Images
Murder by Namesake:
The Poisoning of the Eminent George Wythe
by Mary Miley Theobald | Zoom in on Wythe Court Records | Extra Images
A Great Deal of Noise, Whipping and Spurring
America's First Disputed Presidential Election
by Jack Lynch | Zoom in on The Twelfth Amendment
Eighteenth-Century Millennialism
To “start the world over again,” politics and religion intertwined
by James Breig | End of the World Slideshow
Beginnings and Endings
Of the Maya and the Milky Way, Powhatans and the Giant Hare, Prophecies and Time
by Anthony F. Aveni | Zoom in on Mayan Calendars
George Washington and the Evolution of the American Commander in Chief
by Christopher Geist | Zoom in on Prints from the Library of Congress
Complex Reconstruction: Armoury
by Edward A. Chappell | Anderson Armoury Reconstruction Blog | Anderson Armoury Webcam
A Cup of Hot Chocolate, S'good for What Ails Ya
by Mary Miley Theobald | Sidebar: Top Chocolate Destination | Extra ImagesCoffee and Chocolate Pots Slideshow
Designers of Beauty
Academic Training and Williamsburg's Architectural Restoration
by George Humphrey Yetter | Architectural Drawings from the Restoration
The Duke of Gloucester Street Special
by Will Molineux | Illustrations for Yorktown's centennial celebration | Extra Images
Department of Deportment
Stances and dances made the eighteenth-century man—and woman
by James Breig | Extra Images
A "Remarkable Meteor" Dims
How Williamsburg Fared as the Eighteenth Century Faded
by James Breig | A Letter from Thomas Jefferson
Staying Connected before the Age of the Silicon Chip
The Printing Office
by Susan Berg | Zoom in on printed documents
James Fort, Lost and Found
by William Kelso | Zoom in on Preservation Virginia's slate image | Extra Images
Upon Paine of Death
The Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall
by Ivor Noël Hume | Sidebar: Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall | Extra Images
The War
The Battle of Williamsburg in 1862
by Alexander Chesterfield | Sidebar: The Betrayal of Captain Bolling | Zoom in on the Battle of WilliamsburgExtra Images
Dear Eighteenth Century
Letter from the past, delivered in the present
by James Breig | Sidebar: In Love With Letters | Zoom in on a Letter from Thomas Jefferson
Every Man Able to Read
Literacy in Early America
by Jack Lynch | Sidebar: Most Virginians Were Literate | Colonial Literacy
What's Wrong With This Picture?
"Congress at the Independence Hall, Philadelphia, July 4 1776."
by Gil Klein | Explore the Painting | Zoom in on the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Autumn 2010
Lies My Docent Told Me
Myths persist in history's retelling
by Mary Miley Theobald | Merchant Match-Up Game
"Sold on Reasonable Terms"
Early American Newspaper Advertisements
by Jack Lynch | Newspaper Advertisements Slideshow
Mumbo Jumbo Meets its Match
Superstition and spritualism examined
by Andrew G. Gardner | Zodiac Slideshow
Spring 2010
Why Do We Cast Cannons, Make Wooden Wheels, and Build Coffeehouses?
by Jay Gaynor | Historic Trades Slideshow"His Integrity Inflexible, and His Justice Exact"
George Wythe Teaches America the Law
by Jack Lynch | Extra Images | Zoomable WillSome Cold, Hard Historical Facts about Good Old Ice Cream
by Mary Miley Theobald | Ice Cream Slideshow | Ice Cream PodcastIce Cream Video
Winter 2010
Monticello Was among the Prizes in a Lottery for a Ruined Jefferson's Relief
by Gaye Wilson | Extra ImagesIn Praise or Damning Caricature
An Early Seventeenth-Century Identification Badge
by Bly Straube | Extra ImagesWilliamsburg Again Has an R. Charlton's Coffeehouse
A place to consider the roles of refreshment, debate, and ideas on the cusp of revolution
by Michael Olmert | Sidebar: Exploring the Coffeehouse | Coffeehouse ScreensaverThe Many Faces of Willie Balderson
A Photo Essay
| Willie Balderson Slideshow | Willie Balderson Animation
Autumn 2009
Laundries
Largest Buildings in the Eighteenth Century Backyard
by Michael Olmert | Laundries Slideshow"The Greatest Practical Approach to Exactness."
The Problem of Apportionment and Washington's First Veto
by Jack Lynch | Extra ImagesSome Pumpkins!
Halloween and Pumpkins in Colonial America
by Mary Miley Theobald | Pumpkin Carving Patterns | Pumpkin Gnocci Recipe CardCaptain Smith Departs
The Question Still Remains: Hero or Betrayer?
by Andrew G. Gardner | Photos by Dave Doody | Trace Captain Smith's route | Extra Images
Spring 2009
Offices
A late eighteenth-century development, the office outbuilding drew a line between family and commerce
by Michael Olmert | Offices Slideshow
Winter 2009
Debating the Bill of Rights
"What No Government Should Refuse, or Rest on Inference"
by Jack Lynch | View Magnified ImageTo Boldly Go
Captain James Cook and the Search for the Northwest Passage
by Andrew G. Gardner | Sidebar: Finding One's WayCaptured in Watercolors
Elizabethan England's First Glimpses of New World Fauna
| View Magnified imagesHere are Chick, There a Chick, Everywhere a Chick, Chick
Colonial Williamsburg's Chickens
by Ed Crews | Chickens in Williamsburg Slideshow
Autumn 2008
Celebrating the Colonial Williamsburg journal's 30th Anniversary
Autumn 1978 - Autumn 2008
by Mark JacobsCompany for Christmas
by Christopher Geist | Photos by Craig McDougal & Tom Green | View Magnified Images
Summer 2008
When Whiskey Was the King of Drink
by Mark Miley Theobald | Photos by Dave Doody & Tom Green | Extra imagesPowering the Eighteenth Century
by Abigail Schumann | Photos by Dave Doody | Powering the Eighteenth Century Slideshow
Spring 2008
Play Ball!
Colonial Games and America's National Pastime
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | Play Ball! Slideshow | British Bashers SlideshowSmart as an Ox
Beasts of Burden: Bright, Gentle, and Strong
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | Slideshow | Audio SlideshowThe Emergence of Popular Culture in Colonial America
by Christopher Geist | Photos by Dave Doody | SlideshowAll That is Substantial and Beneficial in a Trial By Jury
by James Breig | Photos by Dave Doody | Slideshow
Winter 2008
Little Iron Horses
Hard Working Canadians Have Rich Heritage
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | SlideshowTools of the Trades
A Photo Essay
by J. Hunter Barbour | Photos by Dave Doody | Slideshow | Historic Trades ScreensaverStuff and Nonsense
Myths That Should by Now Be History
by Mary Miley Theobald | Photos by Dave Doody | Crossword Puzzle
Holiday 2007
Rattle-Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Blackstrap, Bombo, Mimbo, Whistle Belly, Syllabub, Sling, Toddy, and Flip
Drinking in Colonial America
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | SlideshowMilking Devons
Picture Perfect Cattle for Colonial Williamsburg
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | SlideshowIn "the country wherein it hath pleased the divine providence to appoint our lot,"
Early American Jews Found Freedom to Celebrate Autumn's High Holy Days
by Robert Doares | Extra images
Autumn 2007
Fighting... Maybe for Freedom, but probably not
Slaves and free blacks in the Revolutionary War
by Lloyd Dobyns | Video clips | Extra imagesNative Numerals
Among American Indians, Numbers Counted for More than Math
by Anthony F. Aveni | Extra imagesThe Bugs that Bugged the Colonists
The weevil wrought evil, but the bee brought sweetness and light
by David Robinson | Photos by Dave Doody | Crossword Puzzle | Extra imagesThe Works at Falling Creek
"No fitter places of Mines, Wood and Water for Iron"
by Christopher Geist | Photos by Dave Doody | Extra images
Summer 2007
The Golden Age of Counterfeiting
Cashing in on Colonial Currency
by Jack Lynch | Sidebar: A Counterfeiting Silversmith | Counterfeiting slideshowWills Simple and Elaborate
Bequests, Gifts, and Legacies
by James Breig | Photos by Dave Doody | View the wills close-upRare Sheep
From Hog Island and Leicester
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | Colonial Williamsburg's Rare Sheep
Spring 2007
"One of the most intriguing might-have-beens in American History"
Jefferson's Tardy Constitution
by Jack Lynch | Zoom in on Jefferson's written ConstitutionAnniversaries and the Origin of History
A Jamestown 400th Anniversary Story
by Michael Olmert | The Queen's 1957 visit to Jamestown slideshow | The Queen's 1957 visit to Jamestown slideshow with zoom featureThe Queen's 1957 visit to Jamestown movie
Equine Equanimity
It Takes a Special Sort of Horse
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | Colonial Williamsburg's American Cream Draft HorsesPresidential Portraits
"Stuart is all the rage, he is almost worked to death...."
by Ellen G. Miles | Zoom in on the presidential portraits
Winter 2007
Historical Rivalry
Virginia's Jamestown was the continent's first permanent English settlement. So how is that Massachusetts's Plymouth has precedence in the minds of so many Americans?
by James Axtell | Extra images"Things which seame incredible"
Cannibalism in Early Jamestown
by Mark Nicholls | Sidebar: "Such a dish as powdered wife I never heard of" | Download Percy's A Trewe RelacyonExtra images
Acrostical Valentines
A Young Man's Fancy Turns to Fad: The Lovers' Literary Campaign of 1768
by Jon Kukla | Printer's Trade | Flash interactive: Make your own acrosticGossip, Flattery, and Flirtation
The Art of Eighteenth-Century Letter Writing
by Andrew Gardner | The Quill Pen | Flash interactive: Write with a quill penExtra images
Holiday 2006
Asynchronous (Adjective: Not coinciding in time)
Eighteenth-Century Clothes for a Twenty-First-Century Pose
| Asynchronous Fashion Photography Zoomable SlideshowOnce Around the Colonial Seasons
by Anthoni Aveni | "To the handsomest young Country Maid" | Extra imagesTools for the Times
Modern Shop Reproduces Antique Implements
by Ed Crews | Photos by Tom Green | Toolmaker Slideshow"A Much More Respectable Bird... a Bird of Courage"
A Short History of the Turkey
by Andrew G. Gardner | Turkey Slideshow | Turkey Recipes
Autumn 2006
Revolutionary City
A Colonial Adventure
by Lloyd Dobyns | Photos by Dave Doody | Revolutionary City SlideshowTown Coach
Elegant, Eye-Catching Eighteenth-Century Vehicle Travels Colonial Williamsburg Streets
by Ed Crews | Town Coach SlideshowThe Technology of History
Modern science is helping to solve the puzzles of the past
by Michael J. Lombardi | Photos by Dave Doody | Extra images
Summer 2006
Colonial Williamsburg
An Artifact of Popular Culture
by Christopher Geist | Notable Williamsburg Visitors Slideshow"Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye Rebels, Disperse!"
by Dennis Montgomery | Fields of Fire�Four Views of the Fatal DayCaptain Jack Jouett's Ride to the Rescue
Did Virginia's Paul Revere Spare Thomas Jefferson the Acquaintance of a British Hangman?
by Ed Crews | Extra images
Spring 2006
"Every part works in harmony"
The Venerable Craft of Basketmaking
by Ed Crews | The Basketmaking Craft SlideshowHandiwork
by art direction by Abigail Schumann | Photos by photography by Tom Green | Hands SlideshowThe Alternative of Williams-Burg
"Monster madness... the Patriots are in high Spirits just now."
by Robert Doares | Extra images
Winter 2005-2006
Rare Breeds and Other Creatures
by Barbara Brown | Photos by photography by Dave Doody | Animals of the Historic Area SlideshowCool, Calm, Clean
Dairies were the most elaborate of outbuildings, and the cleanest
by Michael Olmert | The Dairy SlideshowFinding Slaves in Unexpected Places
Keeping Blacks in Bondage Was Not a Southern Monopoly
by James Breig | Extra imagesAstronomers and Stargazers
Eyeing a Heliocentric Heaven for Planets, Portents, and Horoscopes
by Anthony F. Aveni | Sidebar: Of Lenses and Tinderboxes | Extra images
Holiday 2005
Dessert Pyramids
A Feast for the Eyes and the Palate
by Mary Miley Theobald | Photos by Dave Doody | A Feast for the EyesChristmas Earnest & Christmas Game
At heart, Christmas was an oxymoron: serious and silly. Holy day as well as holiday. And sometimes violently.
by Michael Olmert | Colonial GamesWreaths, Garlands, Ropes, and Fruit
| Photos by Barbara Lombardi | Wreaths, Garlands, Ropes & Fruit SlideshowA Christmas Essay
Christmas is a'coming, The goose is getting fat, Please put a penny in the old man's hat
by Ivor Noël Hume | Extra images
Autumn 2005
The Tyme Appointed
by Mary Miley Theobald | Learn about Captain John Smith's capture and rescue through his 1624 illustration.
Summer 2005
Halting Time through the Illusion of Portraiture
by Barbara Luck | Photos by Hans Lorenz | Extra imagesTaking the Measure of Washington... Once More
by Mike Lombardi | Take Care of Your Teeth | Extra images
Spring 2005
Work, Work, and More Work
Middling Planters Took Hard Road to Wealth, Respectability in Colonial Virginia
by Ed Crews | Photos by Lael White | Agriculture SlideshowOf Sharpers, Mumpers, and Fourberies
Some Early American Impostors and Rogues
by Jack Lynch | Pickpockets SlideshowAlas, Poor ...Who?
Or, Melancholy Moments in Colonial and Later Virginia
by Ivor Noël Hume | The funeral of Governor Botetourt SlideshowTimberheads and Talking Stools
Puppets Pulled the Strings of Eighteenth-Century Audiences
by James Breig | Puppetry SlideshowLusty Beggars, Dissolute Women, Sorners, Gypsies, and Vagabonds for Virginia
by Bruce P. Lenman | Scottish Slaves Slideshow
Winter 2004-2005
Smokehouses
Foursquare and Stolid, These Buildings Were a Hardworking Adornment to the Colonial Backyard
by Michael Olmert | The SmokehouseThe History of Historic Trades
by James M. Gaynor | An overview of current trades items | Historic Trades SlideshowWheels and Riding Carts
The Wheelwright Trade
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | The Wheelwright Trade Slideshow | Extra images
Holiday 2004
Captain John Smith's Christmas
by Dennis Montgomery | Trace Smith's likely 1607 and 1608 Christmastime routes.Christmas Music in Colonial Days
by John Turner | Photos by Dave Doody | Sample some holiday music | Extra imagesBabies, Balls, and Bull Roarers
Christmastime or Anytime, Kids Still Enjoy the Toys and Games Their Forebears Loved
by David Robinson | The Joys of Toys SlideshowThe Community Christmas Tree in America's Hometown
by Mary Miley Theobald | Photos by Dave Doody | Extra imagesWilliamsburg's Long Christmas
Historically, two threads run through Christmas celebrations: piety and pleasure
by Michael Olmert | Photos by Dave Doody | Recipe for a Twelfth Night Cake | Extra images
Autumn 2004
"An honest, upright, and industrious man, a kind and obliging neighbor, and a good citizen"
by J. Hunter Barbour | Extra images
Summer 2004
The New Architecture of Merchants Square
by Edward Chappell | Photos by Barbara Lombardi | Extra imagesRemastering a Masterwork
Restoration of The Patriot
by Richard L. McCluney | Succinct Script Yields Memorable Quotes | Flash interactive: See how the color layers of the film interact with each otherTime for the Royals
Tompion's Clock
by Graham Hood | Photos by Hans Lorenz | Zoom in for a closer look at Tompion's ClockSpies and Scouts, Secret Writing, and Sympathetic Citizens
by Ed Crews | Learn to decipher the CUPID code. | View video excerpts from our Electronic Field Trip: In the General's Secret Service
Spring 2004
"With All the Grace of the Sex"
Women in Trades
by Donna Dene Woodward | Photos by Dave Doody | Women in Trades slideshow | Sound clipThe Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly
| Photos by courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Winter 2003-2004
Cast in the Colonial Mold
The Geddy Foundry
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | The Foundry Trade Slideshow
Autumn 2003
Rediscovering an American Icon
Houdon's Washington
by Tracy L. Kamerer and Scott W. Nolley | View details and images of Houdon's statue.Making Circles
The Cooper's Trade at Colonial Williamsburg
by Ed Crews | Photos by Dave Doody | The Cooper Trade Slideshow | Video clips from "The Cooper's Craft: The Art of Colonial Barrel Making."Merchants Square Meets Quinlan Terry
by Edward Chappell | View details and images of the transformations of Merchant Square.A Field Spacious and Untrodden
The Virginian Society for the Promotion of Usefull Knowledge
by Robert Doares | Additional photos of items used in the study of scientific knowledge.
Summer 2003
Points in Time
Photographs from a Williamsburg Collection
| "Snapshots from a Williamsburg Collection" Slideshow"In Mind and Heart" with the Enslaved of Yesteryear
by Will Molineux | African-American interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg SlideshowPlain and Neat
Cabinetmakers Preserve the Arts of Eighteenth-century Furniture
by Ed Crews | View videos of a cabinetmaker at workPromises to Pay, Promises Unkept
How We Won a War and Lost Our Shirts
by Richard G. Doty | Photos by Tom Green | Extra images
Spring 2003
State, Dignity, Authority
Four Williamsburg Chairs Are Distinctive Expressions of Colonial Sophistication and Culture
by Graham HoodBilboes, Brands, and Branks
Colonial crime and punishment
by James A. Cox | Colonial Punishments SlideshowColonial Williamsburg Carpenters Construct Buildings of the Past
Reproduction Structures Offer Guests Look at Trade, Hands-on Experience
by Ed Crews | Carpentry tools
Winter 2002-2003
Out, "Damn'd Proverbs"
by James Breig | Interactive Game: How well do you know your 18th-century proverbs?Enduring Images of War
by J. Hunter Barbour | Photos by Tom Green | Medals from the Lasser Collection Slideshow
Autumn 2002
Summer 2002
Spring 2002
Peering into Rings of Grain
Dendrochronology comes of age, shedding new light on the shape of old America
by Mike Olmert
Winter 2001-2002
Autumn 2001
Williamsburg and the Demimonde
Disorderly Houses, the Blue Bell, and Certain Hints of Harlotry
by Harold B. Gill Jr.
Summer 2001
"Treason is but trusted like the fox" - Shakespeare
Whatever Happened to Benedict Arnold?
by Mary Theobald
Spring 2001
Winter 2000-2001
"The Best Is Not Too Good For You"
Colonial Williamsburg Celebrates Seventy-Five Years of Collecting at New York's Forty-Seventh Winter Antiques Show
by Sophia Hart
Autumn 2000
Summer 2000
Autumn 1999
Winter 1997-1998
Winter 1996-1997
Summer 1996
Autumn 1994
Spring 1994
Autumn 1993
Summer 1993
Spring 1993
Winter 1992-1993
