Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection

 

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The Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection traces the founding and evolution of Washington, D.C., as a city and a national capital. It includes nearly 2,000 prints, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers, broadsides and photographs. The collection was donated to the George Washington University in 2011 by real estate developer and philanthropist Albert H. Small.

 

Prints and Maps

Rare 17th- and 18th-century maps predate the establishment of the U.S. capital. Other maps in the collection illustrate the city’s founding plan, the Civil War era and 20th-century growth. These maps and other prints chronicle the emergence of neighborhoods, federal buildings, monuments and urban infrastructure.

Documents and Ephemera

This collection includes more than 600 books, pamphlets, planning studies, government reports, proposals and other documentation of Washington’s urban development. Highlights include President George Washington's letter to Congress describing the 10-mile square that would become the District of Columbia, and an 1814 manuscript map illustrating the infamous battle that resulted in the British burning of the White House.

Civil War

The collection is especially strong in letters, photographs and ephemera that document Civil War Washington, including the war’s impact on the Capitol building, the White House and public monuments. One distinctive item is the War Department's broadside announcing the $100,000 reward for the capture of President Abraham Lincoln's assassin and conspirators.

Bird's-eye view of Washington Circle
 

Charles Magnus, Camp Fry, Washington, D.C., published by Charles Magnus & Co., c. 1863, AS 38.

Col. Ellsworth with his troops running past him
 

Thomas Nast, Alexandria, Va., Taken by Col. Ellsworth's Zouaves, published by New York Illustrated News, June 1861, AS 146.

wanted poster
 

$100,000 Reward!, published by Edwin M. Stanton, 1865, AS 48.

Hand-colored view of a crowd of civilians on the south portico of the White House
 

Prince Napoleon Visiting President Lincoln at the White House, Washington, D.C., published by Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, August 7, 1861, AS 447.

Handcolored map showing considerable detail of Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware
 

Pierre Mortier, Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie, La Nouvel Jarsey, 1690, AS 186.

Proposed plan for the National Mall
 

Pierre Mortier, Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie, La Nouvel Jarsey, 1690, AS 186.

Letter
 

George Washington, Philadelphia, to David Stuart, Georgetown, D.C., November 30, 1792, AS 895.

Fan
 

Souvenir lithograph of D.C. landmarks, published by Casimir Bohn,
c. 1861, AS 268.

Greyscale map of both Washington City and Georgetown showing the numbered squares

 

Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia, engraved by Thackara & Vallance, Philadelphia, 1792, AS 64.

 

Keep Exploring

The entire Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection is available to browse online.