Search

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician.

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician. The earliest items in the Correspondence and Documents series are related to his ancestors, including a court document from "James Citty," listing a "Theo. Bland" as a member of the court (October 16, 1665), and a 1720 letter regarding British military affairs. The Theodoric Bland in this collection wrote the majority of items, often copies of his outgoing correspondence related to local and national politics in the latter years of the American Revolution; among these are letters to Benjamin Harrison and to Patrick Henry. Two items concern the Siege of Gibraltar, including a 1778 warrant for John Sweetland and a letter by Thomas Cranfield to his mother and father about his experiences during the siege (September 7, 1783). The collection also holds a muster roll of Lt. Purviss's Company, in a regiment of guards, from 1779. Later legal documents pertain to the career of Maryland judge Theodorick Bland, of another branch of the Virginia Bland family. Later material includes several personal letters to "Mr. and Mrs. Bland" from family and friends dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as responses to genealogical inquiries.

The Genealogy and Images series contains engravings and drawings of several Bland family members, including a detailed pencil drawing of P. E. Bland, who served as a colonel in the Civil War. Other genealogical notes trace branches of the family through the mid-19th and early-20th centuries.

The Bookplates and Printed Items series holds several bookplates, 20th century newspaper clippings, and pages from books.

The Auguste Hervieu watercolors consist of seven watercolor illustrations attributed to French painter and book illustrator Auguste Hervieu.

The Auguste Hervieu watercolors consist of seven watercolor illustrations attributed to French painter and book illustrator Auguste Hervieu. These illustrations are not known to have been used in any publication(s), and while it is unclear what publication(s) they were originally associated with it is possible that many were produced in relation to Hervieu’s collaboration with Frances M. Trollope during their travels together in the United States of America in the late 1820s. A number of items feature inscribed titles in an unidentified hand.

• [Boy with hogs] - a young barefoot boy wearing tattered clothing wields a stick while opening the door to a hog corral.
• “Love among the Quakers” - a Quaker man and woman stoically sit near each other while cupid is sat between them. Both the woman and cupid have their eyes closed while the man looks straight ahead.
• [Fourth of July event] - a tough looking well-dressed young man who has taken his hat off while extending a hand (possibly signifying that he is a ticket-taker) poses near an open stone archway leading to a courtyard occupied by soldiers in uniform listening to a man giving a speech. The stone wall next to the young man bears several inscriptions including “Order of Celebration of the 4th July,” “502 Hog,” “Declaration of Independence,” and a partially illegible inscription reading “Tales ? ? Slaves’.”
• “The Village Politicians” - two men and one woman holding a child observe a sign that reads “Reportie - Black List.”
• “Love among the Negroes” - a well-dressed African American couple sit closely next to each other on a park bench while cupid covertly observes their romantic interaction with a smile. The man can be seen using a monocle to intimately examine a miniature portrait kept in the woman’s locket while she uses a fan to partially cover her face. A white waiter carrying a wine bottle and wine glasses also looks on from the background.
• “A Philadelphia Exquisite” - a well-dressed African American man stands carrying a hat in one hand while holding a stick monocle to his eye in the other.
• “The sad reality on arrival” - view showing the interior of a house with a group of people (possibly the Trollope family). At the center of the room there is a comically large fire that appears to have been fueled by furniture that was hewn in desperation while several leaks are shown pouring through the roof. The woman at left can be seen holding an umbrella.