An artist known only as Miss Shuey painted this image of the Rotunda's ruins following the Great Fire of 1895. This piece of tin was collected by Shuey from those very ruins, transformed into a canvas, and sold as a souvenir.

Miss Shuey. Ruins of U.VA, undated (MSS 14359) Rotunda Souvenirs, circa. 1890-1920

This placard by Steve Keene, a spoof on Norman Rockwell's famous Freedom of Speech from 1943, was painted sometime in the early 1990s for a WTJU Rock Marathon. Once a DJ for the station, Keene found artistic success first in Charlottesville, then in Brooklyn, mastering what one critic has called an outsider, "slightly manic" style that emphasizes quick and cheap production. 

Mary Hall Betts, popularly known as “Mama Rotunda,” served as the University's official hostess for nearly twenty-five years, starting in 1958. On various occasions at the Rotunda she wore this hand-painted muslin dress with the south elevation of the Rotunda on one side and the north-side Jefferson statue on the other. A derby hat, altered to resemble the Rotunda, completed the outfit.

Mama Rotunda Dress and Hat (RG-30/19/1.961), University of Virginia Archives

Wyllie was nearsighted, and having been snubbed by all branches of the U.S. military in 1941, he instead joined the American Field Service, a youth exchange program that operated a wartime ambulance service. He eventually found a spot as a communications officer with the U.S. air corps in Burma where he earned the Legion of Merit, the citation for which refers to his “great courage and resourcefulness” in setting up observation posts near enemy lines and calling in close air support. At war's end, he returned home with this bullet-riddled Japanese radio as a souvenir.

In 1935, Alice Jackson applied to the University's graduate school. On September 19, the Board of Visitors reiterated its policy against admitting black students and noted that “for this and for other good and sufficient reasons,” Jackson's application was rejected. Nine days later, she responded with this open letter, addressing the board directly; the board declined to respond, and Jackson attended school elsewhere.

Alice Jackson, Letter to the Board of Visitors, September 28,  1935 (RG-2/1/2.491)

Papers of the President 1934-1936.

An acclaimed pianist and composer, John Powell graduated from the University of Virginia in 1901 and, upon his death in 1963, was declared “one of the genuinely great Virginians of modern times.” That judgment has been challenged in recent years by historians who cite his fervent support for eugenics and scientific racism.

Cast of the Hand of the Pianist John Powell, undated (MSS 7345-a)

Gift of Christel Kerry 

Made from some of America's earliest cuttings, this heartwood pine joist is one example of the original framing floor joists that created the structure for Rouss Hall. The bracket from the wood roof truss system was cast for the original construction in 1896 by P. Duvinage and Co., while the three nails provide examples of the era's penny-type cut nails.