Archives of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
PO Box 3600Rebecca Baird, Project Archivist
This collection is open for research during scheduled appointments. Researchers must complete the Washington Library's Special Collections and Archives Registration Form before access is provided. The library reserves the right to restrict access to certain items for preservation purposes.
[Name and date of item], Publications and Printed Material of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, [Series, Folder], Archives of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington [hereafter Washington Library], Mount Vernon, Virginia
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association was founded in 1854 by Ann Pamela Cunningham. The purpose of the Association was to purchase Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, in order to restore the property and open the grounds to visitors and admirers who desired to see Washington's house and tomb. Ann Pamela Cunningham became interested in the preservation of Mount Vernon when her mother, traveling down the Potomac River in 1853, viewed the house in its neglected and dilapidated state and wrote to her daughter of its condition. Both women thought it shameful to allow the first President's home to fall into ruin. A determined Ann Pamela Cunningham assembled twenty-two like-minded women together to raise money to purchase the property, pay off all debt, and return the gardens and grounds to the condition in which they were left by Washington himself. John Augustine Washington III, George Washington's great-grandnephew and the owner of Mount Vernon at the time, delayed several years in selling the home to the Ladies' Association. He preferred a sale to the State of Virginia or the federal government, both of which declined purchase. In 1858 he finally agreed to sell Mount Vernon to Ann Pamela Cunningham and the MVLA for $200,000.
Today the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association is remembered as the first organization dedicated to historic preservation in the United States. The Association remains loyal to its original goals, the restoration and care of George Washington's Mount Vernon, while also opening the estate to visitors 365 days a year. Members of the MVLA continue under the structure designed by the first Ladies' who joined, operating as the Executive Board with one Regent and Vice Regents from different states. The estate now consists of not only the Mansion and tomb of Washington, but restored gardens, outbuildings, a Pioneer Farm, Gristmill, Distillery, museum and orientation center, National Library for the Study of George Washington, gift shops, food pavilion, and a restaurant.
Educating the public on the life and legacy of George Washington, colonial life, slavery, and other relevant subjects is part of the MVLA's mission. The publication of books, brochures, and other printed material is one aspect of achieving this goal. This collection combines all printed formats published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Associaton including books, booklets, brochures, information sheets, event announcements, bylaws, and handbooks or guidebooks. Annual Reports and the Minutes of the Council provide background and information on the yearly activities and business of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The material includes a wide date range, 1854 to the present.
This collection is divided into series based on format and type of publication. All publications within each series are filed in alphabetical order by title, then in chronological order. This is the list of series: Series 1. Books Series 2. Booklets Series 3. Brochures Series 4. Bylaws, Charters, Constitution Series 5. Handbooks, Guidebooks Series 6. Minutes Series 7. Reports
Publications - History of Mount Vernon and George Washington. This collection contains publications relating to the history of Mount Vernon and/or George Washington that are not published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
This series is arranged alphabetically by title.
This series contains published books, hardcover and paperback versions, published and produced by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Multiple editions of some publications are represented.
Facsimile publication of Washington's copy of the Acts of Congress, 1789, made in commemoration of the Opening of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, September 27, 2013.
Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M. Published for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. Third Impression, 1925. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M. Published for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Third Impression, 1925.
Edited by John c. Fitzpatrick, A.M. Published for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Third Impression, 1925.
Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M. Published for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Third Impression, 1925.
Copyright 1982 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs by Ted Vaughan. Book design by Robert Reed.
Foreword by Andrea Wulf. Essays by Adam T. Erby, J. Dean Norton, and Esther White. Edited by Susan P. Schoelwer. Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Associaton. Distributed by the University of Virginia Press.
Copyright 2000 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Foreword by General Colin L. Powell. ISBN 0-931917-33-6
Copyright 1998 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Former copyrights 1958, 1982. Introduction by Gordon S. Wood. ISBN 0-931917-30-1. Former copyrights 1958, 1982.
Published by The Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon. Graphics and paper engineering by Martha B. Lear. ISBN 0-931917-27-1.
Copyright 2009 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. A Companion to an Exhibition on Display February 21, 2009 through January 10, 2010. Foreword by James C. Rees. Introduction by Jack D. Warren, Jr. Printed by MasterPrint, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Introduction by Letitia Baldrige, Annotated by Ann M. Rauscher. Printed in the USA. ISBN 0-931917-18-2
Copyright 1993 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Selected and annotated by Carter King Laughlin and Ann M. Rauscher. ISBN 0-931917-24-7.
With a Prefatory Note by Worthington Chauncey Ford. Copyrighted by the Vice Regent from Oregon. Printed by Kilham Stationery and Printing Co., Portland, Oregon. This copy has "North Carolina" printed on the cover indicating it belonged to the Vice Regent of North Carolina.
Edited by Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick. Published by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union.
Edited by Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick. Published by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union.
Includes accession number RL-6256/Q
Edited by Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick. Published by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union.
Edited by Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick. Published by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union.
Cover title - The Last Will and Testament of George Washington, Including Martha Washington's Will, Genealogy, Family Trees and a Complete Index of Beneficiaries. Introduction by the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. Published through the generosity of Foley and Lardner by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. ISBN 0-931917-19-0.
Edited by Susan P. Schoelwer. Introduction by Annette Gordon-Reed. Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Accession number 2016-A-032.
Collected and Arranged by John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Collected and arranged by John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1953.
Collected and Arranged by John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Collected and Arranged by John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Previously published as Presence of a Lady. With an Introduction by Ernest B. Furgurson. Forewords by Robert E. Lee IV and Ulysses Grant Dietz. ISBN 0-931917-26-3.
Full Title - Mount Vernon and Its Preservation 1858-1910: The Acquisition, Restoration, and Care of the Home of Washington by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union for over half a Century. Alternate title on cover - History and Preservation of Mount Vernon. Copyright 1910 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Revised edition 1932. The Knickerbocker Press, New York.
Includes accession numbers RL-4142, RL-1570, RL-6285b, RL-6256/M, RL-5875
Epilogue by Ellen McCallister Clark. Extracts from the letters and diaries of George Washington. Selected and Annotated by Charles C. Wall. Published through the generosity of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation by the MVLA, 1991. ISBN 0-931917-17-4.
Published for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association under the auspices of the Vice Regent for the District of Columbia and Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon, 1981.
Published for the Mount Verno Ladies' Association under the auspices of the Vice Regent for the District of Columbia and Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon.
Compiled by The Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon. Published by the MVLA, 1984. First Edition. Printed in the USA by Wimmer Brothers Books, Memphis, Tennessee.
Includes publications: Agreement Between John A. Washington and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Historical Sketch of Ann Pamela Cunningham, George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, George Washington at Mount Vernon on the Potomac, Washington's Home and the Story of the MVLA, and George Washington Memorial Building.
Originally published as Aspire to the Heavens by Mary Higgins Clark. Published by the MVLA. ISBN 0-931917-40-9.
Designed and composed by The Stinehour Press, Lunenburg, Vermont. Printed by the Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Connecticut.
RL-6256/c
Edited and with introductory essays by David L. Holmes. Foreword by the Rev. Billy Graham. Introduction by James C. Rees, Executive Director, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. ISBN 0-931917-32-8.
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1984.
Published by Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. This special edition published by arrangement with Hawthorn Books, Inc. New York, N.Y.
Printed in the United States by Mount Vernon Publishing Company. Later published as Mount Vernon: The Civil War Years.
Includes accession numbers RL-6256/K, RL-3178
Copyright 1946, 1974 by Dorothy Troth Muir. Reprinted with permission, 1975. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Foreword by George H.W. Bush. This publication was made possible by Ann L. Brownson. ISBN 0-931917-34-4.
Foreword by His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, Ambassador of France to the United States. A Companion to a Traveling Exhibition organized by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
With essay by Michele Lee. This publication accompanies the special exhibition on display September 2013 through January 2014.
Principal photography by Edward Owen and Robert Lautman. A Companion to a Traveling Exhibition created by the MVLA to Commemorate the Bicentennial of the Death of George Washington. ISBN 0-931917-31-X.
Text by Joanne Young. Photographs by Taylor Lewis, Jr. Published simultaneously in Canada by Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Limited. ISBN 0-03-003961-4.
Includes accession numbers RL-6256/f
Text by Joanne Young. Photographs by Taylor Lewis, Jr.
This series is arranged alphabetically by title.
This series compiles small publications produced in a paperback, booklet format.
Addresses at the Tomb of Washington by the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson and Felix J Streyckmans of Chicago. Press of Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Press of Judd and Detweiler, Inc. Washington, D.C.
Annotated note on the front cover reads "By the 'Mt. Vernon Assocation of the Union' organized by the 'Southern Matron'. April, 1854. Printed by T.K. and P.G. Collins, Printers, Philadelphia.
Printed by A.J. Burke, Charleston. Three copies with blue covers, one copy with yellow cover
R.F. Walker, Superintendent Public Printing, Richmond
Compiled and arranged by Mrs. M.L. Ward, Vice Regent for Kansas, Member Record Committee, Evening Herald Print, Ottawa, Kansas. Includes RL-6483a
The Dietz Press, Inc. Richmond. Printed Christmas card from Worth Bailey also in the folder. Includes a first edition printing signed by authors (2019-A-018) and a second edition printing signed by the authors.
The Dietz Press, Richmond
Written and delivered in North Carolina in 1856 for the benefit of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Gazette Job Print, Leaksville, North Carolina, 1896.
By Harrison H. Dodge, Superintendent
Includes accession number RL-6256/e
William MacDonald L.L.D. Ph.D. Professor of History in Brown University, Providence, R.I. Reprinted with permission from the eleventh edition Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911.
William MacDonald, L.L.D., Ph.D. Professor of History in Brown University, Providence, R.I. Reprinted with permission from the eleventh edition Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911.
Full title: George Washington at Mount Vernon on the Potomac: To Give a Clearer Idea of the Character of Washington is to Set a Higher Standard for American Patriotism. Published by the MVLA.
Part of Accession number 2015-A-010
Work of Patriotic Women in Purchasing Washington's Home - The Movement in Colorado. Includes RL-6483c
Printed for the Association at the Marion Press, Jamaica Queensborough New York, 1903 and 1911.
Printed for the Association at the Marion Press, Jamaica, Queensboro, New York.
Includes accession number RL 1016
Includes accession number RL-6256/J
Extended title: A Tribute to the Love, Loyalty and Patriotism of the Vice-Regent for Ohio by the Writer
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Accession number 2016-A-029.
Reprinted from The William and Mary Quarterly Third Series, Number 2, April 1945
In the form of a letter to the Hon. G.C. Walker from H.W. Thomas, President Board of Visitors
Includes accession number RL-6256/S
Extended title: The Trees at Mount Vernon, Report of Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, to the Council of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, Revised Edition, Reprinted from the Annual Report for 1926 of the MVLA
Includes accession number RL-6256/R
This series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
This series compiles information brochures printed for Mount Vernon. The brochures were created for a variety of purposes from educational to event announcements.
"As the Nation Prepares to Celebrate the 265th Birthday of George Washington, The Regent and Vice Regents of the MVLA wish you a most eventful and productive year."
Created and Funded by The Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon
Multiple copies of varied brochures, leaflets, etc. all concerning the Bicentennial of Washington's death
copies from multiple years
copies from multiple years
copies from multiple years
Includes accession number 2015-A-039
copies of multiple years
4 brochures total - 3 different types/recipes
Includes accession number 2015-A-035
Includes accession number 2015-A-082
Includes accession number 2015-A-068
Includes accession number 2016-A-031.
English version.
Includes accession number 2015-A-014
Includes accession number 2015-A-014
Copies from multiple years
Brochure for an exhibit at Mount Vernon, 2006-2007.
Copies from multiple years
Created and Funded by The Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series holds the printed, official versions of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association's bylaws, articles of incorporation, and charter. Several copies represented in this collection originally belonged to a Vice Regent.
Bridgeport, Conn.: Farmer Office Steam Presses, Corner Wall and Water Streets.
New Haven, Conn., Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Printers.
Bound copy of the 1909 Charters and Constitution bought with the 1912 version, Charters, Constitution, and Bylwas.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series compiles the official handbooks or guidedbooks created by Mount Vernon for its visitors.
Includes accession number RP-1008b
Copyright 1899 by Harrison H. Dodge. Published by L. Windsor House.
Includes accession numbers RL-1579, RL-1587, and RP-419 (MISC-3743)
Copyright 1905 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Published by L. Windsor House.
Copyright 1911 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Published by Leet Brothers, Washington.
Copyright 1912 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Published by Leet Brothers, Washington.
Includes accession numbers RP-901 (Misc. 5325), RL-885, RL-4710, and RL-1686, 2019-A-018
Includes accession numbers RL-2059, R-376, Misc-1219, RP-1016, 2019-A-018
Copyright 1921 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographed, engraved, and printed by The Beck Engraving Co., Phila.
Copyright 1926 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographed, engraved, and printed by The Beck Engraving Co., Phila.
Copyright 1928 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Includes RL-6494.
Copyright 1932 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Includes accession numbers RL-1016/u, RL-1039, Misc-5481
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1936
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1937
Includes accession number RL-1314
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1938
Published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1940
Copyright 1947 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Designed by Carl Purington Rollins, Photographs by Samuel Chamberlain, Printed by Photogravure and Color Company.
Copyright 1948 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Designed by Carl Purington Rollins, Photographs by Samuel Chamberlain, Printed by Photogravure and Color Company.
Copyright 1953 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Designed by Carl Purington Rollins, Photographs by Samuel Chamberlain, Printed by Photogravure and Color Company.
Copyright 1958 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs - Consultant, Samuel Chamberlain. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1960 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs - Consultant, Samuel Chamberlain. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1962 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs - Consultant, Samuel Chamberlain, Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Includes accession number RL-6256/H
Copyright 1963 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs - Consultant, Samuel Chamberlain. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1964 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs - Consultant, Samuel Chamberlain. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1965 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Inc., Howard B. Marler, Walter H. Miller, National Geographic Society. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1967 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Inc., Howard B. Marler, Walter H. Miller, National Geographic Society. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1968 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Inc., Howard B. Marler, Walter H. Miller, National Geographic Society. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1972 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Inc., Howard B. Marler, Walter H. Miller, National Geographic Society. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1974 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Inc., Pulsifer, Howard B. Marler, Walter H. Miller, National Geographic Society. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Includes accession number RL-6256/I
Copyright 1974, outside hard bound cover reads 1983, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photograph credits: James R. Dunlop, Pulsifer, Howard Marler, Ted Vaughan, National Geographic Society, Walter H. Miller. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1985 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs copyright 1985 by Taylor Lewis. Additional photographs by Ted Vaughan. Text by Charles C. Wall, Christine Meadows, John Rhodehamel, Ellen McCallister Clark. Designed and produced by Cognoscenti. Printed by Judd and Detweiler, Inc.
Copyright 1995, fifth printing by Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographs copyright by Taylor Lewis, 1985. Additional photograph credits. Text by Charles C. Wall, Christine Meadows, John Rhodehamel, Ellen McCallister Clark. Designed and produced by Cognoscenti.
Copyright 1998 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Text by Charles C. Wall, Christine Meadows, John Rhodehamel, Ellen McCallister Clark, and 1998 text by Michael C. Quinn. Photographs copyright Taylor Lewis, 1985 with other photograph credits. Designed and produced by Cognoscenti, 1998 design by MBL Studios.
George Washington Bicentennial Edition, Copyright 1998 by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Text by Jim Rees. Photography credits: Robert Lautman, Mark Gulizean, Jo Elbreger, Hal Conroy, Edward Owen.
Published by Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, printed in the USA.
Annual Reports of the MVLA.
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
Minutes of the Council of the MVLA.
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies of each year archived
2 copies from each year archived.
2 copies of each year archived.