Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Alice Hollister Lerch, Accession #4855, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was given to the Library on August 23, 1954, by the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Scope and Content Information

This collection deals with the research conducted by Alice Hollister Lerch on Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia ; there are ca. 2000 items, 1939-1947, contained in the collection. The material includes Lerch's notes on the Fry and Jefferson Map by Joseph Fry and Peter Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's father, as well as notes on John Adams, [Marquis Francois de Barbe-]Marbois, and his letters. Following these items are the major research on the Notes on the State of Virginia .

Alice Hollister Lerch ( -1951) was a bibliographer and curator who began her career as librarian of the Library of Congress in 1900; she was with the Library of Congress from 1900-1910, and 1933-1948 as chief bibliographer in the Rare Book Collection. She also worked at the Hispanic Society of America, 1910-1917; the New York Public Library, 1917-1930; Rollins College, 1930-1931; and, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1931- 1933. She was a member of the Bibliographic Societies of England and America, the American Library Association, and the District of Columbia Library Association. She wrote on various bibliographic subjects.

The research notes contain photostats of Notes on the State of Virginia and related newspaper clippings. Boxes 1 - 4 contain Miss Lerch's notes on the book itself; these notes are in the arrangement used by Miss Lerch with slight variations. Also included is particular information on specific copies of Notes , and notes compiled from information gathered from individual owners of copies of the Notes . Correspondence with individuals, university officials, and commercial owners follow the research material. The correspondence serves as a supplement to the collection and indicates the direction of Miss Lerch's research.