Fakes and Forgeries
Curator John Davis describes what he looks for when determining if a piece of metalwork is truly colonial in origin.
Curator John Davis describes what he looks for when determining if a piece of metalwork is truly colonial in origin.
Architectural researcher Ed Chappell describes the 1782 Frenchman's Map, an overhead view of the town of Williamsburg referred to in the restoration and reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg.
Brooke Welborn, a journeywoman milliner and mantua maker at Colonial Williamsburg, describes colonial women's undergarments, the ways in which dress determined or was determined by women's social roles and class, and the trade of millinery and mantua making. For more information on 18th century clothing, click here.
Medical historian Susan Pryor describes the role of the apothecary in the colonial society, and looks at colonial understanding of disease and treatment.
Historian Cathy Hellier explains the differences between modern American English and the English of the colonists during the 1700s; she looks also at new ideas on the dialect of African Americans in the Williamsburg area at the time. Click here to learn more about 18th century speech.
Colonial Williamsburg museum educator Anne Willis discusses the youths and marriage of Edmund Randolph and Elizabeth Nicholas, a colonial couple, married in 1776, whose families stood on opposites sides of political and religious ideology.
Note: this podcast is no longer available. To view a transcript of the original podcast, click here.
Bill Barker, a Jefferson scholar and interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, in relation to the launch of a new blog publishing Jefferson quotes on the Colonial Williamsburg website.
Note: this podcast is no longer available. To view a transcript of the original podcast, click here.
Colonial Williamsburg public sites interpreter Alex Clark details the effect of Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" on the American colonies.
The American rebels stood to lose a lot by winning the war. Colonial Williamsburg sites interpreter B.J. Pryor discusses the risk of success, and the importance of the Fifth Virginia Convention in the move to war.
Historian Nancy Milton describes the English influences on the U.S. Constitution, including documents reaching as far back as the Magna Carta.