Apollo Room, Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1935

Subjects: Interiors Restaurants & Taverns
Card type: Linen
Date: c. 1915 (White Border)

Back of Apollo Room, Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1935, c. 1915 linen postcard — Back

About this postcard

The picture shows the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, furnished as a colonial dining and assembly room: a long polished table set with candlesticks and flowers, Windsor and upholstered chairs, a paneled fireplace wall, and a harpsichord with open sheet music in the foreground. The Apollo Room was the tavern's great public room, famously used by members of the House of Burgesses and by the Phi Beta Kappa society, founded there in 1776. The building seen in such views is the 1930s reconstruction carried out during the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, since the original tavern burned in 1859.

Postcard Details

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PublisherColonial Williamsburg, Incorporated

Apollo Room, Raleigh Tavern --- APOLLO ROOM, RALEIGH TAVERN Williamsburg, Virginia Above the fireplace in this tavern room is inscribed "Hilaritas Sapientiae et Bonae Vital Proles" — (Mirth the offspring of wisdom and good living). From about 1740, until the tavern burned in 1859 the Apollo was a center of social and political activity. COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, INCORPORATED Made in Switzerland and imported exclusively by K. S. Tanner, Jr., Rutherfordton, N.C., U.S.A. POSTCARD THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS ONLY. #15 98

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Postcard record

Publisher	Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated
Condition	Very good
Place depicted	Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, VA, Williamsburg, VA
Place mentioned	Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, VA
Publisher	Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated, Williamsburg, VA
Notes	White border; fine linen-like screen texture; slight edge and corner wear. No postmark — card is unmailed and carries no handwriting. Divided back, white border, textured matte stock; Swiss-printed import card with Colonial Williamsburg imprint and circled "#15" dealer marks.

Cite this card

Apollo Room, Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1935, postcard, c. 1915. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/apollo-room-raleigh-tavern-williamsburg-virginia-circa-1935. Accessed October 24, 2026.