Van Lew House, Richmond, VA, 1907

Subjects: Residences World's Fairs & Expositions
Card type: Lithograph
Date: c. 1907 (Golden Age)

Back of Van Lew House, Richmond, VA, 1907, c. 1907 lithograph postcard — Back

About this postcard

A large three-story pinkish stucco or brick residence with a red roof, dormers, and a columned portico with an exterior spiral staircase, seen behind a white picket fence and shaded by large trees. The printed caption identifies it as the Van Lew House in Richmond, Virginia, famous as the house where Federal prisoners who escaped from Libby Prison by way of a tunnel dug with their hands were concealed and cared for until they could pass through the Confederate lines.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Hello: Dollie D. what are you doing with your little [illegible] this rainy day, I would like to see you [illegible] I am [illegible] to send you [illegible] with love

PublisherThe Jamestown Amusement & Vending Co., Inc.

VAN LEW HOUSE, RICHMOND, VA. AMERICAN COLORTYPE CO., N.Y. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JAMESTOWN A. & V. C. --- 1607—JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION—1907 OFFICIAL SOUVENIR POST CARD OFFICIAL SEAL PUBLISHED BY THE CONCESSIONAIRE, THE JAMESTOWN AMUSEMENT & VENDING CO., INC., NORFOLK VA. FOR COMMUNICATION THIS SPACE MAY BE USED FOR ADDRESS ONLY No. 66. VAN LEW HOUSE, RICHMOND, VA. Famous as the house where Federal prisoners, escaping from Libby Prison (Card No. 65), by way of a tunnel dug with their hands, were concealed and cared for until they could find means of passing through the Confederate lines. COPYRIGHT 1908 JAMESTOWN EX. CO.

PostmarkedPetersburg, VA, June 5, 1907

Addressed to

Mrs. E. M. Richardson

Dunmore, WV

Postcard record

Postmarked	June 5, 1907, Petersburg, VA
Publisher	The Jamestown Amusement & Vending Co., Inc.
Condition	Fair
Place addressed	Mrs. E. M. Richardson, Dunmore, WV
Place depicted	Van Lew House, Richmond, VA
Place mentioned	Van Lew House, Richmond, VA
Publisher	The Jamestown Amusement & Vending Co., Inc., Norfolk, VA
received	Durbin, WV
Stamp	1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1930, perforated on all sides
Stamp	1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1902, perforated vertical sides only
Notes	White border; handwritten message in ink across the top, sides, and bottom margins of the picture side; copyright 1907. Postmark: PETERSBURG, VA. JUN 5 1907. Receiving mark: DURBIN, W. VA. JUN 5 PM 1907 REC'D. Divided-back Jamestown Exposition official souvenir card; light edge wear and slight toning. Front shows a white border with handwriting on the margin.

Cite this card

Van Lew House, Richmond, VA, 1907, postcard, c. 1907. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/van-lew-house-richmond-va-1907. Accessed November 2, 2026.