Jan. 27, 1999
Contact: Bob Brickhouse
(804) 924-6856

PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON PROJECT WILL COMMEMORATE BICENTENNIAL OF
FIRST PRESIDENT'S DEATH WITH TWO EXHIBITS

	This year marks the 200th anniversary of the death of George
Washington, a loss that had a profound impact on the young country he
helped found.
	As part of the bicentennial commemoration, the Papers of George
Washington editorial project at the University of Virginia will sponsor
two exhibits that will open on Feb. 11, Washington's birthday.
	An exhibit in Alderman Library, "A Concert of Mourning: The
Death of George Washington," will focus on the nation's extended
outpouring of grief in honor of Washington's death on Dec. 14, 1799.
	An adjunct exhibit, "In His Own Hand: Editing the Papers of
George Washington," will open in the Dome Room of the Rotunda and focus
on the documentary editing process and the Washington Papers' massive
archive about the nation's founding and first president.
	"For the next twelve months the American people will be
encouraged by many institutions to give some thought to the man who was
the central figure in the winning of American independence and founding
the American republic," said historian William W. Abbot, editor emeritus
of the Washington Papers. "Perhaps our public life will be the better
for it as we move into a new century."
	The United States formally mourned Washington's death for a
year, according to Mary Ann Andrei of the Washington Papers editorial
staff and curator of the exhibits. With the country's founding only a
decade before, the public felt the loss profoundly and faced the future
with uncertainty. The mourning period inspired memorial poems, dirges
and funeral orations, in addition to many engravings that depicted
Washington's tomb, deathbed scene and funeral.
	Among items on display in the Alderman Library exhibit will be
memorial ribbons and medals, 19th century china decorated with
Washington's tomb at Mt. Vernon, a walking stick made from the tree that
grew over the old tomb, and numerous newspapers, pamphlets, books, 

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prints and lithographs.  The written and printed materials are from the
U.Va. library's collections; other objects are on loan from many
institutions.
	The exhibit will be up through May 7, 1999, and will be in the
library's Memorial Hall (4th Floor) and the Stettinius Gallery in
Special Collections (2nd Floor).
	The exhibit of Washington's writing will draw from materials in
the Washington Papers, which contains photographic copies of some
135,000 documents forming one of the richest collections of American
historical manuscripts.  Highlights of this exhibit, which will be in
the Rotunda through April 15, may be viewed online at
http://www.virginia.edu/gwpapers/exhibits/mourning/ 
	The papers project is a long-term effort to publish a complete,
annotated edition of Washington's letters, diaries and other documents.
With financial support from the University, the Mount Vernon Ladies
Association (which operates Washington's home), the National Endowment
for the Humanities and the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission, the complete edition will consist of a projected 85 volumes.
Some 40 volumes have been published to date.  As a related part of the
scholarly project the Packard Humanities Institute is preparing a
searchable CD-ROM of all the Washington Papers.
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	REPORTERS AND EDITORS:  For stories during the nation's
bicentennial of George Washington's death this year, the staff of the
Washington Papers at the University of Virginia is an excellent
resource. Contact the Papers of George Washington office at (804)
924-3569 or 924 6125. Philander D. Chase is editor-in-chief; Frank E.
Grizzard is senior associate editor. William W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig
are editors emeritus. Television reports should contact the TV News
Office at (804) 924-7550.