Colonial Williamsburg Publications

The Williamsburg Bray School: A History Through Records, Reflections, and Rediscovery

Seven letters that trace the arc of the Williamsburg Bray School—from its founding in 1760 to its closing in 1774—are the foundation for a collection of essays that explores history and implications of the 18th-century school for enslaved and...

Restoring Williamsburg

From our fascinating and highly readable best-selling classic, Williamsburg Before and After to our revised and expanded edition, Restoring Williamsburg combines the history of a major restoration bringing the story up to present. Sheds new...

Colonial Williamsburg Christmas: Celebrating Classic Traditions and the Spirit of the Holiday

Drawing on 18th-century traditions, Colonial Williamsburg is famous for its Christmas festivities, and the pages of this lavishly illustrated book conjure up celebrations past and present. Here are cressets glowing warmly and fireworks exploding over the...

Colonial Williamsburg: The Story

It was in Williamsburg, Virginia, that American independence—and democracy—took root. And it is in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg that millions have learned about the continuing relevance of America's founding ideas. Spanning...

Colonial Williamsburg: The Guide

No visit to Colonial Williamsburg is complete without our official guide book! This first new edition of Colonial Williamsburg's official guide since 2014, this book includes information on all of Colonial Williamsburg's historic sites. This guide...

Williamsburg's Joseph Prentis: His Monthly Kalender & Garden Book

In the eighteenth century as today, Williamsburg was known for its fine gardens. Among the town's most enthusiastic gardeners was Joseph Prentis, an attorney who kept a personal garden book and calendar. This volume includes the full text of Prentis'...

Duel in the Wilderness

Major George Washington stared grimly at the French commander facing him. The young Virginian had traveled hundreds of miles into the frontier to deliver a message from the King of England. After a dangerous journey, Washington had arrived at his...

Entertaining Ideas from Williamsburg

Virginia, of course, is famous for its hospitality. Drawing on that tradition, here's a treasure trove of ideas for celebrating special occasions throughout the year. From a winter anniversary to a spring wedding, a Fourth of July picnic to a children's...

The Cabinetmaker DVD

This DVD, Part 11 of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Archive Series: The Trades of Colonial Williamsburg, features The Cabinetmaker Crafting a Card Table. Antique furniture produced in 18th-century Williamsburg serves as patterns for work produced...

The Music Of Williamsburg DVD

Part 2 of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Archive Series: Colonial Life through a Lens. Filmed in 1960, this docudrama explores how music in 18th-century Williamsburg was a ritual of everyday life—the accompaniment to everything from...

The Colonial Naturalist DVD

Part 3 of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Archive Series: Colonial Life through a Lens. Filmed in 1965, this docudrama highlights Mark Catesby's first visit to the colonies, where the self-trained naturalist spent time observing his natural...

Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop

Gingerbread cookies and other goodies from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop bring back delicious memories for generations of Williamsburg visitors. In this cookbook, original recipes from rare 18th-century cookbooks are presented side-by-side with their...

The Williamsburg Cookbook

Once tasted, the food of Williamsburg is not forgotten. Visitors return again and again for Chowning Tavern's Brunswick Stew, Christiana Campbell's Spoon Bread, the Williamsburg Inn's Breast of Turkey Supreme and countless other delicacies. In this...

Colonial Williamsburg Hauntings

Based on the official Colonial Williamsburg ghost tours, this book features stories from employees, residents and guests. Here are tales of unexplained alarms, moving chairs and windows, even flying checkerboards - plus spooky images of scenes guests on...

Early Upholstery Seating

Watch a feature about our restoration expert, Leroy Graves, on CBS Sunday Morning. Leading Colonial Williamsburg conservator Leroy Graves has changed the way collectors and museums regard historic upholstery. Little upholstery from the eighteenth and...

Flowers and Herbs of Early America

Rediscover our American botanical heritage with this chronicle of the history and cultivation of 56 species of colonial flowers and herbs. Researched and written by master gardener Lawrence Griffith, curator of plants for The Colonial Williamsburg...

Holiday Fare Cookbook

Hot Cranberry Wassail! Cheese and Chive Crisps! Buttery Rum Pumpkin Pie! Sixty easy-to-follow recipes from Executive Chef John Gonzales are featured in the Holiday Fare Cookbook, including historic local flavors from Colonial Williamsburg's famed...

The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook

It's six o'clock, stomachs are rumbling and suddenly you have a yearning for the Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Flounder you enjoyed at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. No problem. Pull out The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, roll up your sleeves, and in an...

The Art-Full Tree: Ornaments to Make Inspired by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

Based on art from Colonial Williamsburg's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum's collection, each of the 33 projects in The Art-Full Tree: Ornaments to Make Inspired by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art features an image of the original work and...

Painters and Paintings in the Early American South

Painters and Paintings in the Early American South by the Juli Grainger, Curator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, gathers into one volume a large body of materials related to the paintings and the artists of the American South between 1564 and...

Becoming Jefferson: My Life As A Founding Father

This collectible book is written by Bill Barker, who has portrayed Thomas Jefferson in a variety of venues since 1981 and as a historical interpreter with Colonial Williamsburg since 1993. Part history and part autobiography, Mr. Barker writes about how...