Over 50 images of buildings in Richmond's historic Jackson Ward neighborhood are on display on the fourth floor of the James Branch Cabell Library as part of VCU Libraries' observance of Black History Month. The images were originally used in The Jackson Ward Historic District published by the city in 1978. The images were taken by John Zehmer and the text was provided by Richmond architectural historian Robert P. Winthrop. An online version of the book was created by VCU Libraries in 2008 as part of the library's Digital Collections.
The online collection presents the entire book as originally published, page by page. Each of the original photographic prints, scanned from the mock-up boards, is available. Each photograph is presented with the accompanying text from the original book, with additional information about the architectural style and features of the building depicted.
A small portion of the original mock-up boards with photographs of buildings in Jackson Ward, many demolished since they were taken in 1978, will be on display in the fourth floor exhibit area of the James Branch Cabell Library from now until the end of the semester. The original photographs are housed in Special Collections and Archives.