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One of the best-known men’s shirt brands is Arrow, which is part of Cluett, Peabody & Co. Arrow started with Hannah Lord Montague, who invented a detachable collar for a man’s shirt in 1885. The innovation allowed a man to have a crisp collar without having to wash his shirt daily. Illustrator J.C. Leyendecker popularized the brand by creating the Arrow Collar Man. This fashion icon essentially became the male counterpart to the Gibson Girl. In the 1920s, shirts became more casual and started to deviate from the detachable collar, favoring a collar that was connected to the shirt.

With the arrival of the 200th anniversary of the Wickham House, came the opportunity to highlight the historic house, its original family and the social, religious, cultural, economic, and political atmosphere and events of Richmond in 1812. It is our hope that the combination of these varying spheres into one cohesive tour will engage both volunteers and visitors alike and help us to see and understand the Wickham House in new ways as the tour is presented throughout 2012.

Did you know that Richmond has an amazing art heritage? Some of the best American artists have called the River City home. Among them are father and son photography team George and Huestis Cook, makers of some of the most iconic photographic images of Virginia. Other artists represented in our manuscript collections include important painters such as William James Hubard (1807-1862), Conrad Wise Chapman (1843–1910) and his father John Gadsby Chapman (1808–1889). The History Center also has the records of the Craig House Art Center, an important organization for African-American art in the 1930’s.