George Mason University. Special Collections and Archives.

The Office of University Relations is the primary communication center and contact point for information about the university. The office leads the university community in promoting George Mason University as a world-class institution of higher education.

Broadside, George Mason University's official student newspaper, began its life as The Gunston Ledger. An eight-page monthly printed on 12 inch by 9 inch paper, The Gunston Ledger first appeared on October 15, 1963 on the then George Mason College campus located in Bailey's Crossroads. On the staff of twelve students included a photography editor, Richard Sparks, and he contributed two to four photos for each edition. The content consisted of campus news, features on GMC faculty and students, engagement and wedding notices, and some commentary. The Ledger became the Broadside on October 28, 1969. It was explained in that issue that the name change was part of an effort to remake the paper into more of a news instrument like that of the nation's revolutionary fathers. The Broadside was a weekly paper which contained sixteen or more pages in each issue. Photography in the Broadside was mostly limited to campus events and personalities. Today, Broadside is a modern newspaper. It is generated via computer and is published in a large, folded newspaper format. With two issues each week, it is produced more frequently. Its news is local, national, and international in scope. Besides campus news, the paper features national and world events, entertainment, music, and restaurant reviews, sports, and commentary. Photography for each issue is provided by both digital and traditional 35mm format cameras. Broadside uses staff photographers and major wire service outlets for its photographs.

As publication of the George Mason University Yearbook ceased in 1988, GM View: The George Mason Video Yearbook was born. Mason had maintained a print version of the yearbook since 1965 under various names (i.e. Advocate, By George, Patriotism, and others). GM View has been in continuous publication since 1989. Though each year's production is different from the others, they all have maintained the same basic format: a length of about 30 minutes; and coverage of university sports, greek, and campus events (such as Mason and Patriots' Day, International Week celebrations, graduations, etc). This digital collection was created with the kind, generous, and expert help from the staff of GMU TV and Digital Programs and Systems, George Mason University Libraries.

The George Mason University Foundation was established in 1966 to advance and further the aims and purposes of George Mason University. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of the university. The foundation assists the university in generating private support, and manages, invests, and administers private gifts, including endowment and real property. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, led by a chairman.

From the guide to the George Mason University photograph collection, 1950s-2007, (George Mason University. Special Collections and Archives.)

The photographs in this collection document American travel at the turn of the century. Travel, during the latter part of the 19th century, was dominated by railroads. At the time these images were taken around 1893, over 87,801 miles of track had been laid in the United States. With the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, Americans were easily able to traverse the country facilitating the rapid settling of the Western United States.

From the guide to the Southwestern United States photograph collection, 1893, (George Mason University. Special Collections and Archives.)

MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group), Vietnam, was an organization of military personnel, sent to train and assist South Vietnamese armed forces. Originally, the delegation was sent to support the French military in the First Indochina War and named MAAG Indochina. With the withdrawal of French troops from Vietnam, MAAG shifted its focus to the training of South Vietnamese forces in an effort to stem the rising influence of Communism. MAAG Vietnam was in operation from 1955-1964. At the time the photographs in this collection were taken, Team 58 was stationed in Vi Thanh in the former Chuong Thien province. Throughout its inception MAAG Vietnam was under the control of three generals; Lieutenant General Samuel T. Williams, November 1955-September 1960, Lieutenant General Lionel C. McGarr, September 1960-July 1962, and Major General Charles J. Timmes, July 1962-May 1964. In 1964 MAAG was placed under U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and had grown from a few hundred advisors to over 3,000.

From the guide to the Vietnam Military Assistance Advisory Group Team 58 photograph collection, 1955-1965, (George Mason University. Special Collections and Archives.)

The Illustrated London News was one of the first newspapers to employ wood engravings on a wide scale. One of its artists was Frank Vizetelly (1830-1883); he covered the Civil War for British readers. Early on, he illustrated the war from the Union side but was later allowed to draw from the Confederate side. Artists like Vizetelly sometimes did more than draw, though. He acted as a messenger for Confederate General James Longstreet at the battle of Chickamauga. Vizetelly was also a staff aide for the Confederates at the battle of Fredericksburg and was present at Charleston, South Carolina, when it was besieged. Because of such personal involvement by artists, many engravings were not made by detached observers, but by active participants in history unfolding.

Frank Leslie (1821-1880) was another artist who began his career as an engraver in 1842 and eventually published his own newspaper, which he titled, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. The newspaper also covered the Civil War. Leslie used a large number of illustrations in his newspaper to increase circulation. Images from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper are well represented in Northern Virginia Images Collection, including several images from the German language edition of the newspaper.

Another popular periodical of the time was Harper's Weekly. It first appeared in 1857 and became one of the most important and influential periodicals in nineteenth century America, notably during the Civil War. Two prominent artists for Harper's Weekly during this period were Alfred Waud (1828-1891) and Thomas Nast (1840-1902). Engravings by both are included in Northern Virginia Images Collection. Waud was primarily assigned to the eastern front and covered the war from the Battle of First Manassas to the Confederacy's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Thomas Nast (who later became famous for creating the roly- poly figure in red we now know as Santa Claus) worked largely in New York for most of the war. One of the major exceptions to this was when he spent time in the Union camp during the Battle of Gettysburg. Nast's sympathies were for the Union side, which, naturally, bothered Southerners, who often sent threatening letters to Nast at the Harper's Weekly office. By and large, The Illustrated London News, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, and Harper's Weekly illustrated the Civil War from the Northern point-of-view.

Many of today's Northern Virginia residents only know the area as a population outgrowth of Washington, D.C. Despite this cosmopolitan reputation, it was largely farm country at the time of the Civil War through World War II. Few realize that the area was the frequent battleground for large contending forces. Yet, many of the areas that are depicted in the images still exist today but under much different circumstances. Some of the areas included in these images have undergone radical cultural changes as well. An Islamic Mosque now occupies Munson Hill, which Confederate forces occupied under General J.E.B. Stuart during early days of the war.

From the guide to the Northern Virginia Civil War images collection, 1853-1914, (George Mason University. Special Collections and Archives.)