Gilded Age Richmond book talk and signing, Thursday Nov. 2nd, Cabell Library, VCU Libraries.

The 900 block of W. Franklin St., postcard image ca. 1910.  This is where the elite of Richmond lived from the 1880s to the 1920s.

Brian Burns, will speak about his book Gilded Age Richmond: Gaiety, Greed & Lost Cause Mania Thursday, Nov. 2, from 4-5 pm. at James Branch Cabell Library.

The talk is in the Mapp Room, on the fourth floor, and will be followed by a book sale and signing. The presentation is free and open to all but seating is limited.  Please Register Here 

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Richmond entered the Gilded Age seeking bright prospects and prosperity while struggling to overcome its past. During a labor convention in conservative Richmond, white supremacists prepared to enforce segregation at gunpoint. Progressives attempted to wrest political power by unveiling a wondrous new marvel: Richmond’s first electric streetcar. After Jefferson Davis’s death in 1889, elites launched an ambitious campaign to memorialize the Confederacy through erecting monuments. But they had more passion than money.

Author Brian Burns’ overview of Richmond heading into the 20th century promises to be especially timely given current public discussion about the meaning of monuments and how the past informs the future.   

The author is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C. He graduated in 1983 from the School of Design at North Carolina State University. He worked as art director for several advertising agencies, including the Martin Agency in Richmond. He was co-producer of The Rainbow Minute, a radio series on LGBTQ history, heard on WRIR-FM community radio in Richmond. His first book, Lewis Ginter: Richmond’s Gilded Age Icon, was published by The History Press in 2011.

The event is free and open to all, but please register. Parking is available for a fee in the West Broad Street, West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. For special accommodations, please contact the VCU Libraries Events Office at 804-828-0593 prior to Oct. 31.

Let me know if you have any questions, Ray - just email me at: rbonis@vcu.edu