The Archival Materials section is comprised of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and printed materials pertaining to variety of subjects. Each subject is represented in its own Series, and includes (I) U.S. Civil War; (II) Alabama; (III) American Revolution and Early Colonial America; (IV) U.S. politics; (V) Arizona Territory; (VI) Technology and Transportation; and (VII) Miscellaneous. The bulk of the collection focuses on the Civil War and 19th century Alabama. Items in the collection of particular note include correspondence related to Alabama’s territorial period; the correspondence of Edward Crenshaw, a Confederate Marine Corps officer and native of Butler County, Alabama; correspondence and loyalty oath from Raphael Semmes, captain of the C.S.S. Alabama and Admiral in the Confederate States Navy; and materials related to the Confederate States of America’s Postal Service.

The Philatelic Materials portion of the collection includes U.S. postal stamps from the 19th and 20th centuries, and includes many first-day issue and commemorative stamps and postal covers. These covers feature a broad array of stamps from the Classic, Bureau, and Modern periods of U.S. Postal Service history. Other materials found in this collection include stamps and covers from early U.S Air Mail and Zeppelin transport; Wells Fargo; postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries; stamps and covers commemorating space exploration and scientific achievements; advertising covers; and stampless folded letters from the 19th century. Many of these items, particularly the 19th century covers, contain correspondence from various regions of the United States. Of particular note are postal materials and correspondence pertaining to Alabama in the 19th century; first-day issues of U.S. stamps and covers from the 1930s to the 1980s; assorted postcards with images from the American West, U.S. and European landscapes and cityscapes; and images of early airplanes and dirigibles.

This Philatelic portion of the collection also includes a number of philatelic and historical journals and auction catalogs. Journals include The Confederate Philatelist (1975-2014) and Ashbrook Newsletters (1951-1957). Among the philatelic and memorabilia auction catalogs are a collection of Christie’s Auction Catalog (1984-1996), and catalogs from various other U.S. auction galleries.

The Oversized Materials portion features a number of maps, newspapers, paintings, posters, prints, and printed material covering a variety of subjects in United States history. Topics include the U.S. Civil War, Colonial America, wildlife, U.S. politics, and the American West. Of particular note is The Army and Navy of the United States, 1776-1891 series; a complete set of photographs from the Photographic History of the Civil War; an 1863 bound collection of Harpers Weekly; and a rare collection of photographs and daguerreotypes of Union Naval Vessels.

Note: Numerous photocopies of items appear throughout the collection. These are items (mainly correspondence) that Mr. Vick owned at one time, but has since sold. Many of these items still have important research value, and Mr. Vick grants researchers permission to use them in this manner.