Virginius Cornick Hall Jr. (1932-2022) was born to Virginius Cornick Hall Sr. (1894-1957) and Josephine Lytle Livingood (1900-1991). Through his mother, Hall was a descendant of Cap. William Lytle (1728-1797), an early settler of Cincinnati for whom Lytle Park in Cincinnati is named, and Gen. William Haines Lytle (1826-1863), a poet and Civil war general. Hall was also the grandson of Charles J. Livingood (1866-1952), a famed Cincinnati philanthropist who helped found the first art collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum and the nearby town of Mariemont.

Charles J. Livingood was a lifelong influence on Hall's work - after his death, Livingood passed on his research on his family history to Hall for him to build upon; but Livingood also bequeathed to Hall a collection of ephemera that was affectionately titled his "Curiosity Cabinet." Hall grew up fascinated by his grandfather's assortment of items that were interesting to him, but seemingly had no monetary value as a collection. The crown jewel of Livingood's original "Curiosity Cabinet" was what he claimed to be a piece of President George Washington's original coffin. After inheriting the "Curiosity Cabinet," Hall went on to include items of his own in the collection, in the hopes that he would similarly inspire his grandchildren to create collections of everyday items of their own. By the end of this life, he had added a plethora of objects to the "Curiosity Cabinet" such as can openers, mouse traps, whack packs and more. His wife Maria Hall also added groups of items, including fruit wrappers and shopping bags. Some of these unique assortments of items are contained within this collection.

At age 13, Hall moved to Groton, Massachusetts to attend an elite boarding school known as the Groton School, where he excelled academically and eventually became the editor of The Grotonian, the school's literary journal. After graduating from the Groton School in 1950, Hall earned an undergraduate degree in 1954 at Princeton University. There he had the opportunity to work with famous print collector Elmer Adler and curate print exhibitions under his guidance. He served in the US Army during the 1950s and later enrolled in the University of Michigan to earn a graduate degree in library science. Hall was very close with his mother Josephine, and exchanged weekly letters with her throughout the course of his educational career, several of which are included in this collection.

Hall spent much of his life in Richmond, Virginia, and he worked with the Virginia Historical Society for thirty four years in several administrative and research positions (from Rare Book Curator to Acting Director). He researched state deaths and the history of prints in the state, before this work culminated in a published catalog of the Virginia Historical Society's portraits with written descriptions titled "Portraits in the Collection of the Virginia Historical Society." Hall's interest in visuals continued into his Virginia Views and Cincinnati Views projects (the second of which started after he moved back to Cincinnati), in which he drew connections between city prints and images and historical events in order to give them greater context and meaning. He believed that these places are beautiful and their beauty is enhanced when its scenery is connected to local history.

Another project of Hall's was an evolution of the "Curiosity Cabinet," and fueled by the frequent travels around the world that he made with his wife Maria. This was the "Fruits and Nuts" project, in which Hall created biographies and notes about people in the world that he found interesting or strange for any reason. In an oral interview Hall described himself as a "flaneur" who enjoyed people watching in the streets while he was traveling, which allowed him to observe people and their perceived eccentricities. This collection contains detailed, alphabetized records of those chosen for the "Fruits and Nuts" projects.

Hall was a proud third generation member of the Cincinnati Literary Club, and he gave several talks and wrote many published articles for the organization throughout his lifetime. He was also a published author of an array of other books about his own family history, general history, and his various collections.

Hall married Maria Jackson Hall (1930-1994) in 1962, to whom he remained married for thirty two years until her death in Cincinnati. Maria was a French scholar who served as a Fulbright student in France as a young adult, which motivated family trips to France and Murray Bay, Quebec. Together they had two daughters: Maria Allison Hall Rooney and Susannah Hall Appleton, and were grandparents to four grandchildren (Lucy, Annabel, Nathan, Sayre).