Place: Philadelphia (Pa.) / Form: Business records - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Leary and Company (Leary's Bookstore) archives, 1840s-1969

Extent:: 21.0 boxes and and 91 volumes
Abstract:: William A. Leary, was a small-time book seller in 1836 when he journeyed to Philadelphia to establish a sidewalk book stall on North Second Street. As business prospered, Leary moved to several different locations, finally settling at 138 North Second Street which was right next door to the Camel Tavern, a landmark in Philadelphia. Leary’s Book Store specialized in selling inexpensive, second—hand books. Because of its large inventory and cheap prices, Leary’s developed a national reputation. In addition to selling and buying books, Leary expanded his base of operations by venturing into the publishing business in the 1850s. William A. Leary, Jr. took over the book store in 1865. Stuart and Charles Mann purchased the store from the Leary Estate in 1876. Under the Stuart’s management, Leary’s became one of the largest old book dealers in the world. As more people moved to and shopped in the suburbs, Leary’s customer base declined. Leary’s went out of business on November 20, 1968....(see more)

Held at: Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

George Sproule papers, 1884-1944 (bulk) 1784-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:: 4.16 linear feet (3 boxes, 17 volumes)
Abstract:: George F. Sproule (1867-1928), known as an authority on the Port of Philadelphia, served on the Board of Port Wardens of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1907, as Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation for the Delaware River from 1907 to 1920, and as Director of Wharves, Docks and Ferries from 1920 to 1928. His son, Samuel Jackson Sproule served as Port Representative for the United States Shipping Administration, Recruitment and Manning Organization during World War II. This collection documents the professional life of George F. Sproule in the Philadelphia shipping and maritime industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history of the Port of Philadelphia, and the World War II career of his son. The collection includes clippings, correspondence, appointment books, a scrapbook, business records, photographs, ephemera, and writings. The collection also includes a large number of maritime-related newspaper clipping volumes dating from 1891 to 1928.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Thomas Leiper and family business records, 1771-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:: 47.0 volumes
Abstract:: Thomas Leiper (1745-1825) was introduced into the business of tobacco shortly after his arrival in Virginia in 1763. Within several years, he moved to Philadelphia where he opened a tobacco shop. During the Revolutionary War, Leiper became the principal tobacco provider in Philadelphia. In 1776, Leiper purchased land in Delaware County that included a mill at a waterfall on the Crum Creek. He established snuff mills and later purchased a stone quarry. The Thomas Leiper and family business records include correspondence, country estate records, and business and financial records of the family's paper, lumber and wood working businesses, quarry business, and tobacco business dating from 1771 to 1947.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Philadelphia records, mid 1970s-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.3 linear feet ((4 document boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 volume))
Abstract:: The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Philadelphia operated at a series of locations in the city from 1973 to 1998. It aimed to provide information, counseling, and referrals to the gay and lesbian community via a call-in phone line. The Switchboard records are comprised of a range of business-related organizational materials dating from the mid 1970s through the late 1990s.

Held at: John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center [Contact Us]

Germantown Historical Society small manuscripts collection, 1701-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:: 8.0 linear feet (one filing cabinet ("box 1"), two boxes ("box 2" and "box 3"))
Abstract:: Germantown, a neighborhood in the northwest section of Philadelphia, was the site of several nationally significant events. It was settled in the late 1600s by Mennonite and Quaker German-speaking emigrants and incorporated as a borough in 1689. Germantown is sometimes called the home of the American anti-slavery movement; the first organized protest against slavery in the Americas was begun by four members of the Germantown Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1688. In 1777, the courage displayed by American troops at the Battle of Germantown helped to spur the French to assist the United States in the Revolutionary War. During the yellow fever outbreak of 1793, government officials escaping the epidemic in Philadelphia relocated to Germantown, and it served as the temporary home of George Washington and the First Bank of the United States. Germantown was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854. The Germantown Historical Society small manuscript...(see more)

Held at: Germantown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Stuart Teacher collection of Running Press material, circa 1866-2013, bulk 1965-1990 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5.5 linear feet (11 boxes)
Abstract:: This collection, dating from 1866 to 2013, contains published works, personal papers, business records and ephemera assembled by Stuart "Buz" Teacher, who founded Running Press with his brother, Lawrence "Larry" Teacher in 1972. Published works that inspired Running Press in its early years are included herein, along with documents that pertain to the publishing house's subsequent growth and sale to the Perseus Books Group in 2002. Around 1983, the Teacher brothers began restoring a townhouse at 125 South 22nd Street in Philadelphia; the documentation of this process is also included in the collection.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Collection of business invoices, 1838-1917 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: Collection of over 50 invoices, receipts, and engraved and pictorial letterheads from a wide range of American businesses. Businesses represented in the collection include bakeries, dry goods merchants, tobacco shops, patent medicine dealers, railroads, carpet sellers, hardware stores, lumber dealers, iron works and others mostly in Baltimore and Philadelphia, circa 1860s-1880s.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Wagner Free Institute of Science Director's files and business records, 1885-1924 (bulk) 1858-1938 (inclusive)

Extent:: 10.5 linear feet (18 containers)
Abstract:: Incorporated by William Wagner (1796-1885) in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is a natural history museum and educational institution in Philadelphia that is dedicated to providing free public education in the sciences. This collection of records details the administrative, financial, and program aspects of the Institute from 1858 to 1938, with the bulk of the records dating from 1885 to 1924.

Held at: Wagner Free Institute of Science [Contact Us]

Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1820-1910 (bulk) 1798-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.0 linear feet (5 containers)
Abstract:: Incorporated by William Wagner (1796-1885) in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is a natural history museum and educational institution in Philadelphia that is dedicated to providing free public education in the sciences. The Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science includes material collected by Chambers and contains correspondence; genealogical and family information; documents on William Wagner's early business career with Stephen Girard, the Lennoxville Steam Saw Mill and Snowden and Wagner; Wagner Free Instute of Science financial and operational material; and personal material from Sydney T. Skidmore, a member of the Board. This collection will almost certainly not provide a researcher with all the information needed—instead, this is an excellent starting point. Because these materials were, according to institutional memory, removed from other collections by Robert Chambers and kept close at hand due to...(see more)

Held at: Wagner Free Institute of Science [Contact Us]

Read family papers, 1792-1896 (bulk) 1736-1896 (inclusive)

Extent:: 70.0 linear feet and
Abstract:: The Read family consistently played an important role in American government and politics from the time that George Read, a Delaware resident, signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, the Reads served as lawyers, judges, politicians, generals, consul-generals and foreign ministers. This collection contains the papers of four generations of the Read family of Philadelphia, consisting of John Read, Judge John Meredith Read, General John Meredith Read, and Harmon Pumpelly Read. The materials date from 1736 to 1896, with the bulk dating from 1792 to 1896, and include extensive correspondence, bills and receipts, genealogical notes, legal documents, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks and ephemera. The majority of the collection consists of General John Meredith Read’s papers relating to his family history and genealogy, correspondence, and political materials. The collection is particularly valuable in illustrating...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Main content

Limit your search

Repository

Record Source

Online Content

Subject

Organization

People

Place

Form

Creator

Language

Year