Philadelphia Area Archives

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Austro-American Relief Society records, 1916-1942 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.83 linear feet (5 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:: Records of the Austro-American Relief Society of Philadelphia, Pa., mainly documenting its charitable work from 1916 to 1941, including fundraising in behalf of war relief for Austro-Hungarian and German civilians and prisoners of war during and after World War I. The collection includes financial records, membership and donor lists, inventories, correspondence, ephemera, and clippings.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

German Society of Pennsylvania institutional records, 1764-1968 (bulk) 1764-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:: 27.4 linear feet
Abstract:: The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1764, directed its early efforts to assisting new German immigrants, especially those forced into indentured servitude when they were unable to pay their sea fare. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Society was very visible in the thriving German-American community in Philadelphia, boasting just over one thousand members at the peak of its growth, in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the Society’s scope and prominence was affected by the two World Wars, which created suspicion and criticism of Germanic culture. That suspicion and government scrutiny played a role in the dwindling membership of the Society. In the post-World War II era the Society channeled its overseas relief activities through a Quaker-based aid society. In the second half of the century, the neighborhood was also changing, as it became predominantly African-American, rather than German, and more impoverished. But the Society pressed...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Relief for German Children of the Lost Provinces of Germany and Austria records, circa 1924-1929

Extent:: 0.13 linear feet (8 folders)
Abstract:: Records of a Philadelphia Committee that supported Relief for German Children of the Lost Provinces of Germany and Austria (Hilfswerk fuer die deutschen Kinder in den vom Deutschen Reich und Oesterreich abgetrennten Provinzen), a project of the Berlin-based German organization Verein für das Deutschtum im Ausland (VDA; Society for the Germans in Foreign Countries). The Philadelphia Committee, which was chaired by Pastor Fritz O. Evers from December 1925 through 1928, worked in cooperation with Robert Treut of the VDA, organizing Philadelphia showings of films provided by Treut that concerned Germany and German culture. The collection comprises financial records, correspondence, clippings, and ephemera related to four film evenings held from 1926 to 1929, the first three at the Metropolitan Opera House, and the last at the hall of the Philadelphia Turngemeinde.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania records, 1967-2018 (inclusive) 1982-2018 (bulk)

Extent:: 20.5 linear feet (22 boxes)
Abstract:: The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania, unofficially founded in 1982 and officially founded in 1995, supports the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Pennsylvania through services and programs focused on support, advocacy, and education. These records document the creation and development of the LGBT Center and the larger support of the LGBTQ+ community at Penn; the advocacy and influence of Robert Schoenberg and Center staff within the University of Pennsylvania administration; and the influence of global LGBTQ+ issues at the campus level at Penn and more broadly in academia.

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

Joseph W. Catharine papers regarding the Thomas W. Evans estate, 1897-1931, undated (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.2 linear feet (6 boxes)
Abstract:: The Joseph W. Catharine papers contain records, correspondence and legal documents dating from 1897 to 1931, which relate to the litigation of the Thomas W. Evans estate. Although Dr. Evans, a wealthy dentist, left a clear last will and testament, it took about sixteen years for his estate to be administered due to a string of legal battles between the heirs, executors and City of Philadelphia (represented by Catharine in his capacity as Assistant City Solicitor). The collection includes professional correspondence, legal notes and memoranda, formal legal documents filed by name of court, the records of the Thomas W. Evans Museum and Institute Society, and the financial records of the estate's dispensation.

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

Levis family papers, 1770-1891, circa 1932 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet
Abstract:: Beginning in the late eighteenth century, the Levis family of Delaware County, Pennsylvania owned and operated mills, manufacturing first paper and then cotton. This collection of Levis family papers contains a variety of documents including correspondence, bills, contracts, estate records and newspaper clippings, dating from 1770 to around 1932. When possible, the papers have been arranged by the creator of the material, or the Levis family member to whom they most directly relate.

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

Hedgerow Theatre Company records, 1901-2016 (inclusive)

Extent:: 59.5 linear feet (67 boxes)
Abstract:: The Hedgerow Theatre Company was established in 1923 by Jasper Deeter, a New York based actor and director. Located in the Rose Valley Arts and Crafts Community of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Hedgerow holds the distinction as the longest serving Repertory Theatre in America. The Hedgerow Theatre Company records contains a wide variety of materials, from business records and show materials to member ephemera and photographs. The collection provides both a practical and intimate look into the workings of this repertory theatre.

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

Physicians Forum collection, 1939-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:: 64 boxes
Abstract:: Administrative records, correspondence, and publications documenting the activities and policy concerns of the Physicians Forum, an organization of progressive doctors founded by Ernst P. Boas in New York City. Its advocacy on the national level encompassed numerous health issues, with particular focus on health insurance, discrimination in medicine, and resistance to McCarthyism.

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

John W. Mauchly papers, 1908-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:: 37 linear feet (37 boxes)
Abstract:: John W. Mauchly (1907-1980) was a physicist, teacher, and a leader in the development of computers. With J. Presper Eckert, he invented the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC), the Binary Automatic Computer (BINAC), and the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC). This first installment of Mauchly's papers documents Mauchly's youth, education, early career at Ursinus College, his work at the University of Pennsylvania Moore School of Electrical Engineering, his partnership with J. Presper Eckert, with whom he formed two companies, the Electronic Control Company (ECC) and the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC), and his work through 1959 with Remington Rand/Sperry Rand after its purchase of EMCC in 1950. Early work in programming, coding, compilers, routines and subroutines, and most importantly, the application of electronic computers in government, business, and industry, as well as the history of...(see more)

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

Theodore Dreiser papers, circa 1890-1965 (bulk dates 1897-1955) (inclusive) 1897-1955 (bulk)

Extent:: 244 linear feet (503 boxes)
Abstract:: Contains 22 series, including correspondence (118 boxes); legal matters (7 boxes); writings (260 boxes), comprising books, essays, short stories, poems, plays, screenplays, radio scripts, addresses, lectures, interviews, introductions, and prefaces; journals edited by Dreiser (6 boxes); notes (9 boxes); diaries (5 boxes); biographical material (1 box); memorabilia (41 boxes), comprising scrapbooks, photographs (many of which are available online), art work, promotional material, postcards, and miscellanea; financial records (5 boxes); clippings (23 boxes); works by others (12 boxes); and oversize materials (2 boxes). Also includes materials regarding various family members: brother Paul Dresser (8 boxes of correspondence, sheet music and lyric sheets, clippings and memorabilia, and two plays written by Dresser); second wife Helen Dreiser (4 boxes of diaries and other writings); and niece Vera Dreiser (2 boxes of correspondence).

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