Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Record Source University of Pennsylvania Form Correspondence Year 1865 to 1869

Mayer Sulzberger Collection, 1857-1923 (inclusive) 1900-1923 (bulk)

Extent:: 18 linear feet (35 boxes)
Abstract:

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Archives at the Library of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies [Contact Us]

Alexander Kendrick papers, 1787-1994 (inclusive) 1930-1977 (bulk)

Extent:: 11.51 linear feet (27 boxes)
Abstract:: Alexander Kendrick was a journalist, foreign correspondent, author, and radio and television reporter affiliated with The Public Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). He is best known for his reporting of international events in World War II and postwar years. The Alexander Kendrick papers comprise radio broadcast and television typescripts, correspondence, contracts, edited book typescripts, book research notes, clippings, long-playing records, and photographs.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives [Contact Us]

John Wilson account book, 1849-1899 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 volume (+ 1 photograph, 3 leaves)
Abstract:: An account book kept by John Wilson who lived in Troutbeck and Windermere, Westmorland, England spanning the years from 1849 to 1899. The volume comprises Wilson's recorded business transactions with clients. Wilson's records suggest he was probably a literary agent, editor, and stationer. He was paid for editing, writing, arranging, and printing and was employed by newspapers such as the Kendal Times and the Lake Herald and writers including George Augustus Sala and Eliza Winstanley. Bound at the end of the volume is Reynold's astrological and prophetic almanack for 1849 on sixteen printed pages.

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

John Bartram Association records relating to its foundation and early organization, 1779-1937 (inclusive) 1893-1911 (bulk)

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: The John Bartram Association was founded in 1893 for the purpose of protecting and enhancing the the home and garden of John Bartram, known today as "Bartram's Garden." This collection, dating from 1779 to 1937 (bulk 1893 to 1911), document the association's foundation and early administrative activities predominately through correspondence, accented by newspaper clippings, advertising fliers, and invitation cards.

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

Gotham Book Mart records, 1723-2006 (inclusive) 1967-2006 (bulk)

Extent:: 79 linear feet (95 boxes)
Abstract:: The Gotham Book Mart (1920-2006) was one of New York City's most iconic bookstores during the 20th century. Founded by Frances Steloff (1887-1989), the daughter of poor Russian-Jewish immigrants, the Book Mart became a social center for the New York literati and a focal point for literary modernism in the United States. Steloff's successor, independent literary manuscript dealer Andreas Brown (1933-), maintained the store's focus on avant garde and small press publications while incorporating his own interests in postcards and genealogy. This collection contains 91 boxes of material relating to the daily operation of the Book Mart; correspondence, biographical, and legal material from both Brown and Steloff; postcard and genealogical material collected by Brown; photographs of the store, its employees, and events which took place there; and manuscripts and ephemera offered for sale.

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

Charles Godfrey Leland letters to George Henry Boker, 1861-1937 (inclusive) 1869-1870 (bulk)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: Charles Godfrey Leland (1824-1903) was a humorist and folklorist from Philadelphia. The collection consists of fourteen illustrated letters written to George Henry Boker which document one year of Leland's trip to Europe from 1869 to 1870; transcriptions of the letters; and an article by donor and scholar Sculley Bradley about the collection.

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

Robert Montgomery Bird family correspondence, 1820-1991 (inclusive) 1830-1908 (bulk)

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: This collection contains correspondence between Robert Montgomery Bird, his wife Mary E. Bird, their son Frederic Mayer Bird, and other family members. It provides accounts of daily life in New Castle, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 19th century.

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

Robert Montgomery Bird papers, 1799-1946 (inclusive) 1822-1854 (bulk)

Extent:: 31 boxes
Abstract:: Comprises personal, business, literary, and family papers. In addition to Bird's own papers, this collection includes papers of his wife Mary E. Bird, his son Frederic Mayer Bird, and his biographer Clement Edgar Foust. The earliest papers (1822) date from Bird's school days at Germantown Academy, and the very latest papers (1946) relate to C. Seymour Thompson's publication of Mary E. Bird's biography of her husband. Correspondents include men and women from Bird's career in medicine; his literary career; his theatrical career (including correspondence with Edwin Forrest, as well as the documentation regarding their legal battle over copyrights and profits); his political career; and his career in publishing and journalism.

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

Sanford Sorkin philately collection, 1806-1960 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: Sanford Sorkin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1963 with an interest in collecting stamps and other items of philatelic value. The collection consists of correspondence, miscellaneous documents, and ephemera such as postcards, tradecards, and stamped envelopes that Sorkin and his father collected more for their stamps and other evidence of early postal service than for their content. The materials are largely unrelated to one another aside from their philatelic interest.

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

Thomas W. Evans papers, circa 1850-1913 (inclusive) 1850-1897 (bulk)

Extent:: 5.5 linear feet (11 boxes)
Abstract:: Thomas Evans (1823-1897) was a Philadelphia dentist who moved to France in 1847 and became court dentist to Napoléon III, Emperor of France. Over the course of his career, he became a celebrated member of the social elite of fin de siécle Europe. He established confidences with many members of European royalty and kept company with such cultural luminaries as Edouard Manet and Stéphane Mallarmé. This collection largely documents Evans's social world and his interactions with influential people through correspondence, personal journals and writings, images, newspaper clippings and printed material, memorabilia, and awards. There is very limited material relating to his work as a dentist.

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

Charlotte Cushman Club records, 1818-2000 (inclusive) 1907-1998 (bulk)

Extent:: 16.6 linear feet (26 boxes)
Abstract:: Founded in 1907, the Charlotte Cushman Club was originally intended to provide respectable lodgings for actresses appearing in Philadelphia theaters. In the years of World War II the Club ceased to provide residential services, becoming a favorite gathering place of theater lovers as well as of the many actresses and actors visiting the city with their touring companies. The Charlotte Cushman Club Records offer insight into the activities, the administration, and the membership of the Club during the whole life of the organization, until its closure in 1998. The collection also includes part of the holdings of the former Club's museum and library.

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

Arthur Hobson Quinn papers, 1801-1961 (inclusive) 1907-1960 (bulk)

Extent:: 46.2 linear feet (93 boxes)
Abstract:: Arthur Hobson Quinn (1875-1960) was a professor and dean of English and History at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally recognized authority on the history of American drama. This collection contains material representative of Quinn's entire professional life: correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, lecture notes, reviews of contemporary plays, his collection of playbills and libretti, and material related to his research on Edgar Allan Poe and the American realist playwright James A. Herne.

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

Frothingham and Roberts family papers, 1862-1936 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.2 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: The Frothingham and Roberts families were joined when Mary Foster Frothingham (1863-1934) and George Wood Bissell Roberts (1859-1941) were married on February 10, 1886. This collection documents three generations of the Frothingham family of Massachusetts and the Roberts family of Philadelphia and Riverton, New Jersey. The bulk of the material consists of extended family correspondence dating from 1862 to 1936 to and or from George W.B. Roberts and his wife Mary Foster Frothingham Roberts.

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

Francis Willing Lockwood Wharton family letters, 1852-1923 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.4 linear_foot (1 box)
Abstract:: Francis Willing Lockwood Wharton (1869-1966) was a Philadelphia based woman who was married to Henry Wharton Jr. This collection of papers documents their courtship in 1890, and contains various familial correspondences throughout the early twentieth century.

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

Georgij Sanji Zagadinow collection of Kalmyk materials, 1834-1999 (inclusive)

Extent:: 10 linear feet (19 boxes)
Abstract:: Georgij Sanji Zagadinow (1925-1999) was a Kalmyk immigrant to Philadelphia who spent much of his life working on a Kalmyk-English dictionary. The materials in this collection include literary and other sources from Soviet Kalmykia, as well as extensive documentation of the Kalmyk communities in the United States. Researchers interested in Inner Asian studies and US immigration history may wish to consult this collection.

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

Walt Whitman collection, 1842-1957 (inclusive) 1867-1894 (bulk)

Extent:: 4 boxes (plus one oversized item.)
Abstract:: Materials include correspondence to, from, and concerning Walt Whitman; financial records; writings by and about Whitman; and memorabilia, such as sketches, photographs, and portraits of Whitman, his family, his friends, and his homes.

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

Paul Philippe Cret papers, 1865-1976 (inclusive)

Extent:: 39 boxes (+ one map drawer)
Abstract:: Paul Philippe Cret (1876-1945) was an architect and industrial designer who taught in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Born and educated in France, Cret moved to the United States in 1903, but served in the French Army during World War I. Following the War, he returned to Philadelphia and to the University of Pennsylvania and worked on significant projects across the country. One third of the collection comprises correspondence, including exchanges with professional colleagues and clients as well as a few family members. With the exception of a substantial group of letters written by Cret to his wife while serving in World War I, there is little personal material. None of the correspondence files contains comprehensive representation of the transactions of Cret and/or his firm on any given project. The collection also includes writings by Cret, project and teaching materials (incomplete), notes, biographical material, and photographs.

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

Shakspere Society of Philadelphia records, 1851-2000 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The minutes, correspondence, publications, programs, article clippings, and limited ephemera collected in these records relate to the history, structure, and day-to-day operations of the Shakspere Society of Philadelphia, the oldest continuously operating Shakespeare society in the United States, during the period of 1851-1995.

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

Henry Charles Lea collection of Inquisition manuscripts, 1533-1866 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.8 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Henry Charles Lea was a Philadelphian publisher, civil and public rights activist, mathematician, and and ecclesiastical historian. This collection consists of original manuscripts including trial records, correspondence, a discourse, an edict, a royal proclamation and unidentified French documents.

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

Octave Delepierre papers, 1835-1879 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.8 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: Octave Delepierre (1802-1879), an author, bibliophile, antiquary and diplomat, was named the archivist of "Occidental Flanders" after graduating from law school, a position he held until he was appointed Belgian secretary of legation and Belgian consul in London. He served in those posts until 1877. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, writings (both published and manuscript), translations, and sketches by Delepierre and reflects his research and interests in history, ancient literature, national bibliography, and archaeology.

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