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Start Over Repository University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Form Correspondence Year 1805 to 1809

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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Biddle family papers, 1709-2017 (inclusive) 1776-1952 (bulk)

Extent:
14.5 linear feet (32 boxes)
Abstract:
The Biddle family has a long history on American land with Quaker ancestors emigrating in 1681 and settling in Philadelphia around 1725. This collection documents the family relationships, and to a lesser extent, the work and military service of six generations of one branch of that family, starting with Clement Biddle (1740-1814), and following the descendants of two of his sons: Thomas Alexander Biddle (1776-1857) and Clement Cornell Biddle (1784-1855). These papers tell the stories, to varying degrees, of more than 30 individual Biddle family members through correspondence, financial records, professional papers, diaries, scrapbooks, and photographs.

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

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Siegfried Weisberger papers, 1708-1955 (inclusive) 1923-1955 (bulk)

Extent:
4 linear feet (4 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection includes material collected by Siegfried Weisbeger (1896-1984), proprietor of the Peabody Book Shop in Baltimore Maryland and confidante of H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), a noted writer, editor, and social provocateur, famous for his disdain for common morals and received wisdom. The collection contains correspondence between the two men and other correspondents of the Peabody Book Shop, manuscripts and published writings by and about Mencken (many of them signed), and autobiographical writings and poems written by Weisberger.

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

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Baron George Gordon Byron collected papers, 1806-1832 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.7 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:
The Baron George Gordon Byron collected papers contains materials belonging to or relating to the romantic poet Baron George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), best known as Lord Byron. These materials include correspondence, writings by Byron and related materials, lithographs of Byron and Sir Walter Scott, two display albums containing correspondence and locks of hair, and Lord Byron's last will and testament.

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

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Jean-Baptiste Lingaud papers , 1775-1824 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 boxes (+ map case drawer)
Abstract:
The collection comprises 492 items dating from 1775 to 1824: among these are letters, municipal documents, police records, trial transcripts, and some of Lingaud's personal papers. The pre-Revolutionary documents mainly include bureaucratic correspondence between Limoges and the court in Versailles and Paris. After 1792 there emerges a vast number of name lists and secret surveillance records as well as arrest warrants for aristocrats and their sympathizers. Most notable in this part of the collection are letters and documents from the Revolutionary Committee and the Surveillance Committee.

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

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Vanuxem family papers, 1762-1832 (inclusive)

Extent:
9 boxes
Abstract:
The Vanuxem family was a prominent Pennsylvania family of French origin. The family was largely involved in the shipping industry and agriculture; but one descendent was a well-known geologist in the United States. This collection documents the history of the Vanuxem and Peirce families and their business operations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

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

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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]

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Robert Hare correspondence, 1793-1858 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:
Robert Hare was a chemist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (born January 17, 1781) who is credited with developing the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe and the "galvanic deflagrator." This collection is made up of two series containing letters to Robert Hare about his scientific research, and letters concerning Edgar Fahs Smith's biography of Robert Hare entitled The Life of Robert Hare, An American Chemist (1781-1858).

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

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Henry Dundas papers, 1781-1839 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 linear feet (13 boxes)
Abstract:
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira (28 April 1742–28 May 1811) was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom. His son, Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount (14 March 1771–10 June 1851), was at various times Keeper of the Signet of Scotland, First Lord of the Admiralty, and a member of Parliament. The collection includes correspondence and documents formerly owned by the First and Second Viscounts Melville, Henry Dundas and Robert Dundas. The materials come from the Dundas family archives and consist of ten bound volumes and four boxes of unbound manuscripts. The bulk of the papers relate to British India with a smaller but still substantial subset dealing with Scottish politics, patronage, and pensions. With a few exceptions the collection comprises incoming correspondence and enclosures to Henry and Robert Dundas but not their replies.

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

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William Pepper papers, 1752-1903 (inclusive) 1861-1898 (bulk)

Extent:
9 volumes
Abstract:
The collection documents Pepper's role in expanding the University of Pennsylvania in the 19th century, his contributions to the medical profession, and his activism in Philadelphia. Primarily comprising correspondence, the collection covers Pepper's life from a student at the University of Pennsylvania to his death 54 years later.

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

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Roberto Morgadanes collection of Mexican religious dramas, 1684-1942 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:
Roberto Morgadanes, a native of Mexico, studied for his doctorate in Romance languages at the University of Pennsylvania from 1940 to 1942, specializing in the origin of colonial Mexican drama. This collection consists of documents relating to Roberto Morgadanes's studies as well as original Mexican religious dramas, mainly dating from the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

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

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George Poyntz Ricketts letter book, 1803-1815 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 volume
Abstract:
An oversize letter book containing the expense accounts, and outgoing letters of George Poyntz Ricketts who worked in India for the East India Company. The letters in the volume span the years from 1803 to 1815.

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

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John L. Stewart papers, 1806-1927 (inclusive) 1890-1927 (bulk)

Extent:
0.7 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of John L. Stewart, an educator and Public Service Commissioner for the state of Pennsylvania. Ranging in date from 1890 to 1927 (with one 1806 newspaper) these letters, newspaper clippings, notes and pamphlets outline the progression of Stewart's career from principal of the Northeast Manual Training School to professor at, and eventually president of, Lehigh University. Documents concerning a 1926 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case that questioned legality of Stewart's position on the Public Service Commission are included in this collection, as are many letters of condolence received by Stewart's wife upon his death.

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

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Newton, Gordon, Johnston, Murdoch, and Scott of Madeira, Portugal letters, 1790-1835 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.2 linear_foot (1 box)
Abstract:
This collection comprises thirty-nine letters from American businessmen to the Madeira, Portugal-based wine merchants Francis Newton, Alexander Johnston, Thomas Gordon, and their partners, spanning the period from 1790 to 1835. Most of these letters discuss trade relations, the terms of specific deals, and the fluctuations of the market. The most common item of discussion is the exchange of flour or, to a lesser extent, corn and other grains for Madeira wine. Most of the letters (twenty-four) are sent from Philadelphia, while merchants from Boston, Charleston, New York, Norfolk, and Petersburgh also appear in the correspondence.

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

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John Rowe Parker papers, 1798-circa 1863 (inclusive) 1802-1840 (bulk)

Extent:
5.63 linear feet (14 boxes)
Abstract:
The John Rowe Parker papers document the varied career of merchant, publisher and author John Rowe Parker. The majority of the letters are addressed to John Rowe Parker or one of his firms. Letters from 1802-1817 are primarily concerned with Parker's work as a dry goods merchant. Letters from 1817-1823 contain most of the music-related material in the collection, including letters from music publishers, composers, and performers; requests for information about pianos and organs; and subscriptions for his music journal, The Euterpeiad. Letters from 1823-1840 are principally concerned with Parker's work on a system of semaphoric signals, with extensive letters to James M. Elford and Son of Charleston, S.C. The collection also includes personal letters from family members and friends.

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

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