Repository: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library / Form: Ephemera - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 26.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The John E. Hand & Sons Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1873. The Hand Company built navigational equipment for all varieties of floating vessels, and operated a chain of retail outlets with “service stations” in numerous port cities, including Baltimore and New Orleans, until 1956. Service stations sold Hand instruments as well as other nautical paraphernalia and provided compass adjusting services. The collection documents the business activities of the John E. Hand & Sons Company from its institution in 1873 to 1997, when the company was sold. The collection boasts a wide breadth of material that includes legal documents, financial records, patents, correspondence, contracts, reports, catalogs and other ephemera, photographs, and engineering plans. Together, the records provide a thorough account of the firm’s operations.

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

Extent:: 1.25 linear feet
Abstract:: Marvin Rosefield Keck, (1895-1971) was a musician who served in World War I in Admiral Niblack’s Flagship Band of the Mediterranean Fleet on the Flagship Olympia. The Marvin Rosefield Keck papers, which date from 1916 to 1972, consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, diaries, drawings, photographs, scrapbooks, and unpublished writings. The collection covers Keck's experience in World War I as a band member in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Olympia and his experience in the American Legion band in South Dakota after World War I.

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

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]

Extent:: 8.9 linear feet
Abstract:: The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, formerly known as the Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard in the United States. The original site of the shipyard (Federal Yard) was located on Federal Street along the Delaware River, but the facility was eventually moved due to overcrowded conditions and increasing urban development. The new location at League Island was acquired by the Federal Government in the 1860s, while the old location at Federal Yard continued to operate until 1876. During the Spanish-American War and the years leading up to World War I, the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard rapidly transformed into a major production facility, and the first Naval ship, the U.S.S. Henderson, was commissioned in 1917. During World War II the shipyard built 53 ships and conducted repairs, conversions, and overhauls of 1,218 other vessels. Throughout the 20th century, the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard actively completed repairs, constructions, and conversions; developed new materials and methods;...(see more)

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

Extent:: 50.0 linear feet (121 containers)
Abstract:: The Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia was founded in 1858. It is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. By charter, "[the Schuylkill Navy’s] object is to secure united action among the several Clubs and to promote amateurism on the Schuylkill River." The Schuylkill Navy records documents the history of this rowing organization from 1859 to 2009. An organization dedicated to hosting rowing events for its member clubs and visiting teams, the collection houses the administrative records of the Schuylkill Navy and its member clubs, including the original founding members as well as clubs that joined the organization later; and records related to the planning and promotion of regattas. In addition, the collection includes an extensive assortment of newspaper clippings and photographs that highlight Schuylkill Navy rowing events and its influential members. The collection contains administrative records, information regarding regattas and member rowing clubs,...(see more)

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

Extent:: 10.0 boxes
Abstract:: The Thayers were a prominent Philadelphia-area family at the turn of the 20th century. John Borland Thayer, Jr. was a vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad when he died in the sinking of Titanic on April 15, 1912. The Thayer family collection consists of more than 700 items of ocean liner ephemera dating from 1892 to 1986, including postcards, abstracts of logs, advertisements, passenger lists, menus, deck plans, photographs, stationery and baggage tags from ships of more than 40 lines. The collection also includes one of the only extant first class passenger lists from Titanic.

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

Extent:: 35.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Undine Barge Club records documents the history of this rowing organization from 1856 to 1986. Included in the collection are annual records on membership participation, correspondence, files regarding stewdarship of Castle Ringstetten, and scrapbooks documenting significant Undine Barge Club events. Researchers interested in the history of this organization, or on the history of activity on the Schuylkill River would find this collection useful.

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

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