Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Repository University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Online Content Not Available Subject Literature Form Writings (documents) Year 1895 to 1899

Van Wyck Brooks papers, 1872-1983 (inclusive) 1900-1963 (bulk)

Extent:: 142 boxes
Abstract:: Collection contains 54 boxes of professional and family correspondence; 68 boxes of writings by Brooks, including typescripts, galleys, and notes for books, articles, prefaces, and addresses, as well as juvenalia, diaries, and notebooks; and 20 boxes of memorabilia, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

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

Clara and Rudolf Kirk collection of William Dean Howells material, 1860-1963 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.8 linear feet (7 boxes)
Abstract:: The Clara and Rudolf Kirk collection of William Dean Howells material consists of literary and visual materials by or about William Dean Howells, an American author, playwright, and literary critic. It was compiled by Clara and Rudolf Kirk, who were scholars studying Howells, circa 1940-1963. The collection includes essays and reviews written by or about Howells, correspondence and newspaper clippings by or regarding Howells, six scrapbooks about Howells' life and career, and other miscellaneous materials.

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

Francis Howard Williams papers, 1880-1909 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear_foot (1 box and 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:: Francis Howard Williams (1844-1922) was a Philadelphia literary critic and author whose works were featured in publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Weekly, Lippincott's Magazine, and The Independent. He was the known friend of several literary greats including Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, and George W. Cable and was part of a large circle of contemporary poets, writers, editors, and publishers of the time period. The collection includes letters to Williams, writings, and ephemera.

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

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]

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]

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]

Felix E. Schelling papers, 1856-1945 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7.25 linear feet (13 boxes)
Abstract:: Felix E. Schelling (1858-1945) was a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, an expert on Shakespeare, and an author of scholarly works on Shakespeare and Elizabethan literature. This collection documents Schelling's life as a student, a professor, a scholar, and an author. It also documents the University of Pennsylvania through the eyes of an individual who was a student and a faculty member over a period of more than fifty years.

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

Burton Rascoe papers, 1890-1957 (inclusive) 1920-1957 (bulk)

Extent:: 20 linear feet (27 boxes)
Abstract:: Burton Rascoe (1892-1957) was an American literary critic, journalist, editor, and author working in the first half of the 20th century. His confrontational style stirred up much debate and helped generate interest in up-and-coming writers that Rascoe believed showed promise; most notably, Rascoe was an early champion of writers such as James Branch Cabell, Theodore Dreiser, and H. L. Mencken. The collection consists of his correspondence, including some with famous literary figures; writings by Rascoe in draft and published form; papers relating to a lawsuit with Max Annenberg; diaries and notebooks; photographs; and clippings.

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