Search

Start Over Repository The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute Place Philadelphia (Pa.) Year 1861

Main content

Philadelphia Water Department records and collection on Fairmount Water Works, 1801-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
6.33 linear feet
Abstract:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first city in the United States to provide water as a public utility and was known for its advances in water distribution technology, such as using a centralized distribution system and employing the use of hydropower for pumps. The Philadelphia Water Department (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) traces its roots to 1799 when the Joint Committee on Supplying the City with Water (known as the Watering Committee) was established by the city council in response to pressure from the city's residents to provide them with clean water for drinking, fire fighting, and cleansing the streets following a series of yellow fever epidemics. The Fairmount Water Works (FWW), Philadelphia's second water works, began operating in 1815 and remained in use until 1909. Regarded as a significant achievement in civil engineering, FWW was also an important Philadelphia landmark and tourist attraction. In the early twenty-first century, Philadelphia operates three water...(see more)

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute manuscript collection, 1762-2003 (inclusive)

Extent:
40.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most significant science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute manuscript collection, 1762-2003, includes small groups (less than 1 linear foot each) of papers of scientists, inventors, science-oriented groups and organizations, industrial businesses, and others in the scientific community, as well as other science and engineering related materials.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

Franklin Institute records, 1824-2016 (inclusive)

Extent:
1225.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Franklin Institute records, 1824-2016, consist of administrative and financial records, membership materials, files from various departments and committees at The Franklin Institute, property records and materials relating to the Institute's building, photographs and audiovisual materials, publications, marketing materials, ephemera, and other materials.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

Wynn Laurence LePage papers, 1857-1869, 1929-1974

Extent:
7.42 linear feet
Abstract:
Wynn Laurence LePage (1902-1985) was an aeronautical engineer, well-known for having a major influence on the development of the autogiro and the helicopter by designing rotary wings. Together, LePage and Haviland Hull Platt, established the Platt-LePage Aircraft Company, which produced the first helicopter officially acquired by the United States Army Air Forces (XR-1) during World War II. The Wynn Laurence LePage papers, 1857-1869, 1929-1974, contain reports on the XR-1 and XR-1A helicopters, correspondence, notes, awards, lectures, newspaper clippings, photographs, a couple of scrapbooks, and objects.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute Frankliniana collection, 1718-2006 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute Frankliniana collection, 1718-2006, consists of prints, drawings, photographs, and a variety of ephemera and secondary-source materials relating to Benjamin Franklin and his activities. There is a small amount of 18th century materials signed or printed by Franklin.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute photograph and negatives collection, circa 1860-1990s

Extent:
6.06 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute photograph and negatives collection, circa 1860-1990s, includes small collections of photographs and photograph albums as well as other photographic materials collected by The Franklin Institute over time. The materials consist of images related to science, industry and technology, engineering, transportation, and other related topics. There are also portrait, landscape, and aerial images. The collection includes prints, negatives, slides, and some early forms of photographs, including talbotypes/calotypes and albumen prints. Some photographs are oversized.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute collection of oversized papers, 1790-1984 (inclusive)

Extent:
6.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute collection of oversized papers, 1790-1984, consists of oversized materials such as technical drawings of machinery (some used for patents), posters, illustrations, prints, drawings, engravings, maps, photographs, certificates, blueprints, and newspaper pages.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

Sellers family papers on machinery, 1845-1893 (inclusive)

Extent:
30.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Sellers family was active in engineering and manufacturing in Philadelphia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Brothers Charles (1806-1898), George Escol (1808-1899), and Coleman II (1827-1907) Sellers and their cousin William Sellers (1824-1905) were prominent Philadelphia industrialists, inventors, and mechanical engineers in the nineteenth century, responsible for important innovations in engineering and manufacturing while also running major industrial companies and taking an active role in civic affairs. Sellers family papers on machinery, 1845-1893, consist of hand drawn technical drawings for metal parts and machinery, patents and awards from exhibitions relating to machinery, certificates, and photographs of machinery, such as lathes, railroad cars, steam engines, and other mechanical engineering examples.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

Main content

The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute subject files, 1792-1943 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most important science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute subject files, 1792-1943, consist of files arranged alphabetically by subject containing a variety of primary and secondary-source documents related to each topic. The subject headings in the collection include Assorted Industry, Assorted Machines/Technology, Aviation, Cars, Deeds, Electricity, Maps, People, Newspaper Clippings, Patents, The Franklin Institute, Trains, Printing/Typing, and other topics.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]