Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Repository University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Record Source University of Pennsylvania Place Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social life and customs Year 2000 to 2026

Monument Lab records, 2015-2017 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3 linear feet (3 boxes) and 40.9 gigabytes
Abstract:: Founded in 2012, the Monument Lab is an independent public art and history studio based in Philadelphia. Founded and led by Paul Farber and Ken Lum, Monument Lab works with artists, students, activists, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions on creative avenues for public engagement and collective memory. This collection documents the Monument Lab project, undertaken in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, from 2015 to 2017, addressing the question, "what is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia?" The project collected 4,500 monument proposals, of which twenty were selected for temporary exhibit at a variety of public sites across the city

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

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]

Sherman Frankel papers, 1942-2008 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.25 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: This collection comprises materials written by or otherwise related to Sherman Frankel (1922-2019), a particle physicist who was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, and finally a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Most of Frankel's writing is devoted to what he termed International Security and Arms Control/Physics and Public Policy ("ISAAC/PAPP"). Specifically, much of his mature work is devoted to theorizing and debating post-launch controls (PLCs) for nuclear weapons.

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

David Toccafondi collection of University of Pennsylvania Van Pelt Library bulletin board flyers, 2017-2018 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: This collection contains printed flyers and event posters culled from the bulletin board on the ground floor of the Van Pelt Library at the University of Pennsylvania by David Toccafondi, the Media Lab Manager of the Vitale Digital Media Lab, during 2017 and 2018.

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

David Toccafondi collection of University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia ephemera, 2017-2018 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3.5 linear feet (5 boxes (two record center boxes and three flat boxes))
Abstract:: This collection contains ephemera culled from bulletin boards and other public advertising spaces across the University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia by David Toccafondi, the Media Lab Manager of the Vitale Digital Media Lab, during 2017 and 2018.

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

Ursula Sternberg-Hertz papers, 1923-2014 (inclusive) 1950-2000 (bulk)

Extent:: 23 linear feet (39 boxes)
Abstract:: Ursula Sternberg-Hertz (1925-2000) was a Philadelphia based artist who lived in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, and Canada before immigrating to the United States in 1971 with her husband, conductor Jonathan Sternberg. The collection documents her artistic career, with artwork ranging from rough sketches to finished pieces, using acrylics, charcoal, markers, pen-and-ink, stamps, watercolor, and other experimental mediums. She produced artwork on paper, metal, fabric, and leather; in sketchbooks; and on objects such as lampshades and boxes. In addition to her artwork, there is also family and personal material; correspondence; diaries, including an extraordinary run of her "visual diaries" from the early 1940s and from the 1970s until her death; and material related to her exhibits.

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