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Start Over Repository Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department

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Frank Edwin Elwell papers, 1883-1972 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.63 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection consists of articles, biographical material, photographs, and scrapbooks related to the American sculptor Frank Edwin Elwell (1858-1922), compiled by his son and daughter-in-law, Alcott Farrar Elwell and Helen Chaffee Elwell.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Frederick R. Gardner collection of Robert Lawson, 1900-1983 (inclusive)

Extent:
69.8 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection contains the literary papers of author and illustrator Robert Lawson (1892-1957), collected by Frederick R. Gardner. Materials date from 1900 to 1983. Lawson’s illustrations make up the bulk of this collection; illustrations for forty-seven titles and unpublished artworks are represented. In addition to etchings and illustrations in graphite, pen and ink, and watercolor, the collection includes articles, clippings, correspondence, manuscript drafts, photographs, promotional materials, slides, and speeches. Some of Frederick R. Gardner's records relating to his collecting project are also represented. Of particular note are the dummy for Munro Leaf’s The Story of Ferdinand (1936) and the original art for Mr. Popper’s Penguins (1938) and Wee Gillis (1938).

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Colonel Richard A. Gimbel collection of Edgar Allan Poe materials, 1809-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Richard Gimbel (1898-1970) was a leading rare book and manuscript collector and the son of the founder of Gimbel's department store. Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet, short-story writer, editor, and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. This collection of material was largely collected by Richard A. Gimbel and dates from 1809 to 1995. It includes numerous original manuscripts and correspondence by or related to Poe.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Thornton Oakley collection of Howard Pyle and his students, 1887-1951 (bulk) 1841-1992 (inclusive)

Extent:
15.83 linear feet
Abstract:
The Thornton Oakley collection of Howard Pyle and his students covers the influential artistic career of Howard Pyle and several of his students, most notably Maxfield Parrish, Violet Oakley, and N.C. Wyeth. The collection includes a wide range of materials, which was collected and assembled by Pyle’s former student Thornton Oakley. There are tear sheets of artwork published in magazines, original illustrations, photographs, research notes, manuscripts, and correspondence. Besides Howard Pyle, artists well represented in this collection include Elizabeth Shippen Green, Jessie Wilcox Smith, George Harding, Violet Oakley, N.C. Wyeth, and a large collection of material on Maxfield Parrish. There is also a series dedicated to the children’s author and art historian, Henry Clarence Pitz, who researched and wrote The Brandywine Tradition about Pyle and his artistic influence. The collection’s primary strength is the collection of artwork by Pyle and his students, some of...(see more)

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Free Library of Philadelphia collection of Arthur Rackham, 1890-1938 (bulk) 1831-1996 (inclusive)

Extent:
20.19 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection consists of material created by or about the children's illustrator Arthur Rackham. It consists of correspondence, original artwork, and ephemera collected by the Free Library of Philadelphia from a number of donors and trust fund purchases. Several hundred published volumes have been cataloged separately and are findable in the Free Library's online catalog.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Mary Wickham Bond papers on the "real" James Bond, 1907-1997 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.17 linear feet (4 containers)
Abstract:
The lives of James and Mary Bond, a Philadelphia ornithologist and author, respectively, were altered the day that author Ian Fleming, a bird lover who was familiar with Bond’s book, “The Birds of the West Indies,” appropriated James Bond’s name for his fictional spy character. The resulting confusion prompted Mary Wickham Bond to write “How 007 Got His Name,” in 1966, in which she tells the story of the real James Bond. This collection consists of Mary Wickham Bond’s collection of information regarding her husband, her own works on the writing, publishing and promoting of her books about her husband, and David Contosta’s writings about her husband.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Charles Dickens collection, 1832-1870 (bulk) 1832-1993 (inclusive)

Extent:
6.8 linear feet
Abstract:
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was one of the most popular English novelists of the Victorian era as well as a vigorous social campaigner. This is a collection of correspondence, manuscript material, and other items related to him. The material dates from 1832-1993, with the bulk of the material dating from 1832-1870. The bulk of the correspondence consists of autograph letters by Dickens. There are also autograph letters from Dickens’s circle of family, friends, and associates.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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John Frederick Lewis collection of autographs of engravers, 1775-1850 (bulk) 1721-1914 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.43 linear feet
Abstract:
John Frederick Lewis was a Philadelphia lawyer, philanthropist, and collector of writing samples. This collection contains letters, receipts, and other documents by British engravers. Most of the material was written in England between 1775 and 1850. Many of the letters discuss artistic matters and contain references to well-known engravings.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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Kate Greenaway collection, 1868-1900 (bulk) 1868-1994 (inclusive)

Extent:
18.81 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection consists of material created by or about the children’s author and illustrator Kate Greenaway. It consists of correspondence, original artwork, and ephemera collected by the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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History of the Book and Illustrations collection, circa 1250-2000 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.46 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection contains material that shows the history of the book. The majority of the examples of manuscripts are illustrations but there are a few letters and other documents. The printed material in this collection spans the 13th to the late 16th centuries and contains examples of different printing techniques.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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