Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Subject Authors Year 1892

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]

Charles Morice papers, 1862-1970 (inclusive)

Extent:: 9.0 boxes
Abstract:: Charles Morice was a prolific spokesman for the Symbolist movement. He was at times a poet, playwright, shipping clerk, literary critic, professor of literature, and lecturer. He collaborated in the founding of Mercure de France, the “organ of the purest Symbolism.” He attended Stéphene Maliarmé’a “Tuesdays,” weekly social gatherings of Symbolist writers and painters. While writing for Le Matin he was assigned to cover the death penalty debate. He corresponded with many famous artists on their thoughts on the death penalty. He also collaborated with the painter Paul Gauguin on his book Noa Noa, and with Auguste Rodin on his book Les Cathedrals des France. Morice wrote and had several unfinished manuscripts when he died on March 18, 1919. The collection of Morice’s papers comprises nine boxes and sixteen volumes. The collection is divided into printed material, his journals and notebooks which were called Petite...(see more)

Held at: Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

Giles S. Stafford papers, 1923-1937 (bulk) 1882-1937 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.25 linear feet
Abstract:: Giles Spranklin Stafford (1856-) was a policeman, poet, and resident of the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Giles S. Stafford papers, 1882-1937, consist of manuscripts of poems, short stories, and historical essays, as well as correspondence.

Held at: Germantown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Arthur Huff Fauset papers, 1855-1983 (inclusive)

Extent:: 27 linear feet (32 boxes)
Abstract:: Arthur Huff Fauset (1899-1983) was a Philadelphia-based civil rights activist, author, anthropologist, folklorist, and educator. This collection dates from 1855-1893, measures 27 linear feet, and largely documents Fauset's endeavors as a creative writer, with much of the material being drafts of his work. It also contains correspondence, notes and research materials, scrapbooks, financial records, and miscellanea.

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

George William Brown research collection on 19th-century missionary work in India, 1882-1932 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.4 linear feet (4 boxes)
Abstract:: George William Brown (1870-1932) was a professor of Semitic languages and Indology, a founding member of the Linguistic Society of America, and a missionary in India for sixteen years as a member of the Disciples of Christ. This collection consists of materials documenting Brown's career in research, writing, and teaching about religion, missionary work, and linguistics, dating from 1892 to 1932.

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]

E. Sculley Bradley papers, 1876-1970 (inclusive) 1944-1962 (bulk)

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet (6 boxes)
Abstract:: Edward Sculley Bradley (1897-1987) was a scholar, author, educator, and administrator at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a prolific writer and editor, serving as editor of the General Magazine and History Chronicle, Philadelphia, 1945-1956. He published biographies of literary figures George Henry Boker and Henry Charles Lea, as well as editions of works by Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Walt Whitman. Bradley was considered an international expert on Whitman, editing several important editions of the poet's Leaves of Grass. The Sculley Bradley papers include his personal and professional correspondence dating from 1923 to 1962, material from several literary censorship cases for which he testified, corrected drafts of his manuscripts for the Comprehensive Reader's Edition, Norton Critical Edition, and Variorum edition of Leaves of Grass, ephemera and graphics associated with Walt Whitman, and a small amount of material on other authors.

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

Edgar Meck Dilley writings, 1876-1923 (inclusive) 1911-1923 (bulk)

Extent:: 1 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Writer, song-writer, and reporter Edgar Meck Dilley attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1893 to 1895 and is known for having written the school's alma mater, "Hail, Pennsylvania." This collection consists mainly of drafts of his writings, including novels and stories, plays and operas, lyrics, poems, and musical scores, as well as a few accompanying miscellaneous items.

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

Enid Frank Goldsmith letters, 1886-1984 (inclusive) 1917-1960 (bulk)

Extent:: 1.2 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Enid Frank Goldsmith, the sister of Waldo Frank (1889-1967), was born on March 30, 1888, and died on December 7, 1983. The letters in this collection span several generations and mainly include correspondence between various members of the Frank and Goldsmith families between 1886 and 1984. The majority of the letters are either written to or by Enid Goldsmith between 1917 and 1960. Other prominent writers include Waldo Frank, Julius J. Frank, and Morton Goldsmith.

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]