Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Year 1606

H. H. Furness Memorial Library manuscript collection, 1575-1991 (inclusive) 1812-1930 (bulk)

Extent:: 10 linear feet (20 boxes and one oversized folder)
Abstract:: The H.H. Furness Memorial Library focuses on the study of Shakespeare and other Tudor and Stuart dramatists. Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912) and his son Horace Howard Furness Jr. (1865-1930) founded and edited the Variorum Shakespeare and their library was donated to the University of Pennsylvania in 1932. This collection contains personal correspondence to and from Rev. William Henry Furness (1802-1896), Horace Howard Furness, and Horace Howard Furness, Jr., largely relating to Shakespearean study and the H.H. Furness Memorial library; notebooks; copies of speeches and articles; and other assorted items relating to Shakespearean scholarship or to the Furness family.

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

Francis Campbell Macauley autograph collection and vocabulary notebooks, 1479-1896 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.6 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: This is an autograph collection compiled by Francis Campbell Macaulay. The collection is composed of letters by scientists, politicians, and men of letters, and fragments with signatures. The collection reflects Macaulay's interest in Italian literature, and includes letters from Ludovico Ariosto, Fortunato Cavazzeni Pederzini, and Alessandro Torri. Other notable autographs in the collection are those of Alexandre Dumas, Robert Morris, and Millard Fillmore. The collection also includes several letters to Macaulay regarding the Dante Society, and five volumes of Macaulay's notes for a vocabulary of the dialect of Nice.

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

Ernest Cushing Richardson Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Documents, 1380-1851 (inclusive)

Extent:: 12 boxes and 23 items
Abstract:: The Ernest Cushing Richardson Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Documents consists of medieval and renaissance documents and manuscripts collected by Ernest Cushing Richardson, an American librarian and author. Of principal interest are some 350 documents (deeds, bonds, contracts, investitures, wills, and other legal documents), chiefly dating from 1380 to 1550 and written in Milan, Alessandria, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi, and other northern Italian cities.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents, 1347-1887 (inclusive) 1505-1637 (bulk)

Extent:: 17 boxes, 1 folder, and 6.50 linear feet
Abstract:: The Charles Carroll Marden Collection of Spanish Documents consists of 637 Spanish documents, collected by philologist and university professor Charles Carroll Marden. The documents are divided into two groups: documents originating from the town of Burgos and several towns around Soria and documents from the town of Alarcon. Later additions to the collection include the earliest document in the collection, dated 1347.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Robert H. Taylor Collection of English and American Literature, 1280s-1958 (inclusive) 1800s-1930s (bulk)

Extent:: 51 boxes, 229 items, and 13 volumes
Abstract:: The Robert H. Taylor Collection consists of over 4,000 3,300 manuscripts illustrating in their wide range the scope of English literature from the fourteenth century to the 1940s. This finding aid focuses on the modern manuscripts, both bound and unbound, in the collection, which is designated "RTC01" within the Manuscripts Division of the Special Collections Department of the Princeton University Library.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Princeton Greek Manuscripts Collection, 1601-1900 (inclusive)

Extent:: 57 volumes and 6.8 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of an open collection of bound Greek manuscripts dating from the 17th to the 19th century.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Miscellaneous European Documents Collection, 1500-1900 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5 boxes and 2 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of miscellaneous documents and manuscripts from European and North African countries about politlcal, religious, or colonial matters between the 16th and 19th century. The countries include England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Ireland, and Poland.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

William H. Tower Philatelic Collection, 1380-1950 (inclusive) 1700s-1940s (bulk)

Extent:: 20 boxes and 15.4 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of envelopes both used and unused (also known as covers), letters, postcards, documents, postage stamps, and a variety of other philatelic material from around the world as collected and annotated by the Reverend William Hogarth Tower (1871-1950). The collection spans the topics of English Postal History, United States Postal History, War Covers, Philatelic Miscellany, and Franking.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

New Series of Islamic Manuscripts, 1300-1920 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2400 items and 195 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of approximately 5000 texts in 2194 volumes.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Ernest Cushing Richardson Collection of Papal Seals, 1484-1903 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 box and 0.4 linear feet
Abstract:: This collection consists of twelve lead papal seals, ranging in dates from the 15th century to the late 19th and early 20th century.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]