Year: <span class="single" data-blrl-single="1855">1855</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 8 cubic feet
Abstract:: The Frances Lichten Research Collection covers a broad range of styles and subjects within the broad category of "decorative arts." Lichten's work as a Research Associate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was concentrated on Pennsylvania German folk art, the foundation of which was Ms. Lichten's work on the WPA Index of American Design project in the 1930s. This series contains many photographs and drawings, as well as magazine and newspaper clippings. Frances Lichten published numerous books, the last of which was "Decorative Arts of Victoria's Era." The Research Collection contains the majority of research files for this book, which are rich in illustrations, Victorian paper artifacts, and records of the social standards of this era. This collection contains also materials relating to general categories within decorative arts, mainly in the form of clippings from magazines and newspapers.

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

Extent:: 26.5 linear feet
Abstract:: Born, raised and educated in Philadelphia, John Graver Johnson (1841-1917) became one of the city's preeminent citizens, noted not only for his long and successful practice as a corporate lawyer but also for his extensive collection of European art. The John G. Johnson Papers consist of correspondence, hundreds of photographs and other documents that make evident Johnson's consultation with noted scholars and art dealers and his own methodology in building and refining an art collection. Estate inventories and appraisals and a copy of Johnson's will outline the disposition of those acquisitions and other personal belongings after his death. Also well documented are three of Johnson's European excursions. Oversized photograph albums hold more than twelve hundred images of the sites Johnson took in with his wife Ida. The lives of Johnson and his wife are also chronicled through portraits--Johnson from the ages of six to sixty-six and Ida from little girl to young mother to...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2 linear feet
Abstract:: The diaries of John Stephen Benezet offer a glimpse of life in antebellum Philadelphia from 1838 to 1850. By the time he begins to keep these journals, Benezet is already a husband and father supporting a family of at least four children as a clerk at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. In addition to his personal activities, such as attending church, assisting at a school and taking tea and dinner with family and friends, Benezet's entries occasionally give a glimpse of contemporary social and political activities. The most recurring subject is the outbreak of cholera.

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Zieget Shaker Collection Papers underscore Irene and Julius Zieget's reliance on members of the Shaker community in acquiring hundreds of samples of their art and crafts. Correspondence dating from 1929 to 1968 and a journal illustrated with photographs document the Ziegets' interaction with a number of Shaker sisters and eldresses, particularly Sister Marguerite Frost of Canterbury, NH. The papers also include some of the Ziegets' acquisitions--nineteenth- and early twentieth-century manuscript material. Included here are records of deaths, recipes and other household instructions along with spiritual messages, blessings and hymns all recorded neatly in the distinctive and decorative Shaker hand. A scrapbook Irene Zieget compiled of printed material dating from 1881 to 1960 includes published writings by Shakers as well as numerous newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements that chronicle the public's interest in the Shaker lifestyle and aesthetic.

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]