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William Pyle Philips collection
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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
William Pyle Philips, son of George M and Elizabeth Pyle Philips was born in 1882. He received a B.A. and M.A. from Haverford College in 1902 and 1903 respectively and an LL.B. from Harvard in 1907. While at Haverford, he was editor-inchief of Haverfordian, the monthly magazine, and was Phi Beta Kappa. He was a partner with the law firm Byrne and Cutcheon, later J.S. Seligman, and director of a number of corporations. In 1914, he married Harriet Paris. Philips was a benefactor of his alma mater, donating books that formed the William Pyle Philips collection of mostly Renaissance-era first editions, as well as funds for such programs as the Distinguished Visitors program. He was a member of the Board of Managers of Haverford College. Today, a wing of the library is named in his honor. William Pyle Philips died in 1950.
The William Pyle Philips collection mainly contains materials from Philips' early life, including his time as a student at Haverford. The collection is divided into eight series: correspondence, essays, newspaper clippings, programs, notebooks, diaries, photographs, and miscellaneous.
Correspondence includes letters from Philips to his mother and father from Haverford, camp, and Harvard. Letters also include several letters from U.S. presidents that Philips collected. Essays include materials Philips wrote during his time as a student at Haverford and Harvard. Newspaper clippings cover his time at West Chester Normal School, while programs are from West Chester Normal School and Haverford. Notebooks appear to be mostly from classes, and cover topics including literature, math, and languages. Diaries record Philips' trip to Germany in 1898-1899, as well as his time at Harvard. Photographs are of Marienfeld Summer Camp in New Hampshire. Miscellaneous materials include programs, pamphlets, report cards, and certificates. There are also several unidentified essays that are too late to be from Philips' school days.
The collections is arranged into eight series: Correspondence, Essays, Newspaper clippings, Programs, Notebooks, Diaries, Photographs, and Miscellaneous
Original processing information unknown. Revised and box list added by Lilian Sweeney, March 2020.
People
- Adams, John, 1735-1826
- Arthur, Chester, Alan, 1829-1886
- Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
- Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841
- Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
- Philips, William Pyle, 1882-1950
- Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869
- Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
- Tyler, John, 1790-1862
- Washington, George, 1732-1799
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open to research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Standard Federal Copyright Law apply (U.S. Title 17)
Collection Inventory
Letters from Philips to his mother and father while at Haverford, the Marienfeld summer camp and Harvard.
Letters from Philips to his mother and father while at Albany Academy, the Marienfeld summer camp, and Harvard Law School.
The letters are primarily from Issac Sharpless about Philips's tuition for Haverford
Letters from or to these Presidents: Johns Adams, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, George Washington
A set of four essay written by Philips in 1897. They are all focused on topics in literature.
A number of essays from both Philips's undergraduate studies and graduate studies
Newspaper clippings of events during Philips's time at the West Chester Normal School, including a column about the death of Philips's pigeon Jennie Normalae
Programs about commencement and other events
Programs about musical events at Haverford
Programs about gymnastic events
Programs about debate events
Undated notes from an English class
Undated notes from an English class
Undated notes from an English class
Diary/Advice book partially used by Philips while at the West Chester Normal School
A notebook with notes on mathematical concepts from Calculus and Pre-Calculus
A notebook with notes on Goethe and from a class called "Foundatoin of English Lit"
A notebook with notes on mathematical concepts labelled as Arthimetic and Algebra
A notebook with notes on the basic concepts of Rhetoric
A set of notebooks on a variety of subjects, used by Philips while studying in Hanover Germany
A set of notebooks on a variety of subjects, used by Philips while studying in Hanover Germany
Numerous notebooks filled by Philips while studying at Harvard. Most of them are from an English class
A notebook labelled at English 42B, presumably from a class Philips attended
Diaries from Philips's time spent in Hanover Germany and other places in Europe
Diaries from Philips's time spent in Hanover Germany and other places in Europe
Diaries from Philips's time spent in Hanover Germany and other places in Europe
Diaries written by Philips while at the Albany Academy, Harvard Graduate School, and Harvard Law School
A collection of photographs taken during Philips's time at the Marienfeld Summer Camp
A photograph album with pictures from Philips's time at the Marienfeld summer camp in New Hampshire
Includes a student silk cap, two medals for oratory, and a Phi Beta Kappa key
Miscellaenous programs, booklets, and phamphlets from Philips's school days
Notable Objects: Certificates for membership in a number of art and literature organizations, certificates of baptism, and grades from Harvard
Reports of Philips's grades receives for different classes taken while at Haverford and his entrance exam results
There are typed essays on different topics (undated), an unknown photocopy of a letter, and a poem written by Philips
Letters from the donor of the collection which describe everything donated to what is now this collection (MC 814)
Typed essays on topics about politics and economics that seem to have been written after Philips left school (one essay is about appeasement and the Munich conference of 1938)