Main content
William J. Campbell Bookstore Records
Notifications
Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. 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
The William J. Campbell Bookstore, founded in 1850 in Philadelphia by John Campbell, an English bookseller, specialized in publishing local history and legal tracts. In 1874, William J. Campbell assumed direction over operations with the death of his father. In 1931, William's son John J. replaced his father and served at the helm until the store closed in 1951.
This collection contains the records of the oldest family-operated bookstore in Philadelphia, including the business papers of the founder, John Campbell; the personal letters of William M. Campbell; the business correspondence of William J. Campbell, 1895-1951, and his letter books, 1903-1925; and Campbell catalogs, 1866-1951. Materials include business correspondence, clippings, financial records, legal documents, book catalogs, drawings, maps, photographs, pamphlets, advertisements, sheet music, glass negatives, notebooks, postcards, newsletters, scrapbooks, brochures, posters, and manuscripts.
Of note, are letters between Henry A. Martin, a dealer of legal/naval prints, and the William J. Campbell Bookstore. Much of the correspondence is from Martin to his nephew, John J. Campbell and William J. Campbell, the proprietor of Campbell's Bookstore, while on collecting tours in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.
The collection also reflects the Campbell family's interest in Americana, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania history, and legal literature. William J. Campbell was an officer of the City History Society of Philadelphia and the collection documents that connection with correspondence, newsletters, postcards, clippings, and scrapbooks, primarily for the 1920s. Additionally, researchers will find some records of the Site and Relic Society of Germantown and the Mercantile Library of Philadelphia.
The collection also contains documents and photographs associated with Fairmount Park and Germantown. There is a great diversity of photographic materials in the collection.
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
- Series 1: Bookselling records, 1851-1950s, undated
- Subseries 1.1: History, undated
- Subseries 1.2: Correspondence, 1851-1951, undated
- Subseries 1.3: Letter books, 1903-1925
- Subseries 1.4: Financial records, 1866-1951, undated
- Subseries 1.5: Stock Cards, 1920s-1930s
- Subseries 1.6: Catalogues and lists, 1938-1950s, undated
- Subseries 1.7: Trade Associations, 1895-1950s
- Subseries 1.8: Catalogs and flyers, 1900s-1950s, undated
- Subseries 1.9: Clippings on book trade and book theft, 1920s-1950s, undated
- Series 2: Publishing records, 1859-1929, undated
- Subseries 2.1: Book publishing and distribution, 1859-1919, undated
- Subseries 2.2: Print publishing and distribution, 1884-1929, undated
- Series 3: Family papers, 1851-1950s, undated
- Subseries 3.1: John Campbell papers, 1851-1860s, undated
- Subseries 3.2: William J. Campbell papers, 1900-1913, undated
- Subseries 3.3: John James Campbell, 1940s-1950s, undated
- Subseries 3.4: William M. Campbell (WWI), 1917, undated
- Series 4: Other organizations, 1868, 1900s-1950s, undated
- Subseries 4.1: City History Society of Philadelphia, 1908-1931, undated
- Subseries 4.2: Site and Relic Society of Germantown, 1907-1915, undated
- Subseries 4.3: Mercantile Library of Philadelphia and other organizations, 1868, 1900s-1950s, undated
- Series 5: Prints, drawings, photographs, and other materials, 1886-1955, undated
- Subseries 5.1: Prints and drawings, undated
- Subseries 5.2: Photographs and glass plates, 1898-1916, undated
- Subseries 5.3: Other materials, 1886-1955, undated
Gift of Willman and Carol Spawn, October 11, 1971.
Folder-level and item-level printed inventories for parts of the collection are available in repository.
The collection was minimally processed, with records generally sorted into series and subseries, and preliminary inventories prepared in 1975 and 1977 by Special Collections staff. The materials are housed in document cases, but not always in folders.
This collection was minimally processed in 1975, with periodic additions of materials added since then. The materials are housed in document cases, but not always in folders. Much of the paper in the collection is soiled, tattered, and brittle, and, as a result, should be handled minimally and carefully.
While there have been periodic additions of materials to the collection since then, no major changes have been made to the collection's arrangement or housing. A new collection inventory was prepared in April 2015 by Patrick Stalter, student worker. The finding aid was revised according to contemporary archival standards in May 2015 by Katy Rawdon, Coordinator of Technical Services, and Courtney Smerz, Collection Management Archivist.
People
- Campbell, Frances
- Campbell, John, 1810-1874
- Campbell, John J. (Bookseller)
- Campbell, William M. (Architect)
- Martin, Henry A
Organization
- City History Society of Philadelphia
- Fairmount Park Commission (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Mercantile Library of Philadelphia
- Site and Relic Society of Germantown (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- William J. Campbell Bookstore
Subject
- Autographs--Pennsylvania
- Americana
- Booksellers and bookselling -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Bookstores -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Book thefts
- Engraving, American
- Judges -- Pennsylvania
- Legal literature -- Publishing -- Pennsylvania
- Naval history
- Prints -- Collectors and collecting
- Publishers and publishing -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
- Finding Aid Author
- Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
- Finding Aid Date
- 2024
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
The William J. Campbell Bookstore Records are the physical property of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.