Call Number:

ACC2068

Repository:

Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

7.4 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1794-1990 1890-1946

Abstract:

William Thornton Innes II (1843-1913) was a Philadelphia printer. His wife was Eleanor (Ellen) Baldwin Kirkbride (1850-1932). They had two sons, William Thornton Innes III (b. 1874) and Edward Kirkbride Innes. Both sons joined Innes and Sons, their father's printing firm, and William Innes III eventually became its head. The company also had a publishing arm, the Innes Publishing Company. In addition to his work in printing and publishing, William Innes III was a noted authority on tropical fish, and author of several books on the subject, including Goldfish Varieties and Tropical Aquarium Fishes, first published in 1917.

This is a collection of family papers, photographs, and artifacts of the Innes and Kirkbride families of Philadelphia. Types of materials in the collection include correspondence, photographs, genealogies and family histories, diaries, military papers, obituaries, certificates, manuscripts, sketches, indentures, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. Correspondence includes letters to and from members of the Baldwin and Kirkbride families (1794-1845); and letters from the Innes family (1843-1866), particularly William T. Innes, William T. Innes II, and William T. Innes III, Ellen S. Kirkbride Innes, and Mary W. Innes. Documentation related to specific family members includes diaries, 1905-1941, by Mary W. Innes and Eliza Kirkbride Innes documenting daily activities and one volume summarizes world events. William T. Innes III (1874-1969) papers include correspondence, medical records, appointment books, a ledger of fish-related purchases and miscellaneous documentation related to a variety of topics, as well as photographs of Innes as Benjamin Franklin. Eleanor S. Kirkbride papers include a commonplace book and journal. The collection includes pamphlets, book jackets, gift cards, and other examples of the work of Innes & Sons Printers (1311 Sansom Street). Photographic images of family members in the collection include tintypes, snapshots, black and white prints, cabinet photographs, negatives, and stereo prints. There are also a number of artifacts, postcards, tradecards, prints and pencil and ink drawings.