Call Number:

Print Collection 62

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

10.4 linear feet (17 boxes (7 record center boxes and 10 flat boxes))

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

David Toccafondi collection of University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia ephemera, 2017-2024, Print Collection 62, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

2017-2024 (inclusive)

Creator:

Toccafondi, David

Form:

Memorabilia, Printed ephemera, and Fliers (printed matter)

Abstract:

This collection contains ephemera culled from bulletin boards and other public advertising spaces across the University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia by David Toccafondi, the Media Lab Manager of the Vitale Digital Media Lab, during 2017 and 2018.

Throughout the late 20th and early 21st century, the University of Pennsylvania made efforts to strengthen its relationship with the surrounding area of West Philadelphia, implementing initiatives to encourage its students, faculty, and staff to explore, engage with, and live in the neighborhood. As a result, the social relationship between the two communities has grown more intertwined, and the border between campus and community more porous. David Toccafondi, a UPenn alumnus and a resident of West Philadelphia, has worked at the Van Pelt Library in various capacities since 1995, and currently manages the Vitale Digital Media Lab. He is also an avid photographer.

This collection contains ephemera culled from bulletin boards and other public advertising spaces across the University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia by David Toccafondi, the Media Lab Manager of the Vitale Digital Media Lab, during 2017 through 2024. The ephemera include event posters, course offerings, want ads, medical studies, political propaganda, and other printed material meant to appeal to the community of the University of Pennsylvania and greater West Philadelphia. The ephemera are separated into folders by month (and occasionally by specific date) based on the timing of Toccafondi's original collection, and arranged chronologically.