Main content
Wagner Free Institute of Science Committee Reports
Notifications
Held at: Wagner Free Institute of Science [Contact Us]1700 W. Montgomery Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19121
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. 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 formation and structure of the WFIS Standing Committees was first established in the bylaws by the Board of Trustees in 1885, and was later amended in the 1931 bylaws. The 1885 bylaws mentioned four standing Committees: Instruction, Museum Collections, Building, and Finance. The 1931 bylaws mentioned five standing Committees: Finance and Property, Instruction, Library, Museum, and Publication. In addition to the standing Committees, the Wagner Board of Trustees occasionally formed Special Committees charged with various tasks. For example, in 1931 there was a Special Committee on Educational Programs and Publicity of Kindred Institutions. Both the 1885 and 1931 bylaws note that the President of the Institute “shall be ex officio, a member of all standing committees.”
The Committee on Finance, according to the 1885 bylaws, consisted of “two members who shall devise plans for the maintenance of the Institute and attend to all other financial matters which may be referred to them by the Board of Trustees.” The 1931 bylaws amended those of 1885, changing the name of the Committee to “Finance and Property” and adding that one of the members “shall be the treasurer.”
The Chairmen of the Committee on Finance and Property are as follows:
Sydney L. Wright (1946-1949) William S. Crowder (1949-1950) Carl Boyer (1950-1955) James Emlen (1955-1957)
Beginning in 1957 and through 1981, the Reports of the Committee on Finance and Property were signed by Director Robert Chambers.
The Committee on Instruction originally consisted of two members and was charged with “the lectures and such other instruction as may be established by the Board of Trustees, of all the apparatus and diagrams used in instruction and of the contents of the library.” The 1931 bylaws indicate that the Committee on Instruction consists of “one member which shall have general charge of the educational work of the Institute.”
The records show that the Chairmen of this Committee were as follows:
William Otis Sawtelle (1936-1937) Samuel Wagner Jr. (1938-1939) Tobias Wagner (1940-1947, 1951) Carl Boyer (1947-1949) Samuel Scoville Jr. (1950) Edgar Wherry (1952-1971) Samuel Wagner (1973-1976) Alice M. Weeks (1977-1980)
Note that in 1972 and 1981, the Committee on Instruction report was submitted “for the Chairman of the Committee on Instruction” by WFIS Director Robert Chambers.
The 1885 bylaws note that the Committee on Museum Collections consisted of “two members, who shall have charge of all objects in the Museum and of their arrangement and exhibition.” The 1931 bylaws indicate that the Committee on Museum consisted “of one member having general charges of the Museum of the Institute.”
The records show that the Chairmen of the Committee on Museum were as follows:
Charles M.B. Cadwalader (1939-1943) George W. Emlen (1943-1953) James Emlen (1953-1955) Arthur H. Hopkins (1955-1973) Paul Seel (1974-1980)
The Committee on Building, according to the 1885 bylaws, consisted of “two members who shall have charge of the building and grounds. They shall superintend all alterations, additions, and repairs and attend to insurances on the buildings occupied for the purposes of the Institute and their contents.”
The Committee on Library, according to the 1931 bylaws, consisted of “one member having general charge of the library of the Institute.
The records show that the Chairmen of the Committee on Library were as follows:
Samuel Scoville Jr. (1939-1950) William S. Crowder (1950-1956) Seymour C. Wagner (1957-1976)
Sources
WFIS Bylaws (90-010, Box 3, Folder 19)
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Trustees (89-030)
This collection contains the reports of the various committees of the Wagner Free Institute of Science. The reports provide insight into the day-to-day administrative operations and finances of the Wagner. While much of the information within the reports reference the “nuts and bolts” of the Institute, the Committee on Museum series, in particular, contains notable information pertaining to the history of the Wagner’s attendance and holdings, including specimen accessions, conservation, installation projects, maintenance, and changes in display.
Items of note in this collection are three photos dated December 1971 of museum display cases (Folder 7); Director’s Supplementary Report on Library, dated October 21, 1946, regarding the status of the library (Folder 8); confidential letter from the Military Intelligence Service, dated September 15, 1942, regarding a nationwide survey of Japanese materials in libraries and the response from the WFIS (Folder 11).
The Special Committee on Educational Programs and Publicity of Kindred Institutions series contains reports from 1930 and 1931, and contains information regarding educational programs and publicity of kindred institutions, as well as a report regarding the purchase of a motion picture machine.
The Committee on Museum series, which has material from 1929, 1939-1943, and 1953-1980, contains reports with information regarding museum accessions, status of completed and ongoing museum projects and exhibits, installation and conservation of the collections, attendance figures, visits from various groups and students, and the day-to-day activities of the museum.
The Committee on Library series is comprised of Reports and Correspondence. The Reports cover the years 1939 through 1976 and contain information regarding library attendance, the acquisition of books and pamphlets, circulation, and the library’s financial expenditures. The correspondence is comprised primarily of letters regarding subscriptions to magazines and journals and the related invoices.
The Committee on Finance and Property reports series runs from 1952-1981. The reports contain information regarding the expenditures and balances of the various funds and accounts of the Wagner.
The Committee on Instruction, containing material from 1931-1981, pertains primarily to attendance at the Institute’s lectures, the awarding of certificates, and field trips planned by the Institute.
Most of the materials in this collection were originally part of Accession 00-02, but became part of this new collection, along with a small amount of material (primarily the Committee on Instruction reports), which came from Accession 99-109 (Director’s Files), in June 2010.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Wagner Free Institute of Science
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by William Rueter
- Finding Aid Date
- 2010
Collection Inventory
The Special Committee on Educational Programs and Publicity of Kindred Institutions series contains reports from 1930 and 1931, and contains information regarding educational programs and publicity of kindred institutions, as well as a report regarding the purchase of a motion picture machine.
The Committee on Museum series, which has material from 1929, 1939-1943, and 1953-1980, contains reports with information regarding museum accessions, status of completed and ongoing museum projects and exhibits, installation and conservation of the collections, attendance figures, visits from various groups and students, and the day-to-day activities of the museum.
The Committee on Library series is comprised of Reports and Correspondence. The Reports cover the years 1939 through 1976 and contain information regarding library attendance, the acquisition of books and pamphlets, circulation, and the library’s financial expenditures. The correspondence is comprised primarily of letters regarding subscriptions to magazines and journals and the related invoices.
The Committee on Finance and Property reports series runs from 1952-1981. The reports contain information regarding the expenditures and balances of the various funds and accounts of the Wagner.
The Committee on Instruction, containing material from 1931-1981, pertains primarily to attendance at the Institute’s lectures, the awarding of certificates, and field trips planned by the Institute.