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Wagner Free Institute of Science Director's files and business records
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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
Incorporated by William Wagner (1796-1885) in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is a natural history museum and educational institution in Philadelphia that is dedicated to providing free public education in the sciences, and is the oldest program of that kind in the United States. The existing building which houses the Wagner Free Institute of Science was opened in 1865 and includes an exhibit gallery, classrooms, a library, and a lecture hall.
“The Institute aims to dispense a liberal education, making instruction in the Natural Sciences a distinguishing feature, but endeavoring, as far as possible, to embrace various branches of Literature and the Arts” (Purposes of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Memorandum, 1885). The Institute was designed to be a comprehensive Technical College for scientific education. Additionally, there were educational programs and lectures open to the public for adults, as well as ones intended for children.
William Wagner and his wife, Louisa owned a considerable amount of land surrounding the Institute. In 1873, the lots were subdivided and twenty four houses were built, at Wagner's own expense as an endowment to the Institute: five on the south side of Montgomery Avenue, eight on the west side of Willington Street and eleven on the east side of 17th Street. These houses were rented for use as private residences or for commercial uses such as shops or factories. The rent was a primary means of revenue for the Institute for incorporation.
After Wagner’s death, the Institute superintendent Mr. Rothermel assumed the role of landlord as part of his duties of overseeing Institute business. Ultimately the properties were sold. Other investment vehicles included purchasing mortgages, government Liberty Bonds, and individual stocks, as demonstrated in series two, five and six of this collection.
Following the death of William Wagner, the Institute operated legally under the aegis of “The Estate of William Wagner, Deceased” from 1885 until approximately 1924. According to the Institute’s Quarterly Reports, which summarize its financial status, the Trustees for the Estate and the Institute petitioned the Orphan’s Court of Pennsylvania in 1924 to dissolve the estate in order to streamline operations. These reports can be found in series two of this collection.
Bibliography:
Unpublished, Purposes of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Memorandum, 1885.
This collection of records details the administrative, financial, and educational aspects of the Institute from 1858 to 1938, with the bulk of the records dating from 1885 to 1924.
The records appear to be from three Wagner Free Institute of Science administrations: Thomas Lynch Montgomery, Actuary and Librarian, 1883 to 1901; John Goodhart Rothermel, Superintendent/Director, 1903 to 1924; and Samuel Wagner, President, 1885 to 1921, and President Emeritus, 1921 to 1937.
The bulk of the materials are financial records and include: financial statements, invoices, statements, bills, receipts, vouchers, insurance policies, bank records, cancelled checks, and correspondence relating to the Institute’s administration and operations, particularly its rental properties. A smaller number of records relate to the Wagner estate, official activities of the Board of Trustees, and Institute programs.
These records would be of interest to those researching: the study of natural history in the U.S. circa 1885 to 1924; the history of scientific and educational movements in the U.S., including the study of natural history, paleontology, Darwin’s evolution of species, and/or environmental conservation; and the phenomena of free public education, the university extension movement, and the free public library movement.
The extensive body of financial records for the rental properties would be of interest to social historians and historic preservationists. These records document the construction, interior finishing, and general maintenance for several blocks of urban construction from the period 1885 to 1920s. The structures include row houses, a grocery store, a cigar factory, a boiler factory (V. Clad & Sons), as well as exterior construction such as fences, sheds, privies, and street furniture. Correspondence and bids for repair work illustrate social and legal aspects such as complaints from renters requesting repairs, correspondence regarding the market rates for rental properties, fires and the consequent insurance and repair issues, and the Trustees’ petitions to governmental bodies seeking tax relief for the Institute.
This collection is divided into six series; “William Wagner Estate records,” “Board of Trustees records,” “Faculty, Library and Museum programs records,” “Building site and operations records,” “Real estate investments records,” and ”Financial records.”
Due to time constraints, a large percentage of original folder titles and the collection arrangement were retained during processing. It was noted during processing that titles are not always comprehensive and at times may be misleading. Researchers are advised to peruse the entire folder list as well as all files which seem at all related to their topic.
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
This collection was minimally processed in 2009-2011, as part of an experimental project conducted under the auspices of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to help eliminate processing backlog in Philadelphia repositories. A minimally processed collection is one processed at a less intensive rate than traditionally thought necessary to make a collection ready for use by researchers. When citing sources from this collection, researchers are advised to defer to folder titles provided in the finding aid rather than those provided on the physical folder.
Employing processing strategies outlined in Mark Greene's and Dennis Meissner's 2005 article, More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal With Late 20th-Century Collections, the project team tested the limits of minimal processing on collections of all types and ages, in 23 Philadelphia area repositories. A primary goal of the project, the team processed at an average rate of 2-3 hours per linear foot of records, a fraction of the time ordinarily reserved for the arrangement and description of collections. Among other time saving strategies, the project team did not extensively review the content of the collections, replace acidic folders or complete any preservation work.
People
- Boyer, Carl
- Chambers, Robert
- Graham, John
- Heilprin, Angelo, 1853-1907
- Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, 1862-
- Rothermel, John
- Skidmore, Sydney Tuthill, 1844-1928
- Wagner, Louisa Binney, 1814-1898
- Wagner, Samuel, 1842-1937
- Wagner, William, 1796-1885
- Willcox, Joseph
Organization
- Free Library of Philadelphia.
- Girard Life Insurance, Annuity, and Trust Company.
- Wagner Free Institute of Science.
Subject
- Libraries
- Natural history libraries
- Natural history museums
- Science and technology libraries
- Science--Study and teaching
- Urban development
Place
- Publisher
- Wagner Free Institute of Science
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Eric Rosenzweig and Laurie Rizzo
- Sponsor
- The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Wagner Free Institute of Science with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.
Collection Inventory
The series “William Wagner Estate records”, arranged chronologically, contains papers from 1885 to 1914 which document the measures taken by William Wagner’s successors to ensure the continuity of the mission of the Institute’s patriarch. This series is divided into two subseries: “Death, memorial and estate papers,” and “Estate adjudication records.” The first subseries, “Death, memorial, and estate papers” contains material created around the time of, and in reaction to the death of William Wagner. Some of these papers, such as “Eulogy for Professor William Wagner” by Samuel Wagner, and “Memorandum and report of the operations planning committee” show how William Wagner was memorialized by his family and peers. This subseries also includes legal documents that show the Institute’s early activities in its fiduciary role, such as “Wagner Free Institute of Science v. the City of Philadelphia Et Al. paper books” which is a record of the Institute claiming tax exemption for its various properties. The papers in the second subseries, “Estate adjudication records,” demonstrate the process of the distribution of Wagner’s Estate to his family and the Institute. The papers in this subseries are primarily of two kinds: official adjudication records, and vouchers. The adjudication papers are the records of official investigations of the William Wagner Estate, and are signed and sealed. The vouchers are records of financial transactions for services rendered in the day to day activities of the Institute. The papers in this subseries provide a detailed account of the William Wagner Estate and how the Institute used its inherited funds. The series is arranged chronologically.
The series “Board of Trustees records” contains official meeting minutes that date from 1858 to 1926. Also included in this series are the documents that served as source material for its decision making processes, such as financial statements and reports. This series is arranged chronologically.
WFIS Bylaws dated September 24, 1931
Folder 19 was originally part of Accession 00-02, but was moved to 90-010 in June 2010 when most of 00-02 was moved into a new Committee Reports collection.
Folder 20 was originally part of Accession 00-02, but was moved to 90-010 in June 2010 when most of 00-02 was moved into a new Committee Reports collection.
Proceedings of the Trustees-Faculty Dinner at Arcadia Restaurant.
The series “Faculty, Library and Museum programs records” contains records from 1883 to 1926, which demonstrate the Institute’s efforts to promote free scientific education. There are also official reports and correspondence. This series is arranged chronologically.
The series “Building site and operations records” is a group of records that show the maintenance and renovation of the Institute building between 1885 and 1932. In addition to papers that document the care of the structure and its furnishings, this series also contains papers that provide evidence of the Institute’s insurance coverage and operating expenses. This series is arranged chronologically.
The series “Real estate investments records” shows the Institute’s property management efforts between the years 1883 and 1926. Record types include vouchers, statements of rent, and leases; each type of document providing a unique insight and perspective into the Institute’s property management efforts. This series is divided into three subseries, according to the aforementioned record types, and the files are arranged in chronological order within the “Rental property vouchers,” and “Rental property statements of rent” subseries. Within the "Old Leases’ and correspondence” subseries, the leases are arranged by street and plot number, and the correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The “Financial records” series is the largest series in this collection. Dating from 1885 to 1938, the records provide an overall view of the Institute’s finances. It is divided into four subseries: Papers that document the Institute’s financial planning and analysis are housed in the first portion of this series “Account analysis and correspondence.” The second subseries “Vouchers and receipts” contains a group of records that document financial transactions based on services rendered. These records are arranged alphabetically by payee. The third subseries “Bundled vouchers and cancelled checks” houses a multitude of vouchers, cancelled checks and bank books, as well as investment cards from 1938. The arrangement of this series is pre-existing and seems to have to do with bundled groups of records. The remaining subseries, “Investment records” contains six groups of cards which contain information about securities, contracts and commodities owned by the Institute (“longs”), and commodities and shares not owned by the Institute, to be sold by the Institute at a certain price (“shorts”). The extensive body of financial records for the rental properties would be of interest to social historians and historic preservationists.