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Richard Tapper Cadbury Papers
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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 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
Richard Tapper Cadbury was born on October 11, 1853, in Philadelphia, the son of Richard and Lydia Shinn Cadbury. He graduated from Haverford College in 1868 and received an M.A. from Harvard in 1878. Cadbury was a teacher, writer, businessman, and art connoisseur; as a child, he was very much influenced by his uncle (his mother's brother), Earl Shinn, Jr., art critic for The Nation. Among his various employments were serving as superintendent for the Deaf and Dumb Institute of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and as a trust officer at Provident Life and Trust Company. He also lectured on art topics.
Richard Tapper Cadbury was married to Helen Nathans on August 28, 1884, and the couple lived in Haverford, PA, where Helen ran a school for small children. The couple had four children: Richard Cadbury (1885-1926) who donated the papers; Helen (1886-1974); Earl Shinn (1888-1970); and Leah Tapper (1892-). Richard Tapper Cadbury died October 29, 1929.
The collection contains correspondence and memorabilia of the Cadbury, Comfort, Haines, and Shinn families. The correspondence provides a detailed picture of life in Philadelphia Quaker families of the mid 19th century, and of the hardships of those who participated in the California gold rush. Also includes the journal of Richard Tapper Cadbury while he was a student at Haverford College, and the correspondence of Cadbury's uncle, Earl Shinn Jr., who often used pseudonym "Edward Strahan" and was an art critic for the Nation with artists with well-known artists of his day.
Earl Shinn Jr. corresponded with the following artists: Thomas Eakins, Howard Roberts, William Chase, John Sartain, Carroll Backwith, B.C.Champney, and William T. Richards, Howard Nelmick, A.Quartley. Possible correspondents: R. Swain Gifford, Edward L. Scull, F.A.Bridgman, William Walton, R. Sturgis, P.F.Rothermel, G.W.H.Boughton, Henry Bacon, Jas. Hamilton, and R. Wylie.
Artists with whom Shinn was acquainted in the Tile Club (or otherwise) include: Hopkinson Smith, Abbey, Reinhart, Walter Paris, O'Donovan, Laffan, Baird, Harry Bispham, Weber, Winslow Homer, Kenyon Cox, Roger Haydock, S.J.Ferris, John Yaber, Bradford, Heaton, T.B.Read, D.R.Knight, Humphrey Moore, and George Wood.
The collection is divided into three series:
- Genealogical and biographical
- Writing by Richard T. Cadbury and others
- Correspondence
Donor: Richard Cadbury, 1951
Gift of Richard Cadbury, the son of Richard Tapper Cadbury.
The following material has been removed from the collection and recatalogued:
- Marriage certificate of David Comfort and Beulah Walton, great- grandparents of Richard T. Cadbury, dated 3-13-1799. See marriage certificate files, FHL
- Nero, A Tragedy, by Richard Tapper Cadbury, pub. Phila. 1880, under pseud. "Richard Comfort". See printed copy in F.H.L. BX7617.C18N4
- Writ, By Richard Tapper Cadbury, pub. Haverford, 1923. See printed copy in F.H.L. BX7617.C18W9
- The Earl Shinn correspondence (Series 3, folders 15, 15a-16) was microfilmed in 1985 by the Smithsonian Institution (Archives of American Art, Philadelphia Project).
- Copy of microfilm received January, 1987: FHL microfilm MS-C2
People
Subject
- Quakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Quakers -- Social life and customs
- Art criticism -- United States -- History -- 19th century
Place
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- FHL staff
- Finding Aid Date
- Before 1967
- Sponsor
- Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
- Access Restrictions
-
Access to Earl Shinn correspondence is through microfilm. Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
Most of his plays are unittitled.
Includes members of Comfort and Shinn families.
Includes address book, including some while at Woodbrooke, about 906
See marriage certificate files, F.H.L.
Physical Descriptionphotostat copy
David Comfort was the maternal great-grandfather of Richard T. Cadbury. See file of deeds, F.H.L.
Written from the viewpoint of a child.
Earl was presumably son of Richard T. Cadbury, lived 1888-1970.
2 folders
Includes "An Attempt to Reconcile Spencer with Kant," & "The Greek Comedy in Philadelphia", presumably by Richard Tapper Cadbury.
Includes binder entitled The Young Essayists, in which some of the compositions are dated 1858. Also, "Not Luck, but Work", by Helen V. Nathans, who later became the wife of Richard T. Cadbury.
Pub. Phila. under pseud. "Richard Comfort." See printed copy in F.H.L. BX7617.C18N4
2 copies
Pub. Haverford. See printed copy in F.H.L. BX7617.C18W9
Folders arranged alphabetically by individual, chronologically within each folder
Includes lines on his death by shipwreck, 2-13-1835, written by a brother.
Includes correspondence by Hillborn, Fanny, "adopted daughter" of Elizabeth Haines, sent, 1878-1882, n.d.
All of Earl Shinn Jr.'s correspondence is available on microfilm.
With photocopies