Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Form Memoirs

John Malcolm Brinnin papers supplement, circa 1800s-1998 (inclusive) 1935-1998 (bulk)

Extent:: 13 linear foot
Abstract:: The Supplement to the John Malcolm Brinnin Papers comprises thirteen linear feet of material spanning the dates [1800s]-1998 (bulk dates 1935-1998). Most of the collection consists of letters to Brinnin; poems, a memoir, journals, and articles written by Brinnin; and personal documents, such as a passport, birth certificate, medical and hospice information, draft notice, photographs, and college diploma. However, the supplement also includes books or manuscripts written by other authors and friends, artwork, clippings, computer software, travel brochures and itineraries, and audiovisual material related to Brinnin.

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

George S. Messersmith papers, 1907-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:: 11.5 linear foot, 1 oversize box, and 1 oversize removal
Abstract:: Diplomatic and professional papers of George S. Messersmith (1883-1960). Consists of correspondence, memoranda, and official dispatches written during Messersmith's tenure with the U.S. Department of State, as well as during his subsequent business career. The extensive typescript of an unpublished memoir is also present. The papers include extensive discussions of political and economic matters regarding Europe during the 1930s and Latin America in the 1940s and 1950s.

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

Alan Kaufman papers, circa 19th century, 1952-2007 (inclusive) 1952-2007 (bulk)

Extent:: 11.3 linear foot (28 boxes) and 16 oversize box
Abstract:: The papers of Alan Kaufman--an American Jewish author, editor, performer, artist, and impresario--include drafts of his memoir Jew Boy, his novel Matches, editorial material related to volumes in his Outlaw Bible series, and the magazine Davka: Jewish Cultural Revolution. There are numerous notebooks with notes, observations, lists, and drafts of poetry and writing, as well as original artwork. The collection also includes publishing and personal correspondence, and material documenting Kaufman's involvement in the San Francisco Spoken Word poetry movement and other creative activities.

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

Thomas Pole papers, 1709-1964 (inclusive) 1770s-1870s (bulk)

Extent:: 1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Abstract:: The Thomas Pole papers consist of three bound manuscripts, a letter case with silhouettes, an annotated map, and a collection of papers related to American-born Quaker physician, Thomas Pole (1753-1829).

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

George Davis Budd Papers, 1858-1862 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 cubic feet
Abstract:: George Davis Budd was a Philadelphia lawyer who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1862 and served as Assistant City Solicitor for Philadelphia in 1872. The collection chiefly consists of a fascinating history of the University's Class of 1862, of which Budd was a member.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]

Margaret Deland manuscript and draft of Golden Yesterdays, 1935-1936 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: Margaret Deland (1857-1945) was American novelist and poet. This collection includes the original manuscript and drafts for Deland's final book, Golden Yesterdays, a memoir published in 1941 when she was 84 years old and which follows her early life from her teens through her courtship and relationship with her husband, Lorin Deland.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Jack Rosenfeld papers, 1910-2003 (inclusive) 1942-1945 (bulk)

Extent:: 18 boxes
Abstract:: Collection of correspondence, writings, memorabilia, and photographs of Jack Rosenfeld, mainly pertaining to his service in the United States Army during the Second World War, from September 1942 to November 1945. Rosenfeld's extensive wartime correspondence with his fiancée, family members, and friends offers glimpses into the experiences of everyday Americans during the war, both from the point of view of individuals serving in the Armed Forces, and from that of the civilian community at home, especially in Philadelphia. The correspondence also gives an impression of Jewish community life in Philadelphia at the time, and of the perspectives of American Jews on the war. A little more than half of the correspondence is in the form of the miniaturized facsimiles known as Victory Mail, or V-Mail. Jack Rosenfeld's writings include a memoir about his wartime experiences (dated 1995), and an autobiographical essay about his family and childhood. Documents and ephemera from Rosenfeld's...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture records, 1785-1982 (inclusive)

Extent:: 103 boxes
Abstract:: The collection is divided into three major series: I. 18th and 19th century records, II. 20th century records, and III. John M. Okie papers. The first comprises correspondence, administrative records, and ephemera; the second, correspondence, committee records, financial records, proceedings, memorabilia, and collected agricultural material; the third consists of the papers of Okie, who served as assistant secretary of the Society from 1922 to 1928: he was responsible for the publication of Memoirs VI, a history of the P.S.P.A.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

American Musicological Society oral history collection, 1996- (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: The American Musicological Society, founded in 1943 to promote the systematic study of music, actively documents its history, its members, and, more generally, the history of musicology in North America through its oral history project. This collection contains transcripts and written memoirs resulting from oral history project which began in 1996 and continues to the present.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

John B. Thayer memorial collection of the sinking of the Titanic, 1912-2012 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: John "Jack" Borland Thayer (1894-1945) and his mother, Marian Longstreth Morris Thayer (circa 1872-1944), survived the sinking of the Titanic along with only 705 other people. His father, John Borland Thayer (1862-1912) died during the only voyage of the "unsinkable" ship. The John B. Thayer memorial collection of the sinking of the Titanic, contains first-hand accounts of the sinking, Thayer family material, and more recent material documenting the continued interest in and efforts to memorialize the tragedy.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]