Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Subject Booksellers and bookselling

Oliver Stromberg Collection of William Beebe Book Collecting Files, 1912-1993 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 box
Abstract:: Materials collected by book collector Oliver Stromberg in preparation to write a book on American naturalist and explorer, William Beebe. Collection primarily consists of orders, invoices, book catalogs, and correspondence from booksellers.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Michael Billmeyer family papers, 1719-circa 1940

Extent:: 1.4 linear feet
Abstract:: Michael Billmeyer (1752-1837) was a well-known printer and bookseller in the Germantown section of Philadelphia who catered especially to Pennsylvania German and Mennonite communities. The Michael Billmeyer family papers, 1719-circa 1940, are comprised primarily of materials relating to Michael Billmeyer (1752-1837) and his publishing company, with a small amount of materials relating to other family members and the family home.

Held at: Germantown Historical Society [Contact Us]

University Libraries Records, 1890-2004 (inclusive)

Extent:: 36 cubic feet
Abstract:: The University Library dates to 1749 with a gift of books from Richard Jackson, a London lawyer and politician. Within a few years, Benjamin Franklin and William Smith donated additional volumes. The records, 1890-1979, for the University of Pennsylvania Library deal primarily with the operation of the Library from the Furness building but also includes information on the fundraising for and construction of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.

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

Law Association of Philadelphia Library records, 1879-1897 (inclusive) 1881-1882 (bulk)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: The Law Association of Philadelphia was chartered in 1827, formed by the union of the Law Library Company and the Associated Members of the Bar of Philadelphia, and charged with keeping a law library. Over the years, the Law Association of Philadelphia Library became the Law Library of the Philadelphia Bar Association (1931) and the Theodore F. Jenkins Memorial Law Library (1967). This collection contains receipts, ephemera, and manuscripts from 1879 to 1897, presenting a near-daily record of the Law Association's highly regarded library during 1881 and 1882 and documenting the Association's efforts to maintain an up-to-date library.

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

Science Fiction Collection Vertical File, 1923-2012 (inclusive)

Extent:: 10 linear feet (10 boxes)
Abstract:

Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

A. & W. MacKinlay, Limited collection, 1880-1924 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.3 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: This collection (1880-1924) contains documents that relate to the business dealings of A. & W. MacKinlay, Limited, a bookselling company founded by Andrew and William MacKinlay in 1827, and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.The bulk of the collection consists of invoices charged by A. & W. MacKinlay to H & A. Locke or to D. Y. Stewart and Son, two regional businesses. A few pieces of business correspondence are also included, along with a pair of ledger books which were printed and sold by A. & W. MacKinlay, but which contain the handwritten financial accounts of two unidentified businesses.

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

Jay A. Gertzman research collection on censorship, 1882-1999 (inclusive) 1920-1950 (bulk)

Extent:: 4 linear feet (4 boxes)
Abstract:: Jay A. Gertzman is professor emeritus of English at Mansfield University. This collection includes research material collected and used by Jay Gertzman to produce his book Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940;. Documents collected here pertain to the proliferation and censorship of erotic material in the era between the two World Wars.

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

William McDevitt papers, 1905-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: William McDevitt was an author, bookseller, and Socialist political agitator who operated bookstores on Sutter and Fillmore streets in San Francisco for more than forty years in the first half of the twentieth century. This collection includes correspondence from Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) and others concerning bookselling, promotional material for books and lectures, and copies of pamphlets written by McDevitt.

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

Sotheby's auction catalogs, 1931-2021 (inclusive)

Extent:: 40.5 linear feet (48 boxes)
Abstract:: Founded in 1744 Sotheby's is one of the world's largest auction house. For more than two hundred years it has played a central role in the sale of rare books and manuscripts. This finding aid serves as a guide to the more than 1,000 Sotheby's catalogs held in Print Coll. 42 as well as Sotheby's catalogs post-1930 which are not present in Print Coll. 42 but are held elsewhere in the Penn Libraries.

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

Book and Manuscript Dealer catalogs, 1905-2022 (inclusive)

Extent:: 53 linear feet (105 boxes)
Abstract:: For more than a century the Penn Libraries have been purchasing books and manuscripts at public auction in the United States and abroad. This finding aid serves as a guide to more than 1,600 book and manuscript dealer catalogs from 112 different firms. The collection includes substantial runs of catalogs from dealers of importance in the history of the book trade who are no longer in operation, such the Rosenbach Company, H.P. Kraus, and E.P. Goldschmidt. In addition, it contains catalogs from dozens of other book dealers around the world who are still currently active.

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