University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

This collection of periodicals containing articles or anecdotes by Mark Twain, advertisements for his works, and articles about the author and his works was donated by the family of Robert Nevins Birdwhistell. The periodicals from the library’s collection of Mark Twain materials span a period of 100 years.

Wolrd's fairs and expositions have been held internationally from 1851 and continue into the present. This collection comprises written materials, memorabilia, and, to a more limited extent, other materials such as photographs and musical recordings from or related to world's fairs and expositions that took place between 1851 and 1992. Most expositions recognized by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) are represented, as well as many that are not officially recognized by the BIE. Some non-world's fair events are also represented to a limited extent. While events from around the world are featured in the collection, it primarily centers on expositions that occurred in the United States.

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.

This is a collection of Book-of-the-Month club news, mailings, and offers along with a few examples of other book-seller related materials such as advertisements, catalogs, lists, and financial and business documents, mostly receipts. The bulk of the collection is from the years 1850 to 1961 with a few outlying documents from the 1820s to 1840s.

The "Theatricals in Philadelphia" scrapbooks consists of a set of 15 scrapbooks on theatrical subjects and contains programs, playbills, newspaper clippings, images, and portraits of artists of the stage, dating from the second half of the 19th century. These materials mostly relate to theaters and other performing venues located in Philadelphia, although there are also some items from New York, Boston, and other U.S. cities. Because of its extent (about 3,500 pages), its chronological and geographical focus, the richness of its materials, and the breadth of theatrical genres covered in the scrapbooks, this collection represents a unique and invaluable resource for anyone interested in the theatrical and cultural history of Philadelphia in the second half of the 19th century.

A ledger containing an account of receipts, disbursements, and yearly accountin of funds for John Cottrell's Charity spanning the years from 1858 to 1951. The charity supported housing for widows in the Parish of Yardley, Worcestershire.

This collection includes material collected by Siegfried Weisbeger (1896-1984), proprietor of the Peabody Book Shop in Baltimore Maryland and confidante of H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), a noted writer, editor, and social provocateur, famous for his disdain for common morals and received wisdom. The collection contains correspondence between the two men and other correspondents of the Peabody Book Shop, manuscripts and published writings by and about Mencken (many of them signed), and autobiographical writings and poems written by Weisberger.

The H.H. Furness Memorial Library focuses on the study of Shakespeare and other Tudor and Stuart dramatists. Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912) and his son Horace Howard Furness Jr. (1865-1930) founded and edited the Variorum Shakespeare and their library was donated to the University of Pennsylvania in 1932. This collection contains personal correspondence to and from Rev. William Henry Furness (1802-1896), Horace Howard Furness, and Horace Howard Furness, Jr., largely relating to Shakespearean study and the H.H. Furness Memorial library; notebooks; copies of speeches and articles; and other assorted items relating to Shakespearean scholarship or to the Furness family.

The Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection is a fluid one, consisting of manuscripts that are unidentified or too small for their own collection. Each sub-collection within the group is given a Miscellaneous Manuscript Number which corresponds to the collection.

Materials include correspondence to, from, and concerning Walt Whitman; financial records; writings by and about Whitman; and memorabilia, such as sketches, photographs, and portraits of Whitman, his family, his friends, and his homes.

A Philadelphia native, Jane Wright Proctor Wallis (1875-1956) was the daughter of Sarah Jane Wright and Josiah Kendall Proctor (the founder and owner of several prominent city businesses) and a mother of ten children. The Jane Wright Proctor Wallis family papers provide a glimpse into early 20th-century family life through correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, and memorabilia. The collection dates from 1833 to 2007, revealing a pride in the history and genealogy of the Proctor Wallis family across its many generations. In addition to familial topics, this collection features many materials documenting events of the early 20th Century as well as various Philadelphia-area social and charitable clubs.

John Bach McMaster (1852-1932) was an American writer and professor best known for his landmark history of the United States, A History of the People of the United States, which appeared in eight volumes from 1883 to 1913. McMaster’s historical technique was notable in its use of newspaper material and his insistence on providing social context from all classes, not simply the political leaders of the time. This collection contains correspondence, writings by McMaster, material used by McMaster in his research, and personal material, such as newspaper clippings of his life and work, testimonials by colleagues, and memorabilia.

The Gotham Book Mart (1920-2006) was one of New York City’s most iconic bookstores during the 20th century. Founded by Frances Steloff (1887-1989), the daughter of poor Russian-Jewish immigrants, the Book Mart became a social center for the New York literati and a focal point for literary modernism in the United States. Steloff’s successor, independent literary manuscript dealer Andreas Brown (1933-), maintained the store’s focus on avant garde and small press publications while incorporating his own interests in postcards and genealogy. This collection contains 91 boxes of material relating to the daily operation of the Book Mart; correspondence, biographical, and legal material from both Brown and Steloff; postcard and genealogical material collected by Brown; photographs of the store, its employees, and events which took place there; and manuscripts and ephemera offered for sale.

Founded in 1907, the Charlotte Cushman Club was originally intended to provide respectable lodgings for actresses appearing in Philadelphia theaters. In the years of World War II the Club ceased to provide residential services, becoming a favorite gathering place of theater lovers as well as of the many actresses and actors visiting the city with their touring companies. The Charlotte Cushman Club Records offer insight into the activities, the administration, and the membership of the Club during the whole life of the organization, until its closure in 1998. The collection also includes part of the holdings of the former Club’s museum and library.

The Bartholomew family scrapbook collection consists of five volumes compiled by Ethel C. Bartholomew (born 1889), William H. Bartholomew (born 1832), and Sallie Apt Bartholomew (1863-1934). These scrapbooks document the theatrical careers of the Bartholomews from the early 1870s to the late 1940s and include photographs of the Bartholomew family and unnamed people, notices and reviews of performances, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and notes.

The Roswell G. Lamb Papers document the early life of a University of Pennsylvania graduate and the daily life of a Delaware County and West Philadelphia resident from the 1870s to the 1910s.

The S. Weir Mitchell Correspondence series (23 folders)includes correspondence with James Lane Allen, Richard Watson Gilder, William Dean Howells, Robert Underwood Johnson, Henry C. Lea, James Russell Lowell, Charles Leonard Moore, and John Greenleaf Whittier. The remaining series comprise S. Weir Mitchell Writings (8 folders), including both medical and other writings; Langdon and Marion Mitchell Correspondence (5 folders); Langdon and Marion Mitchell Clippings (2 folders), primarily consisting of obituaries for Langdon Mitchell; Civil War Scrapbook (1 box); Photographs (2 boxes); S. Weir Mitchell Literary Writings (16 boxes)includes holographs of 5 novels, 2 plays, and a short story or novella.

Arthur Hobson Quinn (1875-1960) was a professor and dean of English and History at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally recognized authority on the history of American drama. This collection contains material representative of Quinn’s entire professional life: correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, lecture notes, reviews of contemporary plays, his collection of playbills and libretti, and material related to his research on Edgar Allan Poe and the American realist playwright James A. Herne.

Felix E. Schelling (1858-1945) was a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, an expert on Shakespeare, and an author of scholarly works on Shakespeare and Elizabethan literature. This collection documents Schelling's life as a student, a professor, a scholar, and an author. It also documents the University of Pennsylvania through the eyes of an individual who was a student and a faculty member over a period of more than fifty years.

One third of the collection comprises correspondence, including exchanges with professional colleagues and clients as well as a few family members. With the exception of a substantial group of letters written by Cret to his wife while serving in World War I, there is little personal material. None of the correspondence files contains comprehensive representation of the transactions of Cret and/or his firm on any given project. The remainder of the Papers includes writings by Cret, project and teaching materials (incomplete), notes, biographical material, and photographs.

Comprises personal, business, literary, and family papers. In addition to Bird's own papers, this collection includes papers of his wife Mary E. Bird, his son Frederic Mayer Bird, and his biographer Clement Edgar Foust. The earliest papers (1822) date from Bird's school days at Germantown Academy, and the very latest papers (1946) relate to C. Seymour Thompson's publication of Mary E. Bird's biography of her husband. Correspondents include men and women from Bird's career in medicine; his literary career; his theatrical career (including correspondence with Edwin Forrest, as well as the documentation regarding their legal battle over copyrights and profits); his political career; and his career in publishing and journalism.

James DePreist (1936-2013) was an African-American conductor of international renown. This collection primarily documents James DePreist's conducting career, with a focus on the 1980s and 1990s with the Oregon Symphony, including organizational records, concert programs, press coverage, scores, and recordings.

The Lippincott Library supports business related research at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Corporate annual reports were originally collected by the library as a resource for business students. These reports typically provide financial information and updates on operations. The collection includes reports of companies from a variety of industries including agriculture, energy, food, and transportation.

The Clara and Rudolf Kirk collection of William Dean Howells material consists of literary and visual materials by or about William Dean Howells, an American author, playwright, and literary critic. It was compiled by Clara and Rudolf Kirk, who were scholars studying Howells, circa 1940-1963. The collection includes essays and reviews written by or about Howells, correspondence and newspaper clippings by or regarding Howells, six scrapbooks about Howells' life and career, and other miscellaneous materials.