University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

The Albert Einstein Medical Center (AEMC) School of Nursing was founded in 1953 upon the consolidation of the nursing schools of Jewish Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital. Until its close in 1987, it had one of the highest enrollements in the Philadelphia area, including many students of color. This collection contains administrative records, catalogues, evaluation studies and reports, and other materials.

This collection consists of two parts: records of the alumnae association in the period of Mercy Hospital and records of the organization under its present name. It complements the Mercy-Douglass Hospital records (MC 78) in that the latter are exclusively hospital and school records organically created before the hospital closed in 1973. The alumnae association collection contains historical accounts of the hospital and the school as prepared by the alumni, minutes of alumni meetings, programs of various kinds of activities the association sponsored, newsletters, correspondence, clippings, and material the association collected of other organizations.

This collection contains photographs related to Philadelphia General Hospital. Images includes people, activities, buildings, and equipment, ranging in date from the early 1900s through the 1970s.

This collection contains materials documenting the development of nursing and nurse alumni groups at institutions founded by Jewish benevolent groups and organizations in Philadelphia from the 1890s through the 1990s. The historical material includes minutes, reports, administrative files, artifacts, and photographs depicting nursing and nurse education. These materials primarily concern three establishments which were merged to form the Albert Einstein Medical Center in 1952: the Jewish Hospital, established 1867; the Mt. Sinai Hospital, established in 1905; and the Northern Liberties Hospital established in 1920. (It should be noted that there are no significant records of the Northern Liberties Hospital in this collection.)

This collection consists of papers, administrative records, artifacts, and photographs that document many operational aspects of the Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia General Hospital. Of note are the personal papers of Alice Fisher.

This collection documents one of the largest and most active American Legion nurses' posts: the Helen Fairchild Nurses' Post No. 412 of Philadelphia. In its heyday, the Fairchild Post engaged in a multitude of community activities, and enjoyed a large membership base. These files provide a glimpse of the long and eventful history of the Post, beginning in 1919 and continuing to 1989.

Chef Fritz Blank (1942 August 25 – 2014 September 9) was a prominent chef, restaurateur, and gastronome during the beginnings of Philadelphia’s second-wave restaurant renaissance in the 1980s. His Victus Populi collection comprises over 3,000 recipe booklets, pamphlets, and cookbooks but constitutes only a small subset of Chef Fritz Blank’s enormous cookbook library that was set apart by its focus on the American consumer and home cook. Blank titled the collection Victus Populi (Latin for “Food of the People”) because he saw these pamphlets as one of the best sources of historical information about purchasing, cooking, and consumption habits of the American public in the 20th century. Many of the items appear to be promotional items or product premiums, often produced using relatively inexpensive materials and, as evidenced by extensive wear-and-tear and the occasional spatter, heavily used in household kitchens.

Founded in 1902 in Collingdale, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Eden Cemetery is one of the oldest continually active African-American owned cemeteries in the United States and is the burial ground for many notable 19th century African-Americans. Throughout the twentieth century, remains from several African-American cemeteries in Philadelphia, PA were reinterred at Eden Cemetery in order to accommodate the expansion of the growing city. The Eden Cemetery interment records, 1902-2015, consist of interment books, deed and certificate books, section books, financial records, and legal papers that document the burials and lot sales at Eden Cemetery. The collection also includes the Cemetery's charter from 1902.

Ellen D. Baer was a prominent history scholar and nursing figure at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing as well as in nursing centers and colleges in New York. This collection documents her nursing career, federally funded nursing courses in oncology and in AIDS, research projects and prolific writing career as well as insight into her personal life.

Georgij Sanji Zagadinow (1925-1999) was a Kalmyk immigrant to Philadelphia who spent much of his life working on a Kalmyk-English dictionary. The materials in this collection include literary and other sources from Soviet Kalmykia, as well as extensive documentation of the Kalmyk communities in the United States. Researchers interested in Inner Asian studies and US immigration history may wish to consult this collection.

This unprocessed collection contains the records of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing. It primarily consists of administrative files such as reports, minutes, memos, correspondence, and handbooks and manuals, among other materials.

The Kane family was prominent in Philadelphia society and politics during the nineteenth century. The Kane Family Papers consists primarily of correspondence to Elizabeth D. Kane from her family.

This collection chronicles the long history of one of Philadelphia's most respected diploma schools of nursing, that of the Lankenau Hospital. It contains records which span the entire life of the school, from its inception in 1899 (at Lankenau's institutional predecessor, the German Hospital) to its eventual close in May of 1992.

The Mercy-Douglass Hospital was an African-American hospital and the first black nurse training school in in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It existed from 1895-1960. This collection contains the institutional records of Mercy-Douglass, along with over 200 photographs of the hospital and nursing school.

The Methodist Episcopal Hospital was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1892 and soon afterwards established a nursing school. This collection contains student nurse records from the early 20th century and financial records from the World War II period.

The Mitchell and Day family papers contain two bound manuscripts, dated between 1889 and 1965, which directly pertain to these prominent Philadelphia families. The first volume is a play written by Langdon Elywn Mitchell, and the second is a family history written by George Valentine Massey II, referencing Kenneth Mackenzie Day and Helena Mary Langdon Mitchell Day as the primary figures of his historical research.

This artificial collection contains miscellaneous small donations related to the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing. They were primarily given by alumni over a period of many years, but some items are of unknown provenance. This collection may include artifacts, publications, personal papers, photographs, and records related to the PGH Training School for Nurses.

This collection documents the founding, flourishing and eventual closing of the Presbyterian School of Nursing, a hospital-based nursing school in Philadelphia. The hospital itself was founded in 1871 under the sponsorship of the Presbyterian Church. Its nurse training program was begun in 1889. The collection's strength is the relative completeness of student records, good documentation of the school's curricula and teaching materials. The supportive role both the Ladies Aid Society and the Alumni Association played in the growth of the School are evident in these records.

The records of the Visiting Nurse Society of Philadelphia document a wide range of themes and issues in home nursing and the care of the indigent poor. The collection includes trustees' minutes, board correspondence, committee reports, and branch association files. Also included is a well documented collection of photographs.

This collection contains records relating to the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia. Materials include historical accounts, administrative records, board minutes, annual reports, correspondence, and photographs.