Historical Society of Pennsylvania miscellaneous collection
The Society Miscellaneous Collection includes a wide variety of materials relating to Pennsylvania and spanning several centuries. The majority of the collection is comprised of documents from and relate to governing bodies, civil organizations and societies in and around Pennsylvania. Examples rang...
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Corporate Author: | |
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Collection: | Historical Society of Pennsylvania Miscellaneous Collection |
Collection Number: | 0425 |
Format: | Manuscript |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
Item Description: |
Surveyors noted Box 8a as "missing" in 2001; and it has yet to be located. |
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Physical Description: |
14.1 Linear feet 14.1 linear feet, 42 boxes |
Summary: |
The Society Miscellaneous Collection includes a wide variety of materials relating to Pennsylvania and spanning several centuries. The majority of the collection is comprised of documents from and relate to governing bodies, civil organizations and societies in and around Pennsylvania. Examples range from official documents, such as petitions and surveys, to ephemera like tokens and tickets. Other items include watermarks, passports, sheet music, and poetry. While the collections spans from the 1670s to the 1930s, a significant portion of the papers date from the time of the Revolutionary War.
Although the variety of the collection is immense, the material has been loosely divided according to the subjects such as: deeds, petitions, wars, schools and colleges, churches, bills and receipts, certificates, commissions, stocks, bonds, surveys, and leases. All documents are housed in boxes, and many of the files are arranged chronologically.
The materials included in this collection are varied, and cover many significant events in the history of Pennsylvania and the country. Several documents relating to William Penn are in this collection, including his treaty with Tamanend, a Lenni-Lenape chief, and the charter of Philadelphia. There is a facsimile of the “Olive Branch” petition, a document written by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson in 1775 as a means of reconciliation between the American colonies and King George III of Great Britain, as well as a list of books ordered by Benjamin Franklin for the creation of the Library Company. Several documents relate to major wars, including the American Revolution, the War of 1812 (including the Act of War confirmed by James Madison and Congress), the Mexican-American War, Civil War and World War I. The collection also contains pieces of cultural interest such as trolley tokens; transportation tickets; business cards; invitations to prominent parties and social gatherings; propaganda from the early 20th century, including pieces promoting hygiene; and various forms of obsolete currency, including Revolutionary and Confederate money. There is also material pertaining to race relations, such as a petition to allow Blacks the use of trolleys, Owen Brown’s “A Declaration of Liberty,” records concerning relations with Indians and a petition for better treatment of the insane in city institutions. |