HIST 264/ ANTH 264: Materiality and Spectacle in 19th C. U.S. (HC): Biography of an Object

This Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) site provides access to finding aids for manuscript and archival collections held by its members, a group of 36 libraries and archives, whose collections offer primary resources on national, regional, and local history; the natural and social sciences; world history; literature; religion; art and architecture; business and industry; and the performing arts. It also hosts finding aids for smaller institutions in the region.

Extensive holdings of printed books, pamphlets and prints on Philadelphia and the East Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries. Impac contains digital images of local ephemera from the 19th Century.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is one of the largest family history libraries in the nation, has excellent collections on local and regional history, and offers a manuscript collection renowned for its 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century holdings. The Society is now also one of the nation’s leading repositories of ethnic and immigrant studies materials.

For example, a student interested in the experiences of African, Latino, or South Asian immigrants to the US could explore oral history interviews and ephemera in the New Immigrants Initiative collection.

The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection is one of the nation's leading research facilities for the study of the history and culture of people of African descent.

Students interested in African American and Black history may want to consider visiting the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, which offers more extensive collections.

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania offers a broad collection including Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, and Modern manuscripts.

The Library has particularly strong collections in American literature, drama, and history as well as the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection in the history of chemistry and the Henry Charles Lea Library with strengths in Church history, the Inquisition, magic, and witchcraft.

To search and browse the collections, use the UPenn Library Catalog (Franklin). You can limit your search to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (scroll down to the section on the left labeled "Library").

Finding aids for print collections (e.g. the Atomic Age pamphlets collection, the Cushman Club collection on Philadelphia theatre history, and the WWI Printed Media and Art Collection)

Swarthmore's Friends Historical Library documents the history of the Society of Friends (Quakers) from the 17th century to the present. It is one of the most extensive collections of its kind.

Although the history of Quakers and Quakerism may seem very specialized, consider the central role that Quakers have played in the abolition of slavery, Indian rights, women's rights, prison reform, humane treatment of the mentally ill, and temperance, among others.

For example, a student interested in studying the aftermath of World War I in Europe could explore the war relief records of the American Friends Service Committee.

The Friends Historical Library staff are happy to work with Swarthmore students. Contact them at friends@swarthmore.edu or just drop by the FHL in McCabe Library.

The Peace Collection contains the papers of many individuals and organizations active in promoting peace and opposing war. This collection maintains a particular focus on the activities of women in the peace movement.

For example, students interested in the history of activism could explore war tax resistance, conscientious objection, or other forms of anti-war activism.

The staff of the Peace Collection are happy to work with Swarthmore students. Contact the Peace Collection staff at peace@swarthmore.edu or drop by the Peace Collection on the lower level of McCabe Library.

Click here to view an annotated list of the Peace Collection's major collections.

The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.

You can search the collection or browse by subject.

Images from many of the world's public photo archives, described by Flickr users so that some are very richly described.

NYPL Digital Gallery provides free and open access to over 800,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more.