The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and varied ephemera, reaching back almost 300 years, and accessible on the society’s website.
Mission
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824. Membership was regulated by the statutory of the Association. In particular, article IV stated that "the members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania shall be deemed qualified voters at the meetings and elections, who have subscribed to the Constitution, and who have paid all their dues to the Society".
The society houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items. The Society maintains printed collections on
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and regional history and manuscript collections covering 17th, 18th, and 19th century history. The holdings of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies were added in 2002 and those of the
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in 2006.
The society has recently undertaken efforts to appeal to a younger demographic, including having
open bar
In catering, beverage functions are functions where beverages are served.
Who pays
One important issue of beverage functions is who pays for the drinks. There are three main scenarios:
*a cash bar (a.k.a. a no-host bar): Attendees pay for their ...
events.
Building
The society's building on the southwest corner of 13th and Locust Streets was formerly the site of the Patterson Mansion. General
Robert Patterson
Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born United States major general during the American Civil War, chiefly remembered for inflicting an early defeat on Stonewall Jackson, but crucially failing to stop Confed ...
, a general of the
Mexican-American
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
and
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
s, purchased the mansion from
John Hare Powel
John Hare Powel (April 22, 1786 – June 14, 1856) was an American agriculturist, politician, art collector and philanthropist from Pennsylvania.
Early life and education
He was born John Powel Hare in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the younges ...
, the founder of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society. After Patterson’s death in 1881, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania purchased the mansion as its permanent home. The mansion was demolished between 1905 and 1909 and the main block of a new fireproof building, again designed by Addison Hutton, was constructed on site. The totally fireproof building was dedicated in 1910. The building is listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places.
Collections
The Society’s collections include a number of different types of materials:
*Books and pamphlets: ranging from limited-edition and out-of-print volumes to current reference works and scholarly monographs. The Society’s pre-1820 imprints are housed next door at The
Library Company of Philadelphia.
*Serials and newspapers: spanning almost 300 years, in either original format or microfilm copy.
*Manuscripts: materials such as letters, diaries, account books, deeds, minutes, and scrapbooks. Manuscript collections include personal papers created by individuals and families, and records created by organizations and businesses.
*Graphics: prints, watercolors, and other works of art on paper, architectural drawings, photographs, broadsides, maps, posters, and other images.
*Printed ephemera: such as event programs, brochures, invitations, advertisements, trade cards, certificates, and menus.
*Microforms: microfilm and microfiche reproductions of newspapers, genealogical resources, manuscript collections, and other materials.
To help researchers find the materials they need, all of these resources are available through the "Online Catalogs and Research Tools" of the society's web site.
Publications
The society publishes ''Sidelights'', a semi-annual newsletter, ''Pennsylvania Legacies'', a semi-annual illustrated history
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
, and the ''
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
The ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of Pennsylvania
The history of Pennsylvania stems back thousands of years when the first indigenous peoples occupied the area of wha ...
'', a quarterly
scholarly journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
published since 1877.
In popular culture
*In May 2016, a play by
Ain Gordon
Ain Gordon is an American playwright, theatrical director and actor based in New York City. His work frequently deals with the interstices of history, focusing on people and events which are often overlooked or marginalized in "official" histori ...
, ''217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous'' – based on Gordon's research as an "embedded artist" at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where Dr.
John E. Fryer's papers are archived – premiered at the
Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia. The play explores Fryer and the circumstances around his disguised appearance at the
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are invo ...
's 1972 convention in
Dallas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
as "Dr. Henry Anonymous" in a debate called "Psychiatry: Friend or Foe to the Homosexual?" in a successful attempt to have homosexuality removed from the APA's ''
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langu ...
'', where it was listed as a mental disease. The play uses monologues by three people who knew him: Alfred A. Gross, the New York-based head of the George W. Henry Foundation, a social charity which helped homosexual men who had gotten into trouble with the law; Katherine Luder, Fryer's long-time secretary; and Fryer's father, Ercel Ray Fryer.
[Crimmins, Peter (May 4, 2016]
"Raising the curtain on life of Dr. Anonymous, Philly gay rights pioneer"
''Newsworks''
References
External links
Historical Society of Pennsylvania Official site
*
{{Authority control
State historical societies of the United States
1824 establishments in Pennsylvania
Organizations based in Philadelphia
History of Pennsylvania
Historical societies in Pennsylvania
Libraries in Philadelphia
Museums in Philadelphia
Library buildings completed in 1910
Center City, Philadelphia
Special collections libraries in the United States
Research libraries in the United States