So I have been working on cataloging the books in the Rufus Jones Study in the Philips Wing,  and I have been discovering some really interesting material. And I’m not just talking about the wide variety of fascinating books in there, but all the things I’ve been finding INSIDE the books!!!!

(I thought this was really cool!)

One of the first items I found was bookmark from circa 1915, which is promoting an insurance policy that covers injuries to one’s servants, along with damages caused by civil insurrection, subterranean fires, and riots and strikes.

(Ain’t that the darndest thing?)

Another item I found should be of great interest to those who have recently completed applying to colleges: it is an old letter of recommendation/transcript from the Principal of the Friends School to “The President of Yale” (clearly this was a lot more informal process back in the day!):

(“This is to certify that Frank P. Pickley[?], has graduated at this school in the present class. That he is in our judgement reasonably well prepared on the following studies for your Freshman Class at Yale College….[list of classes taken]“.)

(“…He has completed these reasonably well. His moral character is very good. He has been with us several years, Augustine Jones, Principal of Friends School, June 28, 1888″)

So there you have it. A letter of recommendation from 1888, and a currently politically incorrect insurance policy. I’ve really enjoyed going through this library and finding these gems. It makes me feel like a treasure hunter, but the value is that it is so interesting!

In the coming weeks, I will post some more of my discoveries! In the meantime, my email is kmoll@haverford.edu.

Photo of Haviland Meeting House from "The American Friend" (First Month, 1897; p.79).

For the past few weeks, I have been scanning and cataloging pictures of meeting houses from all over the United States. Photographs, newspaper clippings, and post cards document the many variations of these buildings. Although they share the same function, meeting houses varied in their locations, materials, and styles.

The meeting houses that I have found were spread all over the country from Philadelphia to Seattle. Their locations in time varied too. The earliest I worked on was the High Street or Great Meeting House in Philadelphia from the 1690s!

Trying to find the histories for the meeting houses can be a daunting task, but it is very interesting to learn about how they evolved over time. Many meeting houses started out as log structures. As time passed, more permanent stone or brick structures replaced these earlier buildings.

A unique example of a more ephemeral meeting house is one in Kansas. Dating to 1885, the Haviland Friends Church started out as a building constructed of sod!

Buildings featured many different styles. Most of them were simple one or two-story buildings; however, there were some exceptions to the rule. There were several large Greek Revival buildings and a few that had Gothic details.

Working with these images has been really interesting so far. The most challenging ones are the unknown meeting houses, but it is fun to be a detective!

For more information and images of meeting houses, see Triptych.

Today marks my completion of going through half of all the links in the finding aid for Special Collections. This means that I have read the descriptions of, and checked the links for, HALF of all the collections in Special Collections. That is a lot of collections. And I have to say, there is some really interesting material in here. For instance, in the ” Baltimore Monthly Meeting Homewood records,” there are signed letters by Abraham Lincoln! Then, there are pictures of William Lloyd Garrison, noted abolitionist and newspaper editor, in the “Friends Historical Association” collection. Add to that documents from 1 A.D. (“Dean Putnam Lockwood”), correspondence with John Updike (“John R. Hawkins”), letters from Alexander Graham Bell (“Edward Drinker Cope”), documents from William Penn (“William Penn papers”), hundreds of recordings of concerts by Haverford students, faculty and others (“John Davison papers”), and a sampling of letters by U.S. Presidents (“William Pyle Phillips collection”)! And those are just the things that immediately jumped out at me! There are definitely some major gems for the curious explorer to find here. If one is interested in people standing up for there beliefs, there are multiple mentions of a Thomas Story (1670?-1742) who was a former fencer and musician turned Quaker, a friend of William Penn, discussed Quakerism with Tsar Peter the Great,and was arrested for preaching Quaker faith in Kilkenny (the warrant for his arrest is in the “British Friends’ letters”). For those interested in the history of the library, there are the “James Phineas Magill papers” (after whom our library is named) and the “Michael S. Freeman papers” (who was a major proponent of Tri-Co library cooperation). If your fancy is more American history, I would direct you to the “John Ewer letters” which are from one merchant to another regarding the early signs of the American Revolution.

If you aren’t necessarily interested in the above topics, but you are colored intrigued, you can always check out the Finding Aid (which I would generally recommend!). I’ve been working here for a semester, and I didn’t have any idea that this was all here. This leads me to believe that most of the college doesn’t even know what awesome resources are back here. So come check it out!

If you have any questions, you could email me at kmoll@haverford.edu, or, if you want the good help, email Haverford College Special Collections at hc-special@haverford.edu.

One hundred and fifty years ago today, President-elect Abraham Lincoln passed through Haverford, PA, on his journey by train to the presidential inauguration in the capital city of Washington, DC. His trip began on February 11, 1861 as he and his wife boarded a train at the Great Western Railroad depot in Springfield, IL. That day, he gave brief remarks along the way in Springfield, Tolono, and Danville, IL, at the Indiana State Line, and in Lafayette, Thorntown, and Indianapolis, IN.

The inaugural route from Illinois to Washington, DC, is now famous for its avoidance of what has become known as the “Baltimore Plot.”  As the first president to be elected from the Republican Party and with Southern states threatening to secede over the issue of slavery, there was considerable tension over a possible plot to assassinate the President-elect on his journey to the capitol. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was hired to provide security on the journey and a route that took the President-elect through Baltimore at night (and in disguise) was secretly planned to secure his the safety.

The inaugural route wound its way through seventy towns and cities, from Illinois through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania and on to New York State. Arriving in the City of Brotherly Love from New Jersey, the President-elect gave several speeches including those to the Mayor and the citizens of Philadelphia and to a delegation from Wilmington, DE. He gave two rousing speeches at Independence Hall on February 22 before continuing his journey to Harrisburg and on to Washington, DC.

We know from A History of Haverford College For the First Sixty Years of Its Existence (1892) that Lincoln “appeared on the rear platform of the train and bowed to the students assembled at the station” and student Thomas Battey, class of 1863, later remarked in a letter that “As the train passed by the successive groups that had gathered along the bank sloping down to the road bed, the tall form of ‘Old Abe’ appeared on the rear platform, hat in hand, and bowed graciously to each group” (Providence, 5 mo. 4, 1927).  At the time, Haverford Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad was located at the edge of campus on what today we call Railroad Avenue. While there is no evidence that his train stopped or that he gave a speech, his brief appearance must have made a deep impression upon the 65 male students enrolled in the College. For a time there was a historical marker on this spot.

Another  who saw the President-elect was Charles Roberts, class of 1864. Soon to become an avid collector of autograph letters, the young Roberts had received Lincoln’s signature from November 17, 1860, just 11 days after he won the presidential election. This letter would become the nucleus of an extensive collection of autograph letters collected by Roberts over the course of his life.  In 1903, his collection of over 12,000 items was donated to the College by his widow, Lucy Branson Roberts.

The brief passage through Haverford would not be the only time that the students would get to see Lincoln. Sadly, on April 22, 1865 the assassinated President’s body would again pass through Haverford Station, this time retracing the inaugural route in reverse. Haverford Professor (later President) Thomas Chase spoke at Collection on the day of his assassination and his wife, Alice, remembered receiving the news:

Was it not a terrible blow on Seventh day. A student, Allan Thomas, came before we had left our room in the morning. Thomas [Chase] went down to see him and soon returned so overcome with grief that I knew something unexpected and dreadful had happened, but could not prepare myself for anything so horrible as the truth, and when he told me I was almost as much overwhelmed as himself (Lawnside [Haverford], April 19, 1865).

Special thanks to Diana Franzusoff Peterson, Manuscripts Librarian and College Archivist, and Anne Upton, Quaker Bibliographer and Special Collections Librarian, for providing assistance researching this event.

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections and the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College announce the completion of the Quakers and Slavery Project, a publicly accessible database of primary source material on the topic of Quakers and Slavery, and an interactive website to accompany the online material.  Among the types of material included are photographs and lithographs, organization records, personal correspondence, and other publications. The interactive website includes commentary contributed by eminent scholars, Quaker researchers, and project staff.

Initial discussions about a joint digitizing project between the Quaker repositories at Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges began in 2007, when both were preparing for the 300th anniversary of the end of the slave trade in North America. Abolition was a cause whose beginnings and sustenance came largely from Quakers in northeastern America and England. The two colleges also began plans to join with the McNeil Center of Early American Studies at University of Pennsylvania to host an international conference on Quakers and Slavery in November 2010. This digitization project is timed to correspond with the conference, which will include material exhibitions by both Quaker repositories.

The materials selected for this project are available for research within the confines of our two Quaker repositories. However, these materials are unique or rare, and as such should receive limited physical handling in order to ensure their longevity. Digitization of these materials supports their long term preservation by reducing the amount they are handled, as well as providing greatly increased access to researchers who are not able to visit. Moreover, within each repository the documents span a range of material types and come from several collections, such that there is no easy way to bring them together physically. This project allows for the virtual reunification of these materials and collections.

The Religious Society of Friends was the first corporate body in Britain and North America to fully condemn slavery as both ethically and religiously wrong in all circumstances. It is in Quaker records that we have some of the earliest manifestations of anti-slavery sentiment, dating from the 1600s. After the 1750s, Quakers actively engaged in attempting to sway public opinion in Britain and America against the slave trade and slavery in general. At the same time, Quakers became actively involved in the economic, educational and political well being of the formerly enslaved.

The earliest anti-slavery organizations in America and Britain consisted primarily of members of the Society of Friends. Thus much of the record of the development of anti-slavery thought and actions is embedded in Quaker-produced records and documents. Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and the Quaker Collection at Haverford College are jointly the custodians of Quaker meeting records of the Mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New York and Vermont and these records illuminate the origins of the anti-slavery movement as well as the continued Quaker involvement, often behind the scenes, in the leadership and direction of the abolitionist movement from the 1770s to the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865, and beyond.

Funding for the Quakers and Slavery Project was provided by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, through a program stipulated by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). This program is administered in Pennsylvania through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries for assisting libraries in providing all users access to information, developing partnerships, and increasing information access for persons who have difficulty gaining it.

Romain Rolland and M. Gandhi in Villeneuve, SW, 1931 by Zach? Pehlemmor?

In 1931, the French writer, Romain Rolland and the Indian advocate of non-violence, Mohandas Gandhi, met in Switzerland. For Rolland, the meeting was the culmination of his desire to meet the man whom he so admired.  Gandhi yearned to meet Rolland, his biographer, as well.  According to author Kathryn Tidrick (Gandhi: A Political and Spiritual Life published in 2006), the meeting did not go well.  Rolland wanted to talk politics, Gandhi wanted to talk about his host’s health and his own God-given gifts.

Who were these two very different people? The French-born Rolland (1866-1944) was a writer, an art historian and mystic who received a Ph.D. in 1895 writing his dissertation on opera in Europe.  He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1915.  A lifelong pacifist, he wrote his book about Gandhi in 1924, having long studied Gandhi and Tagore, among others.

From back of photograph

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), born in India, received a law degree from University College in London in 1891 and used his skills to help improve the situation of Indians living in South Africa. Returning to India in 1915, he organized protests by the lower classes against unbearable taxes and discrimination.  He established an ashram in Gujarat in 1918. He was the leader of the Indian National Congress struggling for the rights of those who suffered discrimination, and, of course, for the independence of India from Britain.  His assassination in 1948 only vaulted his international renown.

This photograph is part of the James Garrett Vail collection (no. 930).

The Kremlin, the beating heart of Moscow, is surrounded by a brick wall with access through five gates. Inside are the most important representations of architecture and history, including Lenin’s tomb, various cathedrals and architecturally-outstanding buildings honoring czars and church luminaries.  In this albumen photograph taken toward the end of the 19th century by an unknown photographer, and which is part of Haverford’s photography collection, the viewer can see a portion of this magnificent site.   In the background one would normally see the amazing church and tower of Ivan Veliki (St. John the Great) with its bells collected from all over Russia, but in focusing on the “King of the Bells (Tsar’ Kolokol)” itself, the photographer pointed his camera away from the tower.  The original King of Bells was forged in 1655 by decree of Empress Anna. As it was being hoisted for installation in the tower in 1674, it fell and broke apart.  Some 30 years later, the empress decreed that a new bell be built using the bronze from the original bell. The result was the bell seen here, weighing some 200 tons, 6.14 meters in height and 6.6 meters in diameter, making it the largest bell in the world. Inscribed in the bell were images of Tsar Alexei and Empress Anna and atop, a Greek cross.  While the bell was waiting for installation, a fire engulfed it, and when water was poured on, a chunk broke off. The photographer captured the dimensions of the bell and its chunk by positioning a man in front of it. Note: As of 2007, the author confirms that the bell is still as seen in this photograph.

Sometimes called the “Father of the Motion Picture,” photographer Eadweard Muybridge employed an array of carefully timed cameras to produce his revolutionary action photographs of men, women and children, as well as animals from the Philadelphia Zoo. Supported by the University of Pennsylvania, the results of Muybridge’s experiments with photographing motion were met with great acclaim by artists, scientists, critics and the public. 781 nineteen-by-twenty-four-inch collotype plates were the result of Muybridge’s experiments. Haverford’s set of 90 plates was donated in 1916. Haverford’s extensive collection of fine art photography spans the history of the medium from daguerreotypes to digital images and includes more than 3,000 photographs.

The accompanying photograph from the College Archives depicts members of the Haverford Emergency Unit, ca. 1917, standing in front of Morris Infirmary holding litters, with the Carvill Arch to their right. In that year, Haverford College professor, Rufus M. Jones, organized the Unit on campus, which drew from Haverford’s undergraduates. Their training included physical and manual exercises, auto mechanics, and first aid to prepare them for non-combatant participation in World War I while remaining in college.  Nonetheless, by May 1917, 19 Unit members left college to volunteer for hospital work and 11 for Army training.  The Unit ceased at the end of May, replaced in June by students and faculty training for the work of relief and reconstruction in France in conjunction with the newly formed American Friends Service Committee.

Special Collections puts many of its digitized objects into Triptych: the tri-college digital library.  Materials documenting the history of the College can now be found in one collection, "The History of Haverford College."  The collection combines over 500 historic photographs, documents from the College Archives, and published histories of the College.