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HSP's technical services archivist since 2007.

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Art as archives: HSP's collection of WPA posters

As we've stated before here on this blog, there's alot more to HSP's archives than just old correspondence and records.  HSP's conservation staff recently finished work on our Work Projects Administration (WPA) posters collection, which was adopted last year.  The collection contains works from the 1930s and 1940s from mostly Pennsylvania artists who were emplo

Fondly, Pennsylvania
6/10/10
Federal Art Project, Mid-century art, Pennsylvania Art Project, Pennsylvania artists, Philadelphia advertisements, Work Projects Administration, Work Projects Administration posters
Comments: 1
Who was Matthias Baldwin?

Question of the Week
6/6/10
Arts and Culture, Baldwin College, Business, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Where in Philadelphia is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located?

Fondly, Pennsylvania
5/30/10
19th century, Civil War, Military conflict, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Washington Square
All the world's a stage

HSP has a large collection or programs, playbills, and other ephemera from Philadelphia's Academy of Music (once called the American Academy of Music), dating from its beginnings in the late 1850s to the late 20th century.  The collection was recently adopted and is my current processing project.  Though I’ve barely scratched the surface (having just completed rehousing 13 of 157 boxes), the collection is already proving to be a joy--it presents a veritable history of performi

Fondly, Pennsylvania
5/20/10
19th century graphic design, Academy of Music, archival processing, Arts and Culture, music programs, Philadelphia events, Philadelphia peforming arts, printed matter, theatre, theatre programs
Who was the Philadelphia druggist who sold a popular brand of root beer?

Question of the Week
5/16/10
Arts and Culture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, root beer
Comments: 2
The first private psychiatric hospital in the country was founded by what group?

Question of the Week
5/9/10
Community and Public Service, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Quakers
What was the Browning Society of Philadelphia?

Question of the Week
5/2/10
19th century, Arts and Culture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Recreation and Sport, Robert Browning
Wildlife artist John J. Audubon lived in Pennsylvania for a few years. Where was he born?

Question of the Week
4/25/10
Arts and Culture, John Audobon, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
How to dress your dog in a bonnet, and other cute distractions courtesy of the Fenton and Remak family.

I was going to start this blog post with a grandiose essay on the centuries-old relationship between man and dog that expounded upon some of the greatest philosophical thoughts of our time.  This was going to be followed by an exposition on the transformation of fashion in early 20th century America.

But really, why say in a thousand words what pictures can simply show:

Fondly, Pennsylvania
4/21/10
animals, cyanotypes, Fenton family, Genealogy, genealogy, photographs, Remak family
Who designed the Historical Society’s building at 13th and Locust Streets?

Question of the Week
4/18/10
Architecture, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia