| | 1 | Author: | Bache, Benjamin Franklin, 1769-1798 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Bache papers, 1779-1793
| | | | Dates: | 1779-1793 | | | | Abstract: | The Benjamin Franklin Bache Collection is composed primarily of correspondence sent from B.F. Bache. The vast majority dates to his time in Europe during the American Revolution while a young child under the care of his grandfather, Benjamin Franklin, who was then serving as one of America's ambassadors to France. These letters consist of B.F. Bache writing from his school in Switzerland to his grandfather in Paris (often in French) and to his parents in America (in English). Most of the letters relay information on B.F.'s formal education and his experience learning the printing trade. The only letter dated after Bache's time in Europe is a personal letter mourning the loss of Benjamin Franklin that he wrote to his soon-to-be-wife, Margaret Markoe. The letter contains one of the most detailed accounts of Franklin's last days.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B122 | | | | Extent: | 0.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Diplomatic History | Education | Printing and Publishing | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Aurora (Philadelphia, Pa.) | Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, with the United States of America (1794 November 19) | |
| 2 | Author: | Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820-1857 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Elisha Kent Kane Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1810-1953 | | | | Abstract: | This large collection contains the papers of Elisha Kent Kane, a prominent Philadelphian who led the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.K132 | | | | Extent: | 6.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Exploration. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Africa | Arctic Indians | Arctic regions-Pictorial works | China -- Foreign relations -- United States | Colonization, repatriation | Exploration | Explorers -- United States | Geometry -- Study and teaching | Grinnell Expedition, 1st, 1850-1851 | Grinnell Expedition, 2d, 1853-1855 | Hospitals -- Pennsylvania | Indians of North America -- Nunavut | Inuit -- Canada | Inuit -- Greenland | Inuit -- Nunavut -- Baffin Island | Medicine -- Practice -- Pennsylvania | Medicine -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania | Meteorology -- Arctic Regions | Mineralogy -- Study and teaching | Northwest Passage | Obstetrics | Plantations | Slave trade -- Africa | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | United States -- Foreign relations -- China | United States. Navy | |
| 3 | Author: | Bancker, James A. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | James A. Bancker papers, 1842-1849
| | | | Dates: | 1842-1849 | | | | Abstract: | This collection of letters (40+) consists primarily of James Bancker writing to his family from Asia in the 1840s. The collection offers a vivid depiction of an American's life abroad in the nineteenth century. The letters convey quotidian information, such as the type of food he is eating, to more remarkable events, such as witnessing a comet. Bancker also witnessed a number of significant political events while in China, including the acquisition of Hong Kong by Great Britain and resistance to this takeover from the Hong Kong residents (1842-1843). These events, the rioting in particular, are recounted in his often long and detailed correspondence to his Philadelphia-based family. Bancker spent much of his time in Canton, but he also described visits to the Philippines and voyage to and from China. Combined, the collection provides a lens in the experiences of a wealthy American traveling abroad in the midst of the nineteenth century.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B22 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Beyond Early America | Business and Skilled Trades | International Trade. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Trade | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Americans -- China -- Social life and customs. | British -- China -- Social life and customs -- 1644-1912. | Voyages and travels. | |
| 5 | Author: | Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | J.P. Lesley Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1826-1898 | | | | Abstract: | J.P. Lesley was a prominent Pennsylvanian who became a leading geologist. This collection contains a range of materials that relate to his life. The content of the correspondence is not just scientific. Instead, subjects span a wide-range of topics, including European travel, the Civil War, politics, art, literature, personal affairs, and family matters. The papers also reflect Lesley wide-ranging scientific interests. Although a geologist, Lesley also dabbled in demographic studies, religion, and philology. A fair amount of the collection is from the 1850s and beyond. Much of this early correspondence is among family members, but some letters are from prominent reformers, such as Lydia Maria Child. Among the Lesley papers are poems, journals, and notebooks. Two boxes date from 1841 to 1851, which, notably, deal with the period before Lesley became a full-time geologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.L56 | | | | Extent: | 7.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | International Travel | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Scientific Data | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Avesta | Cartography. | Charities -- United States. | Education -- United States | Egyptian language -- Writing, Hieroglyphic | France -- Description and travel | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Egypt | Geological Survey of Pennsylvania | Geology -- Maps | Geology -- Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Geology -- Pennsylvania | Germany -- Description and travel | Hawaiian language | Javanese language | Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Obelisks | Paleontology -- Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania -- Surveys | Philology | Poems | Slavery -- United States. | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Switzerland -- Description and travel | Transcendentalism | Unitarianism | |
| 7 | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | William Temple Franklin Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1775-1819 | | | | Abstract: | This is a large collection of William Temple Franklin papers, most of which were written while he was serving alongside his grandfather in France as the secretary of the American mission there. The bulk of the collection is correspondence written to William Temple Franklin during the American Revolution. Franklin had a wide network of friends and associates, and this correspondence captures the range of dealings Franklin had in France. As secretary, he received intelligence, requests, reports of military actions, especially those pertaining to naval actions in the Atlantic, and various other communications. As a private individual, Franklin had relations with many merchants, traders, and land speculators and continued to cultivate these relationships while in Europe. The Collection also includes a diary kept in an almanac for much of 1785, catalogued separately in MOLE.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F86 | | | | Extent: | 4.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Balloons -- Early works to 1800 | Mesmerism | |
| 10 | Author: | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Papers, 1642-1841
| | | | Dates: | 1642-1841 | | | | Abstract: | The Papers of Benjamin Franklin are a rich source as varied and expansive as Dr. Franklin's storied life. The Collection has been calendared, catalogued, and much of it is transcribed in printed volumes and online at www.franklinpapers.org.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F85 | | | | Extent: | 85.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | Government Affairs | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | Pennsylvania History | Printing and Publishing | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Manuscript Essays | Political Correspondence | Printed Material | Scientific Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Electricity -- Early works to 1800 | Postal service -- United States | Printers -- Pennsylvania | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | |
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