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Contemporary Club (Philadelphia, Pa.) records
The records of the Contemporary Club of Philadelphia are housed in eight boxes and span from the club's formation in 1886 to 1952, around the time of its demise. The records are almost purely administrative. Outside of some clippings pertaining to the club's executives and its members, the...
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| Collection: | Contemporary Club (Philadelphia, Pa.) Records |
| Collection Number: | 1981 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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1886-1888 - Dr. Daniel G. Brinton
1889 - Dr. James MacAlister
1890 - Dr. Daniel G. Brinton
1891 - Mr. C. Stuart Patterson
1892 - Rev. H. L. Wayland, D.D.
1893 - Dr. Harrison Allen
1894 - Rev. S. D. McConnell, D.D.
1895 - Prof. Edmund J. James
1896 - Hon. Robert N. Willson
1897-1998 - Hon. W. W. Wiltbank
1899 - Prof. John Bach McMaster
1900 - Dr. William H. Klapp
1901 - Mr. Richard L. Ashhurst
1902 - Hon. John B. McPherson
1903 - Mr. Joseph S. Harris
1904 - Miss Agnes Repplier
1905 - Mr. Charles E. Dana
1906 - Miss Agnes Repplier
1907 - Dr. George McClellan
1908 - Mr. Francis A. Lewis
1909 - Dr. W. W. Keen
1910 - Dr. S. Burns Weston
1911 - Mr. H. LaBarre Jayne
1912 - Hon. Roland S. Morris
1913 - Dr. Morris Jastrow, Jr.
1914 - Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson
1915 - Mr. Harrison S. Morris
1916 - Dr. Felix E. Schelling
1917 - Mr. Francis A. Lewis
1918 - Mrs. Edward Coates
1919 - Mr. Russell Duane
1920 - Prof. Edward P. Cheney
1921 - Hon. Roland S. Morris
1922 - Dr. R. Tait McKenzie
1923 - Mr. Henry G. Bryant
1924 - Mr. Ellis Ames Ballard
1925 - Ms. Violet Oakley
1926 - Hon. William B. Linn
1927-1928 - Dr. Frank Aydelotte
1929-1930 - Rev. Frederick R. Griffin, D.D.
1931 - Dr. Richard M. Gummere
1932 - Dean Herbert F. Goodrich
1933-1934 - J. A. MacCallum
1935 - Lucy L. W. Wilson
1936 - L. P. Lichtenberger
1937-1940 - Thornton Oakley
1941-1942 - Thomas Raeburn White
1943-1944 - William E. Lingelbach
1945-1946 - George Emerson Barnes
1947-1948 - Francis S. Philbrick
1949 - Katherine McBride
1950 - Dr. Edward M. Twitmyer
1951 - Dr. Percy R. Stockman |
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| Physical Description: |
3.0 Linear feet ; 8 boxes |
| Access: |
The collection is open for research. |
| Summary: |
The records of the Contemporary Club of Philadelphia are housed in eight boxes and span from the club's formation in 1886 to 1952, around the time of its demise. The records are almost purely administrative. Outside of some clippings pertaining to the club's executives and its members, there are no personal materials in the collection.
Comprising the first two boxes (Boxes 1-2) are outgoing letters from the club's presidents. They are arranged in folders chronologically, starting with the club's first president, Daniel G. Brinton (1886-1888, 1890), and ending with its last president, Dr. Percy R. Stockman (1951). There are no materials in this section from two of the club's presidents: Joseph S. Harris (1903) and Edward M. Twitmyer (1950). Some of the folders also contain photographs of the individual presidents. The amount of correspondence per author varies widely -- some only have a few letters, while others have several dozen. The contents of the letters generally pertain to club matters, such as finances, membership, and speakers. Researchers may also find the occasional outgoing letter from a president in his or her folder.
Following the president's correspondence are two boxes of correspondence from people who were invited to speak before the Contemporary Club (Boxes 3-4). These letters have been grouped into folders alphabetically by speaker's last names. (Individual correspondents have been listed in the inventory of this guide and written on the folders.) This group of letters dates from 1887 to 1948 and consists mostly of replies to invitations, though some do inquire about club membership generally. There are also some letters from speakers concerning local accommodations.
Also in Box 4 as well as the first few folders of Box 5 are papers of club secretaries Sophia Wells Royce [Mrs. Talcott] Williams and William K. Huff, and club presidents S. Burns Weston and Thorton Oakley. The remainder of papers in Box 5 concern members and consist of applications and nominations, rules and regulations, ballots, remarks, clippings, and other miscellaneous items.
This collection contains a number of printed materials, including some of the club's annual reports. The reports date consecutively from 1890 to 1904 (Box 6, Folders 6-13) and from 1909 to 1912 (Box 1, folders 1-2). Other printed matter includes items authored by club members or presented by club members or guests, such as Railroads and the Public by Joseph D. Potts (1892) (Box 7, Folder 3), The Next Step in Christianity by S. D. McConnell (undated) (Box 7, Folder 8), and New Theories of Constitutional Construction by Thomas Raeburn White (undated) (Box 7, Folder 9).
The final box of the collection (Box 8) contains three volumes of handwritten meeting minutes from 1899 to 1919. The Contemporary Club was organized in 1886 to hold discussions on outstanding questions of the day and to present scholarly papers by public figures. Membership was open to men and women, most of whom were distinguished in the academic, artistic, and literary worlds of Philadelphia. Correspondence dating from 1886 to 1952 makes up the bulk of the papers. It includes outgoing correspondence of club presidents, incoming correspondence of individuals invited to speak, and miscellaneous correspondence to Thornton Oakley and other club officers. Among the other papers are executive committee minutes (1894-1919), photographs, year books, lists of members and historical sketches, and other miscellaneous items. |