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Harry E. Adamson papers
Harry Adamson collected materials on a variety of subjects throughout his adult life. The collection reflects his longterm relationships, work, education, and AIDS and AIDS activism. Series 1, Personal papers (1929-2021, undated), includes Adamson’s correspondence, a biographical file, a dream jou...
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| Collection: | Harry E. Adamson Papers |
| Collection Number: | 3547 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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| Item Description: |
Processing Information: Preliminary inventory created by Sarath Pillai. Collection processed by Sara Nash.
The majority of the papers were received in organized and labeled files, and original folder titles were maintained in most cases. To preserve the integrity of the materials, the contents of all nineteen scrapbooks were removed from three-ring binders and housed in archival folders in document boxes. Please note that several folders in the collection contain erotic or explicit materials including graphic depictions of nude men. These are indicated in the box and folder list. Materials Separated from the Resource: Philadelphia Chamber Music, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus programs were removed and added to HSP playbills collection [additions] (Collection 3131B). Ephemera and Philadelphiana including restaurant menus, postcards, bookmarks, brochures, booklets, maps, and similar materials were separated from the collection in order to create an ephemera-focused collection at a future date. The books listed below were separated for transfer to the library. Art Directors Club of Philadelphia Annual of Advertising and Editorial Design (1968). A Few Facts Concerning Antique English Silver and Old Sheffield Plate. Philadelphia: J. E. Caldwell and Company (1974). Handbook of the Union League of Philadelphia, 1862-1931. Philadelphia: Union League of Philadelphia (circa 1931). Patriotic Songs for School and Home. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company (1899). Bendiner's Philadelphia. Alfred Bendiner. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company (1964). Scottish Quakers and Early America 1650-1700. David Dobson. Baltimore: Clearfield Company (1998). Constitution of Pennsylvania, Constitution of the United States. Compiled by John H. Fertig. Legislative Reference Bureau (1930) The Story of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Penelope Redd Jones. (1950). Fairmount Park: A History and a Guidebook. Esther M. Klein. Bryn Mawr: Harcum Junior College Press (1974). Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront. Harry Kyriakodis. Charleston: The History Press (2011). The Worlds of Chippy Patterson. Arthur H. Lewis. New York: Pocket Books (1973). Our Liberty Bell. Henry Jonas Magaziner. New York: Holiday House (2007). Bicentennial City: Walking Tours of Philadelphia. John Francis Marion. Princeton: Pyne Press (1975). Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia. John Francis Marion. Philadelphia: ISHI Publications (1984). French Philadelphia: The French Cultural and Historical Presence in the Delaware Valley. Lynn H. Miller and Annette H. Emgarth. Wayne: Beach Lloyd Publishers (2007). Mussels in the Wild. Victoria Prizzia. Highland: A. T. Publishing (2017). Imagining Philadelphia: Travelers' Views of the City from 1800 to the Present. Philip Stevick. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (1996). Best Restaurants: Philadelphia and Environs. Elaine Tait. San Francisco: 101 Productions (1979). Best Restaurants: Philadelphia and Environs, Revised Edition. Elaine Tait. San Francisco: 101 Productions (1981). Vanished Gardens: Finding Nature in Philadelphia. Sharon White. Athens: University of Georgia Press (2008). Ye Primer, Germantown Academy yearbook (1961). |
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| Physical Description: |
11.1 Linear feet ; 27 boxes, 6 volumes |
| Access: |
The collection contains a copy of Dr. John E. Fryer's file on Douglas James, which is closed to researchers until 1 January 2061. The file containing the Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives hotline and volunteer
lists is closed to researchers until 1 January 2066. |
| Summary: |
Harry Adamson collected materials on a variety of subjects throughout his adult life. The collection reflects his longterm relationships, work, education, and AIDS and AIDS activism.
Series 1, Personal papers (1929-2021, undated), includes Adamson’s correspondence, a biographical file, a dream journal, notebooks, notes from college, and a large number of scrapbooks. The dream journal (Box 2, folder 4) is a transcription of the original journal with added explanatory notes for many entries. The bulk of the series consists of 19 disbound scrapbooks, which contain correspondence and greeting cards, articles, clipping copies, numerous obituaries, reminiscences, and photographs. Subjects include friends, personal life, restaurants, travel, AIDS, and health.
Series 2, Medical records (1981-2018, undated), documents Adamson’s medical life after his infection with HIV. The series contains medical histories, medical files, laboratory test results, health insurance documents, bills, visit notes, and prescription files. Files on Adamson’s disability claims and status are also filed here.
Series 3, Friends and others (circa 1948-2019, undated), is comprised of materials related to Adamson’s friends and people with whom he had a connection or felt an affinity. There are several disbound scrapbooks composed of cards, correspondence, clippings, and other ephemera. The series also contains several files of papers related to his friends and others, such as copied articles and correspondence. Individuals represented include Patrick Adamson (brother), James Coleman, Daryl Cornish, Joe Fairclough, Jane P. Fowler, Dr. John E. Fryer, Lee Goldstone, Ed Grusheski, Keith Haring, Gary Henderson (Vera Charles), Douglas James, Jim Pesce, Steve Tucker, and Dr. John Turner.
Series 4, Miscellaneous (1910-2021, undated), contains graphic materials, printed matter, media, and artifacts. The graphic materials are comprised of a small number of photographs, slides, and negatives, and a drawing by Bill Brinsfield. Many other photographs are contained within the scrapbooks in Series 1 and Series 3. The printed matter includes the 35th anniversary collector’s edition of The Advocate (Box 22A folder 16) and the AIDS Memorial Quilt List of Names (Box 22A folder 15). The series also contains a few miscellaneous documents and small artifacts.
Series 5, Elizabeth “Dolly” Funk papers (1880-2014, undated), is a small series of materials belonging to Harry Adamson’s friend, Dolly Funk (1906-2010), who was a retired vaudeville performer who came from an extended family of vaudeville performers and musicians. She often performed with her cousin, Lynn Wakefield (“Gypsy Byrne”). Funk married three times and was widowed three times. Her only daughter died at the age of two. When vaudeville collapsed, she became a nightclub singer and emcee. After she retired from show business, she settled in Philadelphia and worked at the jewelry counter of Wanamaker’s for two decades. Funk lived independently until the age of 95.
The series contains materials from several of her family members, such as her maternal grandfather, Andrew Byrne; her mother, Elizabeth Byrne; her cousin, Lynn Wakefield ("Gypsy Byrne"); and Lynn Wakefield’s father, Charles Wakefield. The papers of Andrew Byrne include a contract, cemetery plot deed, a lodge card, correspondence, copyrights, and postcards of Robert B. Mantell and Genevive Hamper. Elizabeth Byrne is represented by a cemetery plot deed. This bulk of the series is comprised of Lynn Wakefield’s papers, which include correspondence, photographs, receipts, and ephemera. Charles Wakefield is represented by a folder of memorabilia. Dolly Funk’s own papers include three vaudeville scrapbooks and a small amount of correspondence and financial records. The series includes some sheet music, a song binder, some ephemera, and a large number of photographs, but it is unclear to whom many of these items belonged. Lynn Wakefield is a frequent subject in the photographs. Additionally, there are a few files created by Harry Adamsom, which document Dolly’s and Lynn’s lives, their family, and vaudeville history.
Series 6, Mary Kilroy-Pogach papers (1965-2000, undated), is a small series of materials belonging to Harry Adamson’s friend and neighbor. Mary Kilroy-Pogach is an art consultant who worked for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (RDA) from 1970-1993, serving as the director of the fine arts program and as a member of the Advisory Board of Design. After retiring from the RDA, she worked as a public and private art consultant. One of her large projects was the Irish Famine Memorial in Philadelphia, which was dedicated in 2003. Her papers are mostly related to fundraising, artist selection, and construction of the memorial. Additionally, there is one folder of ephemera, a folder on the Federal Reserve Bank art, and a remembrance of her friend, Gabrielle Wenck Lee. Harry Egan Adamson Jr. (1949-2021) was a Philadelphia AIDS and gay rights activist and restaurant manager. Infected in 1982, Adamson lived with HIV for nearly 40 years. He moved to Philadelphia in 1981 with his partner David Yontz. The couple stayed with Dr. John E. Fryer (1937-2003), who became one of Adamson’s lifelong friends. Yontz returned to Chicago in 1982, but Adamson remained in Philadelphia. Many of his friends and former lovers succumbed to AIDS between 1984 and 2000, but Adamson was a slow progressor and did not need to start medication for his disease until 1998. Though his HIV disease was under good control, neuropathy in his extremities became disabling in 1993. Adamson remained as active as he could, completing a master’s degree in pastoral counseling at La Salle University in 2002, acting as agent executor for Dr. John Fryer’s estate after his death in 2003, and serving on the board of Philly AIDSThrift from 2010-2013. Nonetheless, medical problems and depression were perennial issues for Adamson in the last two decades of his life. His neuropathy worsened, affecting his balance, and he suffered a fatal injury from a fall in 2021. Harry Adamson collected materials on a variety of subjects throughout his adult life. The collection reflects his longterm relationships, work, education, AIDS and AIDS activism. Additionally, the collection includes the papers of his friends, retired vaudeville performer, Elizabeth “Dolly” Funk (1906-2010); and art consultant and neighbor, Mary Kilroy-Pogach (b. 1938). |