March 14
Teacher workshop: Strategies of the Abolition movement
4:30 – 6:30 PM, free
This workshop looks at the PAS and its role in the abolition and antislavery movements of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Participants will explore the strategies of the early abolition movement as illustrated through primary documents from the PAS papers.
April 11
Meet the Author: Richard Juliani
6 PM, free
Join us for conversation with Richard Juliani, professor of sociology at Villanova Universityand author of the newly released Priest, Parish, and People: Saving the Faith in Philadelphia's "Little Italy.” A continuation of Juliani’s earlier work on the Italian American community in South Philly, this work traces the role of religion in the lives and communities of Italian immigrants from the 1850s to the early 1930s. By the end of the nineteenth century, Philadelphia had one of the largest Italian populations in the country, and Italian American parishes played an important role in developing and anchoring the community and in shaping its members' new identity as Italian Americans during the years of mass migration.
May 3
How to Workshop: Researching the History of Your Family Home
6 PM, $5, HSP members free
Are you the resident of a historic house, or a new homeowner who just wants to know more about your home? This workshop, designed for beginners, will cover the basics in researching the history of your home, research strategies, documents you should consult and how to read them, and more.
May 19
UGRR Teacher workshop at Johnson House
10 AM – 1 PM, free
At the Johnson House Historic Site, 6306 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia.
This workshop for K-12 teachers will explore resources and strategies for teaching about the Underground Railroad and the experience of fugitive slaves in antebellum Philadelphia. Participants will receive a special tour of the Johnson House, an Underground Railroad site, and explore primary documents they can use to teach this compelling history. Co presented with the Johnson House Historic Site.
20
I Am Their Physician: Dr. Owen J. Wister of Germantown and His Patients, LECTURE by Dr. Steven Peitzman
NOTE LOCATION: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 South 22nd Street
6:15 PM
Based on letters in the large collection of Wister Family Papers at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Dr. Steven Peitzman will offer a vivid portrait of a long-forgotten way of practicing medicine, a “world we have lost” with meaning today. The presentation will also recall a remarkable Philadelphia family. Dr. Wister’s wife was the essayist Sarah Butler Wister, daughter of the memoirist and Shakespearean actor Fanny Kemble. The Wisters’ son, also named Owen Wister, wrote The Virginian, one of the most widely read American novels. This lecture has been sponsored by The Section on Medical History at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
Event Contact: Sofie Sereda, sereda@collphyphil.org
26
Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
5 PM
A panel presentation by Cass Donovan, Lee Arnold, and Jane Clarke about the vast materials available with which to research your family tree through the Genealogical Society.
27 – 29
North American Print Conference
For more information, visit http://www.philaprintshop.com/napc2007.html
29-30
First Annual Ancestry Fair, Bucks County Visitor Center
Saturday 9:00-5:00; Sunday 9:00-3:00 (3207 Street Road, Bensalem, PA 19020)
For more information, visit www.BucksCounty.Travel
October
3
Planning the Future of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, OPEN FORUM
6 PM
The President and CEO of The Historical Society, Kim Sajet, will discuss her vision for HSP and call for comments, suggestions, and advice from the audience. Central to her presentation will be positioning HSP as a Center for History Learning.
17
William Penn Show and Tell
3-4:30 PM
Did William Penn really look like the man on the Quaker Oats box? Find out when the HSP staff shares their favorites from our Penn-related collections. Explore Penn’s life, his encounters with the Lenni Lenape Indians, and the days of our state’s founding when through an up-close experience with rarely seen documents and images. Part of William Penn Welcome Week, www.ushistory.org/penn.
17
Teacher Workshop: Worldviews in Contact, Compromise, and Conflict
4-6 PM
Working with 18th century images and texts, teachers will explore the idea of worldview as illustrated in the encounter and interaction between Native Americans and Europeans from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” to the French and Indian War. To register, contact Kate Wilson at kwilson@hsp.org. This workshop is free and attendance qualifies for 2 hours toward Act 48 credit for Pennsylvania educators.
23
Philadelphia: A 300-Year History 25th Anniversary Celebration
5:30-6:30 PM, Lecture by Dr. Gary Nash, UCLA, “This Much Done, So Much Still to Do: Philadelphia Historical Scholarship in the 21st Century”
6:30-8:00 PM, Cocktail reception and book fair
Please join us on October 23 for an evening of Philadelphia history, as we celebrate both the publication 25 years ago of Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, edited by Russell Weigley and sponsored by the Barra Foundation, as well as the wealth of scholarship on the city that has been published since.
Now in its seventh printing, the 300-Year History remains an indispensable guide to Philadelphia’s rich history. And it has been wonderfully supplemented by the outpouring of scholarship on our city in the quarter century since it first appeared, much of it grounded in research in the wealth of documentary materials to be found at HSP.
24
Hauntings and Supernatural Research at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
6 PM
Those interested in the 'supernatural' or the 'paranormal' can discover a rich amount of material from a variety of sources, including photographs, letters, diaries, books, and prints at the Historical Society. Dr. Dan Rolph, Family Historian and Head of Reference Services at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will uncover the scary, creepy, weird and wonderful in preparation for Halloween. Dr. Rolph holds a doctorate in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania.
November
5
2007 Historical Society of Pennsylvania Annual General Meeting
5:15 PM
7Bitter Herbs in the Dream Garden
Lecture
6 PM
In 1914 before its installation in the foyer of the Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia, over 700,000 came to view the 14- by 50-foot glass mosaic known as The Dream Garden in the New York showroom of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Subsequently hailed as the “greatest collaboration” between two artists, Maxfield Parish the designer and Tiffany the creator, the true story of the mosaic’s production is fraught with tales of death, resignations, feuding, bruised egos, art-world in-fighting, and legal wrangling.
14
Holidays on Display
Lecture and book signing
6 PM
For many Philadelphians, the holidays are not complete without a visit to the light show at the former Wanamaker's, a reminder of the rich holiday traditions of the city’s great department stores. How did these traditions get started? Get in the holiday spirit with author William L. Bird, Jr. historian and curator at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution with a look at the history of holiday lights, displays, and parades. Bird is the author of the Holidays on Display, a new book that traces the evolution of commercial holiday decorations and rituals. A reception and book signing will follow the program. Also on display will be items from HSP’s Wanamaker collection.
28
Judaica at HSP
6-8 PM
Library staff will host a "show & tell" of Judaica from the Society's collections.
