For men and women deployed during World War II, mail was an important morale boost. Letters from home were a brief escape from the stress and dangers military and civilian personnel experienced daily. The Ann Ingersoll Townsend Simpson papers are full of correspondence to and from her while she was serving in the China Burma ..read more

STORIES FROM THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION RECORDS In honor of National Library Week, I’m sharing a story of The Philadelphia Orchestra, a scholar from Argentina, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. While processing the files of the Orchestra’s administrative staff, I came across a letter written in Spanish, addressed to the “Orquesta Sinfonica Filadelfia, U ..read more

After cataloging enough documents and manuscripts with tuǧras of fascinating dimensions, drawings, and levels of design, I realized that a post showing the great and unique Jewish tuǧras was called for. Tuǧras, as explained by The Getty Art and Architechture Thesaurus, “[…] were used as authentication on documents, because the Ottoman sultans did not sign ..read more

The International Communication Association (ICA) is a professional organization representing thousands of media and communication scholars from around the world. In 2016, the ICA transferred its historical administrative records to the Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives where it is currently accessible to researchers. The collection is composed of administrative records compiled by ICA executive ..read more

Henrietta Butler’s cookbook is one I was so excited to work on as I rarely get to put a full name to the recipes. She was writing this cookbook in the 1820s and 1830s while living at 14 Gunterstone Road in London. Armed with a name and an address, I was sure I would be able ..read more

The recent release of the movie Maestro will introduce a new generation to musician, composer, conductor, educator, author and humanitarian, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). Bernstein was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim and is considered one of the most important conductors of his time. He was a prolific composer, writing in many genres, including ..read more

The Thomas Hart papers thrust beholders into the vibrant world of early 20th century Philadelphia high society. The creator, Thomas Hart, was a lawyer, but that is largely beside the point of this collection, which mostly represents his organizational involvements. He served on countless boards and held numerous leadership roles in dozens of Philadelphia-area organizations ..read more

STORIES FROM THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION RECORDS After a year and a half of hard work, and with a healthy dose of support and some heavy lifting (literally) contributed by my wonderful colleagues at the Special Collections Processing Center at Penn Libraries, I’m very pleased to announce that the first portion of the archives of ..read more

Though the world is in its “digital era,” I am still a fan of the analog life. Each week when I see the new issue of The Daily Pennsylvanian, I am excited. Even in college back in Texas, I would grab a copy of the Daily Shorthorn (UT Arlington) before class and enjoy a few ..read more

Guest Post by Ian Dykstra I love reading about film productions. Getting behind-the-scenes details on how projects came to be, the personalities and processes of casts and crews, and the more technical aspects of filmmaking gives me a greater appreciation for the films I love. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, a new Collector’s Edition box set ..read more