SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS

Transcription

1 SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS The newly decorated art gallery and museum of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania were shown to members of the Society and their friends at a reception and tea in honor of the Society's new Director, Mr. William Reitzel, and Mrs. Reitzel on Friday, November 16. Mr. and Mrs. Robins, Mr. and Mrs. Reitzel, Mrs. Walter Wheeler, and Miss M. Atherton Leach were in the receiving line, and the members of the Women's Committee were the hostesses at the reception. After tea, the guests were invited to inspect the various departments of the Society where some of the most interesting of the Society's collections were exhibited. On November 12, 1940 the regular quarterly meeting of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania was held. About seventy-two persons were present. Before introducing the speaker, Mr. Robins called the attention of the audience to the improvements which had been made in the Society's building during the past few months. The address, "New Light on Wayne," was given by Mr. Harry Emerson Wildes. Mr. Wildes' discussion introduced an abundance of new and interesting material on Wayne's career as a planter in South Carolina. After the lecture, Mr. Robins proposed that a resolution of thanks be offered to Mr. Wildes. This was moved by Mr. Gardiner and seconded by Mr. Peters. The meeting then adjourned. The first of a series of teas to be given by The Historical Society at half after four o'clock on the first Friday afternoons of December, January, February and March was held in the Hall of the Society on December 6. The members of the Women's Committee were the hostesses at the tea, and Mrs. Alfred Coxe Prime gave an interesting talk on the early American silver displayed in the Society's museum. Members of the Society and their friends are cordially invited to attend these teas. Announcement has been made by the University of Pennsylvania of the appointment of Dr. George Parker Winship as Fellow in Bibliography on the A. S. W. Rosenbach Fellowship Foundation. Dr. Winship will deliver three bibliographical lectures at the University on February 14, and 28, and on March 13. The titles of the lectures are "John Gutenberg and the First Printed Bible"; "Fifteenth Century Printing as a Craft and a Business"; and "The Bay Psalm Book and its Printer." The National Archives announces that in cooperation with The American University a program for the training of archivists has been inaugurated. Courses in the history and administration of archives, American and European administrative history, and the administration of current records and record 116

2 I94i SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS 117 systems are being offered. In addition, "The National Archives has again made available several in-service training courses, which include seminars on the arrangement and description of archival material,... and on research materials in The National Archives." Materials relating to Latin America, to national defense and wartime problems, and records pertaining to public lands have recently been transferred to The National Archives. Moreover, the main body of Federal pension records in The National Archives has been made practically complete for the period prior to the World War by a recent accession of the individual files on pension and bounty-land claims based on service during the Revolutionary War and the War of Mr. Frank H. Stewart, the President of the Gloucester County Historical Society, has published a pamphlet on Major John Fenwick, Colonizer and Founder of the First Permanent English Speaking Colony on the Delaware River,... i6j$. In this pamphlet Mr. Stewart gathers together from widely scattered sources material illustrative of Fenwick's career as a promoter of an English colony in the New World. Fenwick's difficulties with Edward Byllynge and with John Eldridge and Edmund Warner receive due attention. Indian deeds relating to Fenwick's lands, lands granted by him; his will; some of his letters; material relating to his family and to his disputed place of burial are reported by Mr. Stewart. Consequently, anyone interested in Fenwick or in the history of Salem County, N. J., will find Mr. Stewart's pamphlet full of pertinent matter. A biographical account of "Congressman Harmar Denny" by Catherine Backofen is published in the June, 1940 issue of The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine. Denny was born in Pittsburgh and throughout his career remained a loyal partisan of Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. He was actively interested in the civic life of Pittsburgh and was an ardent promoter of the cultural life of this community. As a member first of the Pennsylvania Assembly and later of the Congress of the United States, Denny threw his lot in with the protectionists and supported all measures designed to promote domestic manufactures and forward internal improvements. Other articles in this issue of The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine are: "The Johnstown Flood and Pittsburgh's Relief, 1889," by Nathan D. Shappee; "The Letters of John Patterson, ," edited by Florence and Mary Howard; and "An Account of the Progress of Population, Agriculture, Manners and Government of Pennsylvania" [by Dr. Benjamin Rush], this is reprinted from the Columbian Magazine of November, Papers read before the Lancaster County Historical Society and printed in Vol. XLIV, No. 3 of the publications of that Society include "Early Coin and Private Scrip of Lancaster County," by C. H. Martin; and "A Story of the Amishmen," by Hal Borland.

3 H8 SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS January Ralph Wood gives some account of the history of one of the important Pennsylvania-German newspapers of the nineteenth century in The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County for October, Beginning his article, "Der Bauernfreund: A Newspaper of the Pennsylvania-Germans,'' with a brief description of the varieties of German spoken or written in the United States, Mr. Wood noted that one of the chief problems German language newspapers had to face was the decline of the use of Pennsylvania German as a literary language. As this tongue disappeared, first from the schools and then from the churches, the papers lost the greater number of their subscribers. Some of these newssheets "gave up entirely, others became English or were supplanted by English newspapers from the same shop, others fought to the bitter end for the German literary language, bolstering up their position by political lobbying, support of the German language faction in the churches, and by agitation among the Pennsylvania-German reading class." As an example of these rebel newspapers, the Bauernfreund, published in Sumneytown from 1828 to 1858 and in Pennsburg from 1858 to 1908, "gives us an excellent picture of the period of transition from German to English." Other articles in this issue of the Bulletin of the Montgomery County Historical Society are: "A Few Facts in Connection with the Bringhurst Family of Trappe, Pennsylvania," by Neil H. Lafferty; "Valley Friends' Meeting House," by Mrs. Ivins C. Walker; "William Penn, with Special Reference to Montgomery County," by George Norman Highly; a "History of the Fairview Union Sunday School," by Luther C. Parsons; "Early American Pottery," by Howard C. Roberts; and a continuation of the publication of the Bible records in the Historical Society of Montgomery County. ACCESSIONS Miss Maria Dickinson Logan, who died February 12, 1939, willed to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania in memory of her brother, Charles Albanus Logan, one of the most important collections of furniture it has been the honor of the Society to receive. The historic background of the pieces, some of which were originally the property of James Logan, is of peculiar interest. This, combined with the fact that every article is a gem of the craftsman's art, makes the group interesting to historian and collector alike. One of the earliest pieces is a William and Mary stool covered with red leather, and supported by odd conical feet. A large Queen Anne mirror divided into many panes and furnished with a glass frame and gilt edge was made in the first decade of the eighteenth century, and until recently hung in the dining room at Loudoun over the fireplace. Both pieces came to Loudoun from Stenton. From Stenton, also, is the "Norris or Dickinson Coffee-Table" with cabriole legs and fluted top. For many years this stood in front of the fireplace in Miss Logan's brother's room at Loudoun. Another unusually handsome eighteenth-century article, known as the "Stenton Tea Caddy," is composed of a mahogany chest fitted with twelve cut glass bottles, and decorated with heavy brass handles. The whole stands on a mahogany base with cabriole legs.

4 i 9 4i SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS 119 One of the two most interesting pieces is described as the "Charles Norris jewel casket sometimes called 'Spice Cabinet.' " This is in fact an eighteenthcentury spice cabinet in mahogany. Pleasing in design and beautifully made, it is a charming piece containing a round dozen of little drawers for the storing of rare condiments from the Far East. The other is a beautiful lowboy which, although not on the well-known bill in the possession of the Society showing successive deliveries of wedding furniture made for Mrs. Mary Norris and endorsed by her "Thos. Tufft's Account for my Daughter's Furniture, Paid Feb. 24, 1784," was probably made by Tufft in 1783 and was sent immediately to Stenton where Deborah Logan became its proud owner. Thomas Tufft, a little known Philadelphia cabinetmaker, did excellent work as this lowboy and the better known Wharton "Walnut Grove" highboy attest. He was a higher priced workman than the more famous William Savery and probably began to make furniture as early as In 1785 he had his shop "Four Doors from the Corner of Walnut-street, in Second Street." This beautiful mahogany lowboy or dressing table, which stood for so many eventful years at Stenton, has cabriole legs with Spanish feet, and an overlapping top with front corners cut in small curves. It is surmounted by a mahogany dressing glass of Hepplewhite style with an oval mirror and a base fitted with one drawer, characteristic of the period from The Zackery Cream Jug, a beautiful little silver pitcher with its family history engraved on the bottom, indicating that it was at one time the property of Isaac Norris of Fairhill, came into the Logan family when Norris' famous granddaughter Deborah married Dr. George Logan of Stenton in The cream jug had been made in London by Ayme Videau in 1740 or Finally, Miss Logan has given to the Society the much reproduced portrait of James Logan. Although no record of the painting of this portrait appears in Logan's meticulously kept account books, it is considered to be by Hesselius. From Mr. Spencer P. Hazard the Society has received 91 account books, letter books and other similar materials relating to the foundry of R. D. Wood and Co. of Millville, N. J. These papers cover the years from 1858 to Another interesting collection recently acquired by The Historical Society is composed of 10 boxes of the legal correspondence ( ), of John M. and Lewis A. Scott. A letter book, , and a legal case book, , also belong to this collection. Among the individual manuscripts of special interest added to the collections of The Historical Society were the following: a letter from James Buchanan, written at Washington on June 17, 1845 to S. Phillips; and a letter from Joseph Bonaparte to Joseph Hopkinson from Pointe Breeze, September 22, Mr. Robert James presented the Society with 995 mid-nineteenth century newspapers. The greater number of these were published in Philadelphia, although a few are from New England, New York and the other Middle Atlantic States, and South Carolina.

5 120 SOCIETY NEWS AND ACCESSIONS January A number of these relate to the question of the banking and monetary policies of the United States. By an exchange arranged with the Library of Western Ontario, the Society received 14 political pamphlets published in Philadelphia in 1837 an d X 839.