The microfilmed American Philosophical Society selected records contain art related letters; committee reports; registrar's and curators' records; pamphlets; and exhibition catalogs from the archives of the American Philosophical Society. Many of the letters are to the Society's secretary and librarian John Vaughan; a few are to the Society's presidents Thomas Jefferson and Peter S. Du Ponceau, and officials John K. Kane and J. Peter Lesley. Among the correspondents are Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin West, Charles Willson Peale, Jacob Perkins, Philip Tidyman, Charles B. Lawrence, John Trumbull, Thomas Sully, Joseph Delaplaine, Robert Patterson, John Quincy Adams, Titian Ramsay Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Joel Roberts Poinsett, Victor G. Audubon, and Robert Fulton.
Also included are copies of the registrar's cards for portraits and busts owned by the Society, arranged alphabetically by sitter; "Preliminary Notes, Biographical Sketches, and Memoranda chronologically arranged, for insertion in the Curator's Catalog of Portraits, Busts, and Bas-Reliefs in the Collection of the American Philosophical Society. Illustrated by photographs taken from the originals by Mrs. Julius A. Sachese, member APS"; circa 25 exhibition catalogs and pamphlets (1811-1840) for exhibitions of the Society of Artists of the United States, Columbian Society of Artists, Artists' Fund Society, Artists' and Amateurs' Association, and for works by Thomas Sully, Gilbert Stuart, Benjamin Robert Haydon, Joseph Delaplaine, and others; and newspaper clippings (1917) about the controversy surrounding portraits by Albert Rosenthal hung in Independence Hall (reel P36, frames 372-401).
Biographical / Historical:
The American Philosophical Society (founded 1743) is a scholarly organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosophical Society "promotes useful knowledge" through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach.
Related Materials:
The American Philosophical Society holds the American Philosophical Society archives, 1743-1984.
Provenance:
Microfilmed for the Archives of American Art, 1955. The letters are mainly American Philosophical Society records, but many were pulled from ASP's Misc. Mss. and various other collections, and microfilmed in no apparent order. Descriptive cards microfilmed with each letter indicate location of originals.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Portraits -- Private collections -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States. By Alexander Wilson; with a continuation by Charles Lucian Bonaparte, prince of Musignano. The illustrative notes, and life of Wilson, by Sir William Jardine, Bart. F.R.S.E. F.L.S. ... In three volumes
The microfilmed selected Peale family papers contain papers of Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, and Titian Ramsay Peale, mainly related to Peale's Museum. Also included are one item pertaining to Franklin Peale, and one to Rubens Peale.
Microfilmed on Reel P21 are manuscript of memoranda of the Philadelphia Museum, giving records and accessions for 1803-1842; financial statements (1808-1819) listing current expenditures; a manuscript of A Walk Through the Philadelphia Museum by Charles Willson Peale (after 1802); minutes of the Museum (1841-1845); manager's reports to the Board of Trustees (1833-1835), signed by Titian R. Peale (10 reports); Titian Peale's correspondence with George Ord (1827-1854), and his drawing book (circa 1820); extracts of letters written by Charles Willson Peale from Belfield and Philadelphia (1821-1823); extracts of letters written by Rembrandt Peale to Reuben Haines and Coleman Sellers (1828 September 24 and 1829 November 30), and to his wife (1830). Also included (frames 164-182) is a "Catalog of the National Portrait and Historical Gallery, illustrative of American history, comprising 269 original portraits and historical paintings, formerly belonging to Peale's Museum, to be sold without reserve, on Friday 6th October 1854... M. Thomas & Sons, Auctioneers."
Microfilmed on Reels P23 and P29 are miscellaneous Peale related documents from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Society Collection. Included are a report of the Committee of Councils on the use of Charles Willson Peale's windmill (1815 January 5); C. W. Peale's appeal to aid for a soldier; Rubens Peale memorial of the Trustees of the Philadelphia Museum (1831 October 25); and a register made by Franklin Peale of the medal dies of the U. S. Mint, with notes (1841) (reel P29, frames 5-31).
Biographical / Historical:
The Peale family was a family of painters, primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a portrait painter and engraver and studied in London with Benjamin West. He is known for his portraits of the founding fathers including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. In 1786 he founded the Peale Museum, and was one of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1805.
Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860) was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and was the second son of Charles Willson Peale. He was known primarily for his historical paintings and portraits, particularly those of George Washington. Peale painted his first Washington portrait in 1795 at the age of 17, in a sitting arranged by his father. With his father, he was also a founding member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He also established Peale's Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts in 1814.
Titian Ramsay Peale (1799-1885) was a naturalist, photographer, and scientific illustrator. Named for an older brother who died in 1798, he was the only naturalist in the family and documented animals and scenery in watercolors on scientific expeditions including the 1819 Long expedition to the Rocky Mountains.
Benjamin Franklin Peale (1795-1870), called Franklin, was his father's assistant at the museum and managed it after Charles Peale's death. Franklin Peale was also an employee of the Philadelphia Mint from 1833 to 1854.
Rubens Peale (1784-1865) opened the New York Museum of Natural History and Science in 1825. Following the economic Panic of 1837, Rubens became a gentleman farmer in the Pennsylvania countryside. He returned to Philadelphia in 1864 and began painting still lifes.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds the Rembrandt and Harriet Peale collection, circa 1820-1932 and the Rubens Peale diaries, 1855-1865. Also found at the Archives of American Art are the microfilmed Charles Willson Peale diaries and exhibition announcement, 1765-1826; microfilmed printed material relating to Rembrandt Peale, 1830-1862; microfilmed Titian Ramsay Peale Collection, 1771-1876; microfilmed selected papers from the Peale-Sellers collection, [circa 1767-1904]; and microfilmed Augusta Barker papers, 1875-1887.
The American Philosophical Society holds the Rembrandt Peale papers, 1808-1833 and the Peale family papers, 1705-1898. New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts Division holds the Rembrandt Peale letters, 1835-1857.
Provenance:
Microfilmed by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for the Archives of American Art, 1955.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Topic:
Art, American -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Letters from Ord to longtime friend Waterton, criticizing John James Audubon.
Biographical / Historical:
Ord was a naturalist and philologist.
Provenance:
Microfilmed for the Archives of American Art, 1955. Selected from the American Philosophical Society's collection of George Ord letters to Charles Waterton, 1832-1864 (74 items).
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States / by Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte ; edited by Robert Jameson ; in four volumes
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States : by Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte. Edited by Robert Jameson ..
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States : illustrated with plates engraved and coloured from original drawings taken from nature / by Alexander Wilson ; with a sketch of the author's life by George Ord ; in three volumes
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States : illustrated with plates engraved and colored from original drawings taken from nature / by Alexander Wilson
American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States illustrated with plates, engraved and colored from original drawings from nature by Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte ; with a sketch of the life of Wilson, by George Ord, and a classification of the genera and species of American birds, by Spencer F. Baird
A reprint of the North American zoology, by George Ord. Being an exact reproduction of the part originally compiled by Mr. Ord for Johnson & Warner, and first published by them in their 2d Americaned. of Guthrie's geography, in 1815. Taken from Mr. Ord's private, annotated copy. To which is added an appendix on the more important scientific and historic questions involved. By Samuel N. Rhoads
