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Special
Collections Department
The Paul J Gutman
Library maintains separate collections in certain specialized subject areas.
All this material is collected in the Special Collections Department. This
material is available for research but an appointment must be made with the
Special Collections' Librarian. Special Collections Librarian:
Stan
Gorski (215-951-2581)
Holdings:
Textile
Industry Historical Collection
University
Archives
Textile
Industry Historical Collection
The Textile Historical Collection is comprised of material related
to the development of the textile industry in the United States.
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contains a full range of materials documenting the social, technological
and economic vicissitudes of the American textile industry.
Presently, over 4,000 volumes, ranging from 18th century European texts on
dyeing to contemporary doctoral theses on textile history, are included in
this collection. Over 100 journal titles, published before 1945, are
held; of this number, over 30 titles include issues published before 1900.
The Library actively pursues original manuscript documents relating to the
history of textiles. These papers include business records of over
20 different companies and the personal papers of at least 30 individuals
important in the development of the textile industry. There is also
a separate collection of over 300 volumes of textile company histories.
The acquisition of textile related ephemera; for example, trade cards,
letterheads, advertising material, posters, handbills, and photographs is
also an ongoing activity. Over 3,000 items are being catalogued in a
specialized database for access by researchers.
While the main focus of the
collection is the American textile industry, holdings of material
published in other countries is substantial. Contemporary English
publications on the history of the British textile industry are purchased
and in many instances only held by our library in this country. This
is particularly true of British textile company histories, which are often
privately published by the company. Also noteworthy is the extensive
amount of late 19th century material available on the French textile
industry. Over 200 volumes and a large number of French textile
machinery catalogs are included in the collection.
Over 500 trade catalogs for
all types of textile machinery are held. Along with this industry
material is a group of over 1000 dyeing catalogs from various United
States dyestuff companies. Although, the emphasis of the collection
is given to material relating to the production of fabric; the collection
is also well represented in the areas of design and apparel.
Highpoints include: a French counter-book of the 1800's, a number of
shirting catalogs from the late 1800's, a manufacturer's display kit of
baseball uniforms from the 1930's, original fashion drawings with fabric
swatches from the 1940's and long runs of specialized fashion magazines.
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COLLECTIONS
A)
Tradecards related
to Textile Industry. Images and background information on
tradecards dealing with the textile and apparel industry in the
Philadelphia region.
B)
Historic
Textile Journals. A bibliographic list of all
noteworthy textile and fashion journals held in Special Collections.
An image of the cover or titlepage is included with a description of the
journal. Age is not a determinant for this collection.
C)
Textile
Company Histories. A bibliographic list of textile company
histories held in Special Collections. While this list includes many
easily found titles, a number of these publications were printed as
vanity productions and are very difficult to locate.
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University
Archives
The School Archives is devoted to preserving materials related to
the history of the University.
This material is not cataloged and is not open to the public.
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circa 1890, Textile School, Philadelphia. |
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The Archives are
intended for the use of University community. The contents consists of
material relating to the history of the school since its founding in
1884..
TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS:
1) Complete set of School Yearbooks.
2) Complete set of School catalogues.
3) Complete run of all alumni publications.
4) Class notes both by students and faculty.
5) Minutes of the Broad of Trustee Meetings.
6) Annual Reports of the School and Departments.
An appointment must
be made with the School Archivist,
Stan
Gorski, for access to this material.
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History
of Philadelphia University
A chronological history of the University is available with images;
this presentation shows the physical and educational development of the
institution since its founding in 1884. |
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Architectural
History of School Buildings
Images and information on the history of each building presently owned by
the University. Included is material related to the various land
purchases that have been made by the University. |
All questions regarding the Special
Collections should be forwarded to:
Stan Gorski,
Special Collections Librarian.
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