Villanova University’s Digital Library presents and preserves digital collections of selected holdings from our University Archives and Special Collections, as well as partner materials including institutional partners as well as individual donors. A recently added title from my own family’s bookshelf, Along the Pathway from Fibre to Paper, shares a rare, illustrated history and step-by-step detail of the papermaking process in one of Philadelphia’s many paper mills at the turn of the twentieth century.

 

Riverside Paper Mills

The booklet was produced by W.C. Hamilton & Sons, owners of the Riverside Paper Mills, “where good paper has been made since 1853” – according to its title page.  The description opens with the history and long tradition of the papermaking industry in the Philadelphia region including the very first paper mill built in North America, established by William Rittenhouse in 1690.

The Riverside Paper Mills were located in Whitemarsh township, Montgomery County, situated on the Schuylkill River. The area, adjacent to Roxborough, Philadelphia and formerly known as Lafayette Station, is now known as Miquon.

An explanation of the company’s trademark image and the name “Miquon” is given. The trademark, appearing on nearly every page as well as the book’s endpapers, depicts the face of William Penn within a round circle over a feather quill pen, with the words – MIQUON – RIVERSIDE MILLS.

The origin of the name Miquon is said to derive from a meeting of Lenape people with William Penn. Penn’s interpreter, searching for a way to translate Penn’s name, pointed to a goose quill on the ground and said, “Onas, signifying a Quill or Pen. But his familiar name was Miquon” [8].

 

 

The Papermaking Process

The book then details the many steps and processes of turning wood fiber to paper, with large photographic plates of the machinery and workers to illustrate each step. The second half of the book incudes samples of the final products, including Hamilton’s Fine Writing paper, buff colored paper, and envelope papers.

 

 

 

My favorite part of the whole publication is, of course, that it belonged to my great-great-grandfather. A dedication bookplate on the front fly leaf reads, “Harry West, associated with W.C. Hamilton & Sons / Riverside Paper Mills / Lafayette / Montgomery County / Pennsylvania / for twenty-seven years / is the owner of this descriptive-history of the institution he has helped to build.” Signed by Freas B. Snyder, President. [Dated] 7/1/21. being no. 19 of 350 copies.” The italicized words are hand-written in the intentional blank spaces left in the printed text. I love that there is a blank space for he (and therefore, also presumably for she) indicating that copies were likely given to both men and women who worked in or were associated with the mills.

Unfortunately, Harry West died at the mill in 1925. His death certificate indicates that he was working as “Head Drainer” and cause of death listed as “crushed skull, cervical vertebrae, and left shoulder by belt driven pulley at W/C Hamilton & Sons White Marsh Township, Monty Co., Pa.”

In 1999, the former mill buildings were preserved and redeveloped into an office complex (named River Park I and River Park II). Since 2012, River Park II has been home to the campus of AIM Academy, an independent school for grades 1-12.

For more on Paper and Papermaking in Greater Philadelphia see also: https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/paper-and-papermaking/

If you have a unique or interesting item you would like to see digitized, please reach out to us at digitallibrary@villanova.edu.

 

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Rebecca Oviedo is Distinctive Collections Archivist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

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By Ethan Shea

With the recent success of the Phillies and their underdog journey to the World Series, I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by an overwhelming rush of Pennsylvania pride.

As a native New Englander, moving to Pennsylvania surprised me in a few unexpected ways. Whether it’s gas station sandwiches at Wawa or an abundance of water ice, I had a lot to learn. Thankfully, my coworkers, colleagues, and roommates were there to teach me the ways of Pennsylvania.

One particular aspect of life as a visiting Pennsylvanian (particularly one who resides near Philadelphia) that I’ve enjoyed is the plethora of pretzels available. That’s why for this week’s Cat in the Stax, I decided to do some research on Pennsylvania’s affinity for pretzels. Hopefully this blog will be a salty companion to all the recently consumed Halloween sweets!

First off, 80% of the pretzels consumed in the United States are made in Pennsylvania. But that’s not all, Philadelphians in particular are said to consume significantly more pretzels than residents of any other city. Average pretzel-consumption per person in the United States sits at around two pounds per year, but Philadelphian’s consume almost 12 pounds of pretzels annually on average.

Because of the great number of German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania, the pretzel (a treat popular in Germany) made an early home in the state. In fact, one of the first commercial pretzel bakeries in the country was founded in Lancaster County.

Check out a couple online resources here and here to see where I found some of this information.

If you’re interested in the business side of one of the largest pretzel vendors in the nation, Wentzel’s Pretzels, check out this video on Falvey’s website where the CEO of the company Bill Phelps discusses franchising.

Make sure you treat yourself to a nice and salty soft pretzel before you sit down to watch the Phillies game tonight!

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Ethan Shea is a graduate student in the English Department at Villanova University and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library. As you can see, Ethan is repping some Phillies gear today!

We recently digitized the Photograph collection of Walter Timothy, Jr., an African American from Philadelphia who served in the United States Navy from 1911 to 1919. The collection consists of photos mainly from Timothy’s years in the Navy, but includes a few earlier photos as well.

Walter Timothy, Jr., was born on November 12, 1894 to Walter Timothy, Sr., and Rosa Timothy. The collection includes 2 photos of Timothy Jr. as a 16-month-old toddler. A few other uncaptioned portraits may depict family members.

The bulk of the photos document Timothy’s time as an enlisted sailor in the United States Navy. Timothy enlisted in April 1911 and was honorably discharged in February 1919. While in the Navy, he served as a mess attendant and cook on several different ships. (The U.S. armed services were racially segregated until the latter half of the 20th century, with African Americans often relegated to support roles, such as stewards and mess workers.) The ships on which Timothy served were primarily assigned to convoy duties.

Photos of Navy life include several of Timothy’s shipmates, some in silly poses. There are also numerous photos of different kinds of ships, including several in “dazzle camouflage,” a technique in which ships were painted in bold geometric patterns in order to make them more difficult targets. Airships, airplanes, and submarines are depicted a few times as well. There are also a few photos of shipboard pets or mascots, including a cat, a dog, and a goat.

After the war, Timothy worked as a letter carrier. He married Laura Christine Ford in the 1920s and they do not appear to have had any children. Timothy died in May 1985.

Further reading:

A Short History on Segregation in the Navy: From the War of 1812 through World War II, U.S. Naval Institute blog, February 26, 2019. https://www.navalhistory.org/2019/02/26/a-short-history-on-segregation-in-the-navy-from-the-war-of-1812-through-world-war-ii

General Mess Manual and Cook Book, U.S. Navy, 1902. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/g/general-mess-manual-and-cook-book.html

The sunny, sultry days of July and August are often referred to as the “dog days” of summer. Ancient civilizations noticed what they thought was a correlation between the hottest days of summer and the heliacal (or, at sunrise) rising of the star Sirius in the constellation known as Canis Major (the “Big Dog”). Although Sirius does not actually have an effect on the temperature, its heliacal rising does coincide with some of the hottest days of summer in many parts of the northern hemisphere. “Canicular days” (from the Latin word for dog) made their first appearance in print in English in 1398. The Old Farmer’s Almanac puts the timing of the Dog Days as July 3 through August 11.

As we sweat our way through the dog days of summer, here is a selection of dog images from our collections!

From the Photo Album of Laird C. Robinson of Philadelphia, 1904:

(more…)

Posted for Susan Ottignon.

Recently the Digital Library completed a digitalization project of the “Robert M. O’Reilly” papers. The collection’s subject, Dr. Robert O’Reilly, was a Philadelphia native, who held a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and had a lengthy and distinguishable career in the U. S. Army which lasted over 40 years, from 1867-1909.

The O’Reilly collection consists of over 300+ items, chronicling Dr. O’Reilly’s personal life and military career, includes his personal letters, a selection of published U.S. Army General Orders, from the United States Adjutant-General’s Office, in 1870, and his scrapbook from the 1906 International Conference for the Revision of the Geneva Convention where he was a delegate for the United States.

There are several unique certificates, in this collection, given to O’Reilly signifying his succession in military rank; the certificates are sizable and elaborate in design and signed and countersigned by the President and Secretary of War. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War under Lincoln and Johnson, signed O’Reilly’s first certificate, with his appointment as a Medical Cadet, in January, 1864. Several certificates display the signatures of Presidents Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt authorizing O’Reilly’s promotion in rank; in most cases the certificate had a stamped Presidential signature, and were countersigned by the Secretary of War as well as recorded in the Adjutant General’s Office.

The Collection is owned by the American Catholic Historical Society and held at the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center in Wynnewood, PA. Be certain to check out the Center’s blog, by Amanda McKnight, entitled, “Robert M. O’Reilly, Surgeon General” which provides a summary of Robert O’Reilly’s life and career.

If you are interested in more information on the role of a Medical Cadet during the Civil War, 1861-1865, I suggest reading this blog: Schmidt, Jim. “Medical Department #36 – Medical Cadets.” Civil War Medicine (and Writing): A blog on Civil War-era medicine and my own historical research and writing. 11 October 2010. Accessed 13 July 2015.

Calling all Irish music enthusiasts, here is a challenge for you!

The archive of traditional Irish music in the Philadelphia Ceili Group collection in Villanova University’s Digital Library is growing steadily, now featuring over 200 recordings of Irish jigs, reels, and other tunes from performances at the annual Philadelphia Ceili Group Traditional Irish Music and Dance Festival.

Growing alongside this list is….the list of unidentified titles. Listen to this excerpt of a 1977 performance by the group DeDanann, in which the title is obscured:

“We’re going to start with two jigs, the first is called ‘The Munster Buttermilk’, and the second is called….” (Huh?!)

Kudos to anyone who can discern the title of the second jig!

Even better, if you are able to listen to that jig and identify the tune by ear, here is a further challenge for you….

Check out this search of the Digital Library.

All of these recordings contain pieces unidentified by their performers. Can you help to name these tunes?

Please send any information to stephen.spatz@villanova.edu. Thank you!

Post for: Susan Ottignon, Special Collections and Digital Library Team

Annotated and transcribed text from the digitized copy in the Historical Society of Montgomery County Collection.

 

LOCAL NEWS OF THE WEEK CONDENSED
————
Notes of General Interest Gathered Here and There Around Town.
————
BRIEF PERSONAL MENTION
————
Miss Harriet P. Cooper, of Philadelphia, addressed the Missionary Circle of the First Baptist Church Tuesday afternoon.

Secretary C. D. Bruckner, of the local Y. M. C. A., has been spending the last week in Pittsburg.

A cross-country run, open for all Lower Merion High School [1] boys, except last year’s track team, will be held on April 19. The winner will be awarded a gold medal.

The supper and bazaar given in Masonic Hall Tuesday evening by the ladies the Lutheran church was well attended.

Mr. Conrad Sheive, who comes up for renomination as District Attorney of this county at the June primaries, made a brief canvass of Ardmore on Tuesday.

Bert Simpson, of Narberth, who is traveling in the South with the U. P. [2] baseball team, has made a good showing in the pitchers’ box at several of the games.

The local office of the Lower Merion Directory has been established at No. 1 Colonial Block.

A runaway horse and cart belonging to Mr. Charles Frederick, of Ardmore, narrowly missed colliding with the team of Mr. Harry Bicking last Saturday at Wynnewood station.

Four new arc lights, supplied with electricity from the dynamo in the cellar, will be used in the gymnasium of the public school tonight during the musicale given by the High School.

Sam Lung has moved his laundry from the Y.M. C. A. Building to the location formerly Clinton’s barber shop.

Mrs. H. C. Franzen, who has been visiting Mr. Paul J. Kugler and Dr. Anna Kugler, left for her home in Hartford, Conn., this morning.

The members of the Lutheran church are getting ready for the production of “Who’s Next?” a comedy which promises barrels of fun.

The D. T. Society met last Saturday for their fortnightly assembly at the home of Miss Marguerite Goodman, on Simpson road.

Mr. and Mrs. William Mann entertained on Monday at their home, on Aubrey avenue, in honor of Mr. Mann’s birthday.

A Rummage Sale for the benefit of the Ardmore Free Library will be held April 27 to May 4, inclusive, at the old trolley station, Cricket avenue. Donations are solicited. Articles may be sent to the old trolley station during sale, or send a postal to Mrs. D. Bartlett, and they will be called for.

Miss Helen Morley, who has been visiting Miss Mary McGodlrick for the past month, leaves tonight for her home at Youngstown.

St. Denis’ I. C. B. U. [3] will give a euchre and dance in T. A. B. Hall on April 30.

Mr. Henry Kauffman, of Hackensack, N.J., has been the guest of his mother, Mrs. H. Kauffman, of Simpson road, during the week. On Tuesday evening he left for an extended trip to the Pacific Coast.

Miss Jane Cleaver has returned from a visit of several weeks at Huntingdon, Pa.

The seniors of the Lower Merion High School held their second reception last night in the gymnasium.

The Autocar [4] office team played a nine from the shops last Saturday in the first baseball game of the season. The office won, 11-5.

Mrs. F. Alison and family of, Lancaster avenue, removed yesterday to Chestnut Hill, where they will reside.

Mr. Clarence Piper, of Ardmore, after an absence of six months, has returned to work for his former employer, Mrs. John Cameron, of Bryn Mawr.

The prizes for the drawing to be held soon by St. Denis’ T. A. B. Society [5] are: First, $10; second, an umbrella; third, a suitcase; fourth, a pair of shoes made to order.

Dr. J. Howard Cloud has taken up permanent residence on Lancaster avenue, in the property recently purchased by him, and which was occupied by Mrs. Alison.

Miss Helen Condrick hasreturned [sic] from Pennsville, N. J., where she was visiting friends.

The baggage stand at the Ardmore station is being enlarged by a 20-foot extension.

The work of enlarging the store of the Elborn Hardware Company has been going on all week.

Rev. F. W. Staley spent part of the week in Harrisburg.

Don’t forget the lecture in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church next Thursday night, on “An Hour’s Ride With General Phil Sheridan.

The Christian Endeavor Society of the Baptist church of Ardmore held a business meeting and social at the residence of Mrs. J. E. Bourne on Tuesday evening.

Charley Cassell, of Ardmore, who was to have been tried out for the Ardmore baseball team, received an offer from Cornell University, and he left for Ithaca on Tuesday morning. He will try “pitching” his way through college.

The Hayloft of Blue Jacket Tribe, 395½, Imp. O. R. M. [6], full regalia, paid a visit to Manoa Tribe on Thursday evening. They had “a large time.”

A number of Ardmore people attended the T. A. B. dance at Rosemont on Thursday night.

————–
1. “Ruins of the Ardmore Public School (1900) — Photograph.” Collection: W. Robert Swartz. Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Accessed 11 March 2014. <http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/photodb/web/html2/138-1.html>
2. University of Pennsylvania.
3. Irish Catholic Benevolent Association.
4. “Autocar in Lower Merion.” By David Schmidt, Special to Main Line Life. The Lower Merion History Society. Copyright © Lower Merion Historical Society. Accessed 11 March 2014. <http://lowermerionhistory.org/dev/sample-page/full-text-resources/david-j-schmidt-collection/278-2>
5. Temperance — Societies, etc.
6. ” . . . The fraternity traces its origins back to 1765 and is descended from the Sons of Liberty. . . ” The Improved Order of Red Men. Content © 1998-2014 The Improved Order of Red Men. All rights reserved. Accessed 11 March 2014. <http://redmen.org/redmen/info/>

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the address of President Lincoln to formally dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, i.e. the Gettysburg Address. A report of the dedicatory speeches – Lincoln wasn’t the main speaking attraction at the event – was commissioned by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and appeared in 1864 along with maps of the cemetery and the plot of the fallen soldiers of Pennsylvania.

This rare item is housed in Special Collections and has been digitized for your viewing convenience as part of the Pennsylvaniana collection:
[http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:93686]

Lincoln’s address is on page 110…

Posted for: Karla Irwin, Villanova University.

When I was presented with the opportunity to curate an online exhibition as the Fall 2011 Digital Library Intern I jumped at the chance. Through the course of my internship I had grown more familiar with the wealth of materials in the Digital Library and I was eager to explore one area in particular: materials related to rioting that occurred in Philadelphia in 1844. Before seeing the items I knew nothing about the riots which was surprising to me because I had grown up in the area and lived in Philadelphia for a number of years. After conducting a little more research I was amazed at the history of the riots and wondered how many people in the area were like me and unaware that the riots had happened. I thought the story of the riots were an important one to share and now it is my pleasure to present to you Chaos in the Streets: The Philadelphia Riots of 1844.

Philadelphia in 1844 was a hotbed of religious and ethnic prejudice, most notably toward Catholics and the Irish. This was representative of a national sentiment and the exhibition looks at a group called the Nativists, who later became the Know Nothing Party, and their role in the rioting. In May and July of 1844 these issues came to a breaking point and the city of Philadelphia saw some of its most violent days in her history. The riots would ultimately have many lasting effects and it can be said that the Philadelphia you see today is partially a result of those violent days.

The Digital Library provides access to quite a large collection relating to the riots including a collection of letters from Morton McMichael who was the sheriff at the time. His letters and personal journal provide a first-hand account of what it was to be like on the streets of Philadelphia in the mid 1840’s. Only a small portion of his entire collection is utilized in the exhibit and so I recommend taking a longer look at the letters as they offer a fascinating window into policing in Philadelphia during that time.

There was no shortage of interesting material on the riots but one aspect that proved especially dramatic to me was the role the Catholic Churches had in the rioting, particularly St. Augustine’s Church. I had visited the church many years ago in the Old City section of Philadelphia and walked by it countless times. What I did not know is that the St. Augustine’s I saw today was rebuilt from the one that had burned down during the rioting. Sadly, along with the burning of the church, a library containing an invaluable collection of theological materials was also destroyed. Imagine my amazement when I found out some of the books from that library ended up in Special Collections in Falvey Library! You will find in the exhibition how the Augustinian community in Philadelphia put major roots down in both center city Philadelphia and, of course, Villanova University. I hope you find the connection, and how it relates to the riots, as interesting as I do.

Finally, I would like to thank Michael Foight and Laura Bang for their valuable guidance, Joanne Quinn for the graphics, Susan Connor, Susan Ottignon, and Chelsea Payne for their informative transcription work, and David Lacy for his work on technical details. Without them the exhibition would never have come to fruition.

 

One of the most satisfying aspects of working in a digital library is the opportunity to expose people to a life or a story they may not have realized existed. A week ago I was presented with an archival box full of pieces of a puzzle. The pieces belonged to a man named Howard Merrill Shelley and the puzzle I am working on is how to put together the events that make up the life of this man. I have begun scanning in images and other assorted items from the box, and his story is slowly coming to light, possibly for the first time in fifty years.

Howard Shelley (1879-1956) was known primarily as a Philadelphia theater and opera personality. However, before I go into that, I would like to delve into his ancestors, an interesting topic of its own. Howard Merrill’s lineage plays like a who’s who of American history. Howard’s mother, Sophia Rittenhouse Shelley, is directly descended from the famous scientist and astronomer, David Rittenhouse. Howard’s grandmother, Amanda McClellan is related by marriage to none other than Benjamin Franklin and is directly related to the Civil War general, George B. McClellan.

 

 

George himself was the grandson of General Samuel McClellan of the Revolutionary War. Samuel married Rachel Abbe, a direct descendant of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

 

 

Howard also had a famous second cousin named Kate Shelley. While not a household name today, in her own time she was a famous poet and folk hero. As a young girl she risked her own life to save hundreds of lives by averting a potential train accident.

Not surprisingly, Howard Shelley thought his own family history quite interesting and wrote a successful play about it in 1914 called The Family Tree. At the time in Philadelphia, as well as other major cities, there was a craze to document and brag about one’s own family history in order to secure social prestige and Howard took advantage of this subject to write his satirical comedy. Prior to The Family Tree Howard co-wrote a popular musical called The Beauty Doctor in 1904. An article in the Geneva Daily Times described this production as a piece “based on the beauty culture craze, which is handled in a broadly humorous way and is said to afford ample opportunity for hearty fun”.

After writing two successful satires for the stage, Howard went on to become a theatrical press agent. He wrote an early form of gossip column about society under the name Barclay Beekman for the New York Daily Mirror and was also employed by stars of the stage, including Lillian Russell, an actress and singer, and Luisa Tetrazzini, an Italian opera soprano.

 

Digitizing the Howard Shelley Collection has been like working on a miniature time capsule of Philadelphia genealogy and theater history. I have only completed about a third of the collection and am eager to discover how the other pieces of the puzzle come together. What I find remarkable is that despite having two hit shows and an active life in theater and opera, Howard Shelley and his productions have managed to escape history’s grasp. It causes one to realize that the majority of popular culture today may not survive a hundred years, for better or worse. For my part, I am glad to have the opportunity to once again put Howard Shelley in the spotlight.

Posted for Karla Irwin, Fall 2011 Digital Library Intern.