Items

• Photograph. Christine Moore Howell and her sister, Bessie, in front of "Christine" Vanity Parlor
  This photograph is of sisters Christine Moore Howell and Bessie Moore in front of “Christine” Vanity Parlors in Princeton, New Jersey around the 1920s when the vanity parlor opened. They would have been around the ages of 22 and 23 respectively at this time.
• Correspondence for James E. Adams
  This letter was sent to the Meet The Composter/New Residencies group at 2112 Broadway, Suite 505 in New York City, NY by Artistic Manager and President of The Philadelphia Clef Club of the Performing Arts, Inc. James E. Adams on October 15, 1992.
• Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School charter and certificate of incorporation
  This charter and certificate of incorporation legitimized the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School in Philadelphia on April 10, 1896. The charter includes the hospital and school’s purpose, leadership, and articles and conditions. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution existing to serve the Black community (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
• Transfer of Church Membership
  This “Notice of Enrollment” certification authorizes the transfer of membership of Sister Sarah Loapman from the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church in Camden, NJ to the Bethel African Methodist Church in Philadelphia, PA on March 19, 1917.
• Dra Mu, Carmen (photograph)
  This is a photograph of the Dra-Mu Opera Company Orchestra at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia taken in 1947.
• Joseph E. Hill Public School
  This is a photograph of an entrance to the Joseph E. Hill Public School, located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA taken by the Germantown Courier Tuesday September 8th, 1950 at 8am. The size of the photo is 2x5 inches.
• Land Deed, Matthias Ranck seller to George Dyer; Lancaster, PA
  This land deed explains the details and debts owed by Matthias Ranck that led to the sale of his property in Marietta, PA to purchaser George Dyer around 1816-1817.
• A Survey of Witherspoon YMCA of Princeton N.J. May and June 1930
  This 104-page report entitled “A Survey of Witherspoon Young Men’s Christian Association of Princeton, N.J.” was produced in May and June of 1930 by Director Joseph Van Vleck, Jr of Montclair, NJ.
• Questionnaire for the Magazine Ebony
  This questionnaire entitled “QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE MAGAZINE EBONY----November 6, 1948” is five pages long with responses to 38 questions. The responses are by Christine Moore Howell (March 19, 1898-December 13, 1972) of Princeton, New Jersey.
• Memorial collage of Jaci Adams photographs / typed biography of Jaci Adams
  This memorial collage of Jaci DuBoise Adams features eight overlapping color photographs– two of Adams alone smiling, and the remaining of Adams smiling in small groups of people. On the back of the frame is a biography of Adams’ life, highlighting her resilience, many accomplishments, and relentless leadership and advocacy for the Philadelphia trans community and HIV/AIDS issues.
• Tribute to Jaci Duboise Adams
  This tribute was written by City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter on March 21, 2014 to honor the life and legacy of Jaci DuBoise Adams, a leader, advocate, and educator in the Philadelphia LGBT community.
• Gospel Songs and Spiritual Poetic Poem Book
  The book “Gospel Songs and Spiritual Poetic Poem Book” by Rev. J. F. Hamlette has four parts and is 56 pages. It has handwritten inscriptions of Ada and George Hightower's names on cover and inside, who were members of the First Colored Church in Hopewell, NJ and were among the first African Americans to live on Columbia Avenue in Hopewell.
• Billy Truehart milkbox
  "Billy Truehart's milk box," early 20th century. Handmade wooden box with metal letters on three sliding lids and nail heads within each compartment. Made by William "Billy" Truehart, grandson of Friday Truehart, while working as a handyman for the Blackwell family in Trenton, NJ.
• “Meet the Hinksons.”
  “Meet the Hinksons of Philadelphia, Penna.” is a six-page magazine article published in the Ladies’ Home Journal series “How America Lives” in August 1942. The article highlights the everyday life of the Hinkson family, including education, careers, fashion, travel, and home, and the impact of various wars on their lives.
• Letter. Paul B. Moses to Violette de Mazia
  This correspondence from Paul Moses to Violette de Mazia on January 21, 1951 details an acceptance from Moses to begin teaching art appreciation for Lincoln University students at the Barnes Foundation.
• Georgine E. Upshur [Willis], 1943 University of Pennsylvania Graduation
  This photograph features Mrs. Georgine "Gene" Elizabeth (née Upshur) Willis posing for her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943.
• Letter addressed to “Sir or Madam” from the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Welfare, Bureau of Recreation about reporting to Funfield Recreation Center “to demonstrate your life saving and swimming ability and training,” June 18, 1942
  Since this letter came from the collections of Georgine Upshur Willis, we assume that she received the letter from the Department of Public Welfare, Bureau of Recreation letter in 1942, asking Willis to try out to be a lifeguard at the Funfield Recreation Center. The Funfield Recreation Center was located at 22nd and Sedgley Street. The center, which was built in 1916, was designed by the architect Philip H. Johnson (1868-1933), who served as the architect for the Philadelphia City Department of Public Health.
• Letter to Georgine Upshur informing her of her nomination for membership in the University of Pennsylvania Delta Chapter of the National Social Science Honor Society – Pi Gamma Mu, October 23, 1942
  This letter was sent to Miss Georgine “Gene” Elizabeth Upshur on October 23, 1942 from Pi Gamma Mu, the National Social Science Honor Society’s Delta Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania notifying her of her nomination for membership. The daughter of a prominent, affluent Philadelphia African American family, Gene became an undertaker like her father (The Library Company of Philadelphia 2025).
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate
  This certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction’s Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate was granted to Georgine E. Upshur for completion of a four-year secondary school course in 1941. This was a modified certificate given to Black educators.