Students of early America are familiar with the Atwater Kent Collection, some of which was on display in the now-closed Philadelphia History Museum. It now looks like the entire collection will be moving to Drexel University. Here is a taste of a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed from John Fry, president of Drexel:
The Atwater Kent Collection includes 130,000 artifacts and archival materials that span more than 300 years of Philadelphia and American history.
Some of these objects — like George Washington’s presidential desk from his home at Sixth and Market Streets, a Lenape wampum belt from 1682, and the gray bowler hat that Abraham Lincoln purchased in Philadelphia for travel to his inauguration in 1861 — are well known. Others — such as a collection of saws, hammers, and tools made by the Disston saw works in Tacony, or the weather vane from Moyamensing Prison in South Philadelphia — are less well known. Yet they all have something to teach us about the many histories of Philadelphia and our nation.
For the past three years, the city of Philadelphia — trustees of the now-shuttered Philadelphia History Museum — and Drexel University’s leadership have worked on the terms for transferring the Atwater Kent Collection to Drexel as successor trustee. As required, the city petitioned the Orphans’ Court Division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for its approval to substitute Drexel University as the new trustee of the collection.
On Feb. 28, the matter came before Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper of the Orphans’ Court in Philadelphia. Following testimony by myself and other Drexel and city officials regarding Drexel’s commitment, expertise, and detailed plans for the collection, the judge decreed that the city and Drexel produce a detailed transfer agreement for her consideration. This ruling allows us to put the finishing touches on a robust plan that makes this collection more widely accessible to the public.
The legally binding collection transfer agreement describes how Drexel will manage the collection for the public. As successor trustee, the university pledges to allow students, educators, scholars, and visitors from around the world to see special exhibitions in person and online. Far from keeping the collection to ourselves, we will work with Philadelphia’s many institutions and cultural organizations to ensure that these materials can be borrowed, displayed, interpreted, and appreciated citywide.
Except for 400 items that were on display before the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent closed its doors nearly four years ago, the bulk of the collection has been kept in a storage facility and remained inaccessible to the public. As we await the court’s review and final approval, Drexel and the city are finalizing the terms of an arrangement that will allow the collection to be relocated to a modern facility in Center City, equipped with security and climate controls that meet museum standards
The collection is a public trust. As a trustee, Drexel pledges to serve as a committed, responsible, and effective steward of the collection. Under a contract with the city, we have already invested considerable time and effort into evaluating, cataloging, and stabilizing the collection. Drexel also has the technological infrastructure and expertise to digitize the collection, which will ensure that it is widely accessible and discoverable by anyone, anywhere in the world.
Read the rest here. It is worth noting that Fry has an undergraduate degree in American Civilization from Lafayette College