Permission to reproduce material from Athenaeum collections must be granted in writing and is at the discretion of The Athenaeum staff. All permission is granted on a per-use basis. Images may not be altered (aside from cropping) without special permission. The user of supplied reproductions assumes all responsibilities for citing sources properly, and using images in conformity with existing copyright laws, and may be required to supply The Athenaeum with a copy of any publication or project in which the images appear. The Athenaeum reserves the right to refuse to reproduce any item in its collections.
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Col. Charles Beaumont Phipps to Sarah Josepha Hale
Phipps, C. B. (Charles Beaumont), 1801-1866
College for Women, Mt. St Joseph, Chestnut Hill
College Hall, University of Pennsylvania
Colonial couple: woman adjusting the man's coat
Postcard to Mrs. (Hannah) D Rhoades from Frank
Permission to reproduce material from Athenaeum collections must be granted in writing and is at the discretion of The Athenaeum staff. All permission is granted on a per-use basis. Images may not be altered (aside from cropping) without special permission. The user of supplied reproductions assumes all responsibilities for citing sources properly, and using images in conformity with existing copyright laws, and may be required to supply The Athenaeum with a copy of any publication or project in which the images appear. The Athenaeum reserves the right to refuse to reproduce any item in its collections. For information on ordering reproductions of Athenaeum drawings, please see http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html.
Combino Writing Tablet (illustrated cover)
Medal commemorating the reinstallation of the figure of Napoleon in the Place Vendome.
Company C Writing Paper Tablet (illustrated cover)
Concord School House and Upper Ax Burying Ground
Confections Especial, Edouard Freres, Paris
Consistently as the Sands of Time … The Electric Storage Battery Co., Philadelphia
Cookbook: pages 37-332 of a published cookbook
Corner of first floor showroom, Philadelphia's lighting fixture and lamp headquarters
Correspondence from Jill Phillips to Mr. Lane seeking info re R.L.M. Camden
Court of Honor, North on Broad St, Elks' Convention
Cover Presses, The Saturday Evening Post, The Curtis Publishing Company
Crest design with crown and letters C,T, H
One of the most influential forces in Philadelphia architecture during the early part of the twentieth century, Paul P. Cret was born in Lyons, France. He first studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Lyons; and there won the Paris Prize, which enabled him to move to Paris and attend the Ecole there as well as become a member of the Atelier supervised by Pascal. In 1903 when many schools of architecture in the United States were importing teachers from the Ecole, Cret was persuaded to move to Philadelphia and become a Professor of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, arriving in August 1903. Throughout his 34 year tenure, Cret trained many of the students graduating from the University's Department of Architecture and acted as patron of the T-Square Club Atelier; the Beaux-Arts stamp could be seen on the work of those students long after they had graduated and dispersed to various parts of the world.
In 1907 Cret, in partnership with Philadelphian Albert Kelsey, won the first of many national architectural competitions which he would enter, the design of the International Bureau of American Republics in Washington, DC (the Pan American Union). Before the first World War interrupted his career, Cret would participate in several other competitions, including the Robert Fulton Memorial Competition (1909: Third Place), the Perry Memorial Competition (1911: Third Place), and the Indianapolis Public Library (1914: First place, with Zantzinger, Borie & Medary).
Cret was in France when World War I broke out, and he simply remained there in the army for the next five years, returning to Philadelphia when he was discharged. At the end of his time in the service, Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt asked him to design a memorial to her son, Quentin, who had been killed in the War. This was designed in 1919 for a site at Chamery, France. For his work during the war, Cret was awarded the Croix de Guerre and made an officer in the Legion of Honor.
Upon his return from France, Cret was again engaged in an active practice combined with his teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. It was during this time that he designed his first bridge, the Delaware River Bridge in Philadelphia, on which he collaborated with engineer Ralph Modjeski. The 1920s were a thriving time for Cret's work and included work on the Detroit Institute of Arts (with Zantzinger, Borie & Medary), the Frankford War Memorial in Philadelphia, the Barnes Foundation Gallery, Merion, PA, and the Integrity Trust Co., Philadelphia. He was also called upon to use his planning skills for several major campus plans (Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, and, later, the University of Texas at Austin).
In his capacity as Consulting Architect for the American Battle Monuments Commission from 1923 to 1945, Cret was in a role where he could affect the image of the United States which was projected abroad through the design of memorials, chapels, and cemeteries in honor of the dead of the first World War. He would continue in this capacity until his death and be followed in this position by his student and colleague John F. Harbeson.
Cret's firm flourished until his death. Over the years he designed many memorials, civic and commercial buildings, and, beginning in 1933, even railroad cars. His practice was chiefly non-residential, perhaps because his designs were better suited to the monumentality required by public structures; however, a few residences such as the James M. Cameron residence in Harrisburg, PA (1927) attest to his firm's abilities in that area.
Cret's memberships included the National Academy of Design, National Institute of Arts and Letter, American Philosophical Society, Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the T-Square Club, the American Institute of Architects, and the French Benevolent Society, among others. His areas of public service included serving as a member of the Art Jury of the City of Philadelphia from its foundation until his death, serving on the National Fine Arts Commission for two terms, and chairing the American Institute of Architects National Committee on War Memorials.
A great number of awards came to Cret in recognition of his contributions to city planning, American architecture, and architectural education. These included the Bok Award (1931), the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects (1938), the medal of honor of the Architectural League of New York (1920), the Paris Grand Prix, the Prize of Honor at the 5th Pan American Congress of Architects at Montevideo (with Zantzinger, Borie & Medary), and the Award of Merit of the Pennsylvania Alumni Society. He received honorary degrees from Brown University (Master of Arts, 1929), the University of Pennsylvania (1913), and Harvard University (1940). In addition to his architectural design and city planning work Cret published several articles which described the Beaux-Arts method and reacted to the modernist principles of design.
Elliott, Arthur, from the original by Adolphe Borie (1914)
Crystal Lobby, Keith's Chestnut St Theatre
Plaster cast of a decorative stone sculpture set in an exterior masonry wall of the Moore House at 1321 Locust Street, Philadelphia. Cupid is flanked by two dolphins within a cylindrical frame. 19 3/8" diameter x 6 1/2" deep. The Moore House was built in 1890 and was designed by architect Wilson Eyre.
Piece of curtain said to be from Point Breeze, Joseph Bonaparte's home near Bordentown, New Jersey. On paper which was pinned to curtains: "Piece of Madame Joseph Bonaparte's curtains." Background is beige with raised vertical stripes of alternating solid and broken bars. Embroidered with heavy silk threads (rose, pink, beige, yellow, black and green) in main design of clusters of assorted flowers. This is bordered by an embroidered vertical pattern of alternating discs and petals in shades of gold, brown and pink. This scrap of fabric was preserved by the Bordentown Library as a souvenier taken when the furnishings of "Point Breeze" were sold at public auction in 1847.
Piece of curtain said to be from Point Breeze, Joseph Bonaparte's home near Bordentown, New Jersey. On paper which was pinned to curtains: "Piece of Madame Joseph Bonaparte's curtains." Textured beige background with raised vertical stripes. Small embroidered design of flowers. This scrap of fabric was preserved by the Bordentown Library as a souvenier taken when the furnishings of "Point Breeze" were sold at public auction in 1847.
Curtis Lee Laws Memorial Chapel, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Cutting the Metal preparatory to stamping U.S. Mint
D. E. Wilson to Sarah Josepha Hale Possibly Sarah Josepha Hale to D. E. Wilson
D. Joseph Napoleon Roi des Espagnes et des Indes
Daikosan ooki kaigun daishou Great Naval Victory On the Sea off Daikosan
Standing figure of Daniel Webster, facing forward with head turned slightly to left. High prominent forehead, deep set eyes and stern mouth. Subject is depicted wearing a tail coat, with his right hand tucked into his coat above his waist. A draped architectural element is depicted to the right of the subject along with two books; the drapery over the architectural element continues around the rear of the base behind the figure. Incised on back of base: T Ball Sculpt / Boston Mass / 1853. Daniel Webster (1782- 1852), American Statesman, was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire. Aspiring to but never attaining the Presidency of the United States, Webster's political career included terms as a Congressman, Senator, and Secretary of State. His eloquence as a speaker and writer, however, earned him the widest renown. This statuette is a replica of a figure modelled by Thomas Ball (1819-1911), son of a Charlestown, Massachusetts, house and sign painter. Art dealer C.W. Nichols obtained the copyright to reproduce this popular statuette, making it one of the earliest examples of mass-produced American sculpture.
Evgeniia Osipovna Dashkov (c. 1780-c.1870) was the wife of Andrei I. Dashkov (1776-1831), who in 1809, became the Russian Consul General at Philadelphia under Emperor Alexander I. Aside from fostering diplomatic and commercial relations, Andrei Dashkov was an ambassador of culture. In 1816, as a visitor to The Athenaeum, he gave the society maps and books relating to Russia which helped to acquaint Philadelphians with the resources, customs and culture of the Russian Empire.
David E. Hale to Sarah Josepha Hale Correction: Letter Announcing the Death of David E. Hale