News from

Libraries

Reset All Filters
189 Results
France, Haiti, and Philadelphia in a Revolutionary Age
A map of Revolutionary Paris

Image: Courtesy of the Kislak Center

France, Haiti, and Philadelphia in a Revolutionary Age

American independence from Great Britain in 1776 set the stage for the first in a series of 18th century state constitutions; the United States Constitution was drafted in 1787, France followed in 1791, and Haiti’s constitution was established in 1801 following ten years of rebellion by enslaved Africans under French colonial rule.

Video

Exploring revolutions through writing
Students at a table in a class in the Lea Library

nocred

Exploring revolutions through writing

A course taught by Professor of History Roger Chartier and Kislak Center curator John Pollack took students on a journey through revolutions as told through writing, tackling issues of both political and societal change.

3 min. read

A historic ode to the Fourth of July—in the Penn Libraries
A two-page spread of an aged printed broadside poem titled “An Ode for the 4th of July 1788,” with the left page featuring decorative vine-like borders framing the poem’s text and the right page mostly blank with faint, reversed text showing through the paper.

A broadside of “An Ode for the Fourth of July, 1788,” written by Francis Hopkinson. The copy, which previously belonged to Benjamin Franklin, is part of the Francis Hopkinson Collections at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. 

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Libraries)

A historic ode to the Fourth of July—in the Penn Libraries

“An Ode for the Fourth of July, 1788” is a songsheet by 1757 graduate and Declaration of Independence signer Francis Hopkinson held in the Kislak Center. It represents an early celebration of a new nation and a reckoning with what patriotism in a burgeoning democracy should look like.

3 min. read

Recreating the Declaration using 250-year-old techniques
adding ink to letterpress

nocred

Recreating the Declaration using 250-year-old techniques

From papermaking to typesetting, Penn’s Common Press has been working to print the Declaration of Independence using the same methods as in 1776. Members of the public can sign up through December to print their own copies.

4 min. read

Reading manuscripts in the digital space with handwritten text recognition
An old handwritten ledger from 1892.

Image: Johner Images via Getty Images

Reading manuscripts in the digital space with handwritten text recognition

Penn Libraries staff are using the platform eScriptorium to build machine-learning models that can transcribe handwritten manuscripts from across the world.

From Penn Libraries

2 min. read

Making paper for the Declaration’s anniversary
Kelly He makes paper at Historic Rittenhouse Town

Kelly He lifts the mould and deckle to drain water from the paper pulp.

nocred

Making paper for the Declaration’s anniversary

Learn the five steps to making paper as it was done in the Revolutionary era, part of a Common Press semiquincentennial project, alongside a class from the Weitzman School of Design.

5 min. read

Penn Reading Days in photos
A student studying in book stacks during Reading Days.

Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center

nocred

  • Photo Essay

    • Penn Reading Days in photos

    From the sixth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library with its view of College Hall, to tucked-away areas in bloom outdoors, students spent Reading Days putting the finishing touches on their studies, notes review, and final projects before Final Exam period begins.

    Penn Today Staff

    1 min. read

    History course brings Philadelphia’s ‘Revolutionary Stories’ to life
    Second-year David Sun examines primary source documents at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for his Revolutionary Stories project.

    Second-year David Sun examines primary source documents at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for his Revolutionary Stories project.

    nocred

    History course brings Philadelphia’s ‘Revolutionary Stories’ to life

    In a partnership with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania expanding students access to primary source documents, undergraduates examine the lives of regular Revolutionary-era Philadelphians.

    4 min. read