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The journey of Franklin’s fire bell
The historic Academy Bell is on display in the Van Pelt Library.

The historic Academy Bell on display in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center.

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The journey of Franklin’s fire bell

A sister of Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell, Penn’s Academy Bell has been secreted from the city during the Revolutionary War, signaled the start of class and the outbreak of fires, hung in a church tower, and stored in basements around Penn’s campus before going on display.
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.

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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

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

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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

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

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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

Exploring popular culture and entertainment in 1920s Cairo

Exploring popular culture and entertainment in 1920s Cairo

A number of periodicals cropped up in 1920s Cairo that offered artistic critique, gossip, and cultural commentary, and several are available digitally and in person at the Penn Libraries.

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.

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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