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Membership · New Books · Donate · Current Exhibition · Event Calendar |
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Banner Image: A Southwestern View of Washington Square, by Frank H. Taylor, c. 1910
Members Only Sale and Reception Friday June 1, 5:00-7:00PM
Contact Susan Gallo at sgallo@PhilaAthenaeum.org or 215-925-2688 to RSVP for the members only event.
Regular Book Sale Hours Saturday, June 2, 11:00AM-3:00PM Mon-Fri,
June 4-8, 10:00AM-4:00PM
Lecture and Book Signing: Robert Morris Skaler, Society Hill and Old City
When: June 7, 3:30pm Free for Athenaeum Members. RSVP to Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688 or
sgallo@philaathenaeum.org
All others $10. For more
information about these events or to pay online, click
here.
Athenaeum Wins Public Service Award
Right: Athenaeum staff at the Preservation Achievement Awards (L-R) Michael Seneca, Bruce Laverty, Denise Fox, Jim Carroll, Sandra Tatman, Walter Rice. Photo Courtesy of The Preservation Alliance. Athenaeum Building to be Subject of ICAA Sketching Social
Above: Sketch of the Athenaeum by Charles Chauncey Savage, 2010. Member Critics
Having grown up in poverty certainly gave Dickens an empathic regard for the poor (how many well-heeled young authors might have written Oliver Twist!), but deprived him of no more than a most rudimentary education. Yet, not much fazed him, and in his prime Dickens managed to juggle four publishers and an adoring public. Dickens never seemed at a loss for inspiration; he almost automatically seemed to produce a best seller. Nevertheless, he was very hard-working and rarely took a vacation. On the other hand he very much enjoyed his friends and family. Reportedly, besides novels, he seems to have been a pretty good playwright. Submitted by Dr. Harold Rashkis.
Do you have a book that you loved (or hated), and would you be willing to share that opinion on the Athenaeum e-newsletter? If so, please send your short essay to sltatman@philaathenaeum.org.
Hours: Monday-Friday: 9:00am-5:00pm First Saturdays: 11:00am-3:00pm (excluding July and August)
219 S. 6th Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-925-2688
The building is accessible to persons with disabilities. Group tours and research visits are by appointment only.
The Athenaeum does not share this mailing list. You can Subscribe or Unsubscribe at the Athenaeum website. To read past issues, visit the Newsletter Archive.
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The
Athenaeum will hold a used book sale the first week of June. It
will begin with a special members only event.
In the 18th century, Society Hill was home to wealthy merchants and many members of the federal government. In Old City, artisans and workmen lived and worked in small row houses like those on Elfreth’s Alley. As Philadelphia developed, it abandoned its Colonial center. Almost forgotten by 1900, Society Hill’s once gracious houses had become run-down tenements, shops, and warehouses. Yet, at the same time, Society Hill remained Philadelphia’s banking and insurance center. Beginning in the 1960s, under the direction of city planner Edmund Bacon and the National Park Service, this neighborhood was restored. Society Hill and Old City documents how these two neighborhoods looked in the early 1900s. Robert Morris Skaler is an architect, architectural historian, and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture. He is the author of
West Philadelphia: University City to 52nd Street and Philadelphia’s Broad Street: South and
North. Refreshments and book signing to follow. 
The Athenaeum is pleased to
once again join more than 1,500 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer. Memorial Day launched Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families; the program runs through Labor Day
2012. Leadership support for this national program has been provided by the MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families.
The
Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia presented the Athenaeum with
its Public Service Award for “preservation in the public interest” at
its luncheon on May 8. This recognition is testimony to the vital role that
the Athenaeum plays in the preservation movement in Philadelphia,
particularly through its on-line services, the 
The Institute for Classical Architecture and Art, Philadelphia Chapter, will hold its monthly informal sketching social on Saturday June 16 from 10:30AM to 12:30 PM. The event is free for all and sketchers are invited to meet directly across 6th Street from the Athenaeum Building. Following the outdoor session the group will go to a nearby restaurant for a casual lunch/drinks. For more information consult the
Claire
Tomalin, Charles Dickens, A Life. New York: Penguin, 2011. 
Location: