The Curtis Publishing Company was founded in 1891 by publisher Cyrus H. K. Curtis, who published the People's Ledger, a news magazine he had begun in Boston in 1872 and moved to Philadelphia in 1876. The company’s most famous publication ... Read more
Joshua Ballinger Lippincott (1813- 86) founded the publishing company J. B. Lippincott & Co in 1836. The business began publishing Bibles and prayer books before expanding into history, biography, fiction, poetry, and gift books. The co... Read more
The building that currently houses the Locks Gallery at 600 South Washington Square is the former home of Lea & Febiger, and dates to 1925, when Lea & Febiger commissioned the building’s design and construction to hold its editori... Read more
The U.S. medical publishing industry got its start in Philadelphia in the early nineteenth century, and the Philadelphia region has maintained its preeminence in the industry ever since. The largest of all medical publishers, W.B. Saunders ... Read more
Founded in 1809, the Walnut St Theater is said to be the oldest continuously operating theater in the English-speaking world and the oldest in the United States and the first copyright law protecting American plays has its roots at the Waln... Read more
Situated in the heart of the original city plan for Philadelphia, on Sansom Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets and on Eighth Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, Jewelers Row reflected the architectural and developmental histo... Read more
Bricklayer Jacob Graff built this modest three floor house in the 1770s, with the intention to have its second floor let for extra income. The second Continental Congress soon brought to the house a slim, ginner haired lodger named Thomas J... Read more
Independence hall is the building where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted. It is now the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park. The building w... Read more
Philadelphia served as the capital of the United States both during and immediately after the American Revolutionary War. Congress Hall served as the seat of the United States Congress from December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800.[2][3] During Con... Read more
The first drudgery of settling new colonies is now pretty well over," wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1743, "and there are many in every province in circumstances that set them at ease, and afford leisure to cultivate the finer arts, and improve... Read more
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout a... Read more
The American Bible Society was founded in 1816 by Christians who were committed to the Bible and to the end of slavery. The first President was Elias Boudinot, who had been President of the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1783. The Americ... Read more
Christ Church Burial Ground was founded by the Christ Church as a supplementary burial ground in 1719. It is one of the most significant American cemeteries holding 1400 markers on two acres. Some of the United States’ most historic leade... Read more
The National Constitution Center was created by the Constitution Heritage Act. Approved on September 16, 1988 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, the act defined the National Constitution Center as "within or in close proximity to the In... Read more
Elfreth's Alley is the nation's oldest residential street. Elfreth’s Alley was not included in original plans for Philadelphia, but as Philadelphia became a bustling city, artisans and merchants purchased or rented property close to t... Read more
Quirk publishes just 25 strikingly un-conventional books per year, and every title is a labor of love born out of our passions and obsessions. Always looking to set the next trend, Quirk delivers books and stories that are bold, unprecedent... Read more
In 1728, when Franklin was 22 years old, he entered a partnership with Hugh Meredith, a co-worker at Keimer’s Printing Shop. With a loan from Meredith’s father, who had a high regard for Franklin, they were able to rent a house and impo... Read more
When John Adams arrived in Philadelphia in August of 1774, to attend the First Continental Congress, he was greeted by leading citizens and immediately taken to the tavern he would call “the most genteel tavern in America.” The tavern A... Read more
Mathew Carey was an Irish-born American publisher and economist who lived and worked in Philadelphia. He entered the bookselling and printing business in Ireland in 1775, and at the age of seventeen published a pamphlet criticizing dueling.... Read more
