At the University of Pennsylvania, holdings relating to art and architecture may be found in the Anne & Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library; the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania; the University Archives & Records Center; and in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.
What follows is a broad overview of holdings in the Kislak Center. Listings here are not meant to be comprehensive but rather to indicate particular areas of strength.
Over one hundred early manuscripts in the Kislak Center's holdings contain decorations or illuminations.
Many others include illustrations, including drawings and diagrams. The collections also include early manuscripts and printed books on fortification, mathematics, geometry, and related disciplines.
Following is a list of major modern collections and items (19th century-present) connected broadly to art or architecture.
Daybooks (1820-1837), including sketches and letters,of the architect of the Eastern State Penitentiary and other buildings in the eastern United States.
Correspondence, diaries, photographs, and poems concerning this British family of writers and artists.
Album kept by the photographer, artist, caricaturist, and writer Nadar for sitters at his studio to sign, including drawings, poems, and music.
Prints, cartoons, caricatures, portraits, advertisements, devotional images, and small artworks, satirizing the state of medical practice, politics, or society, primarily from 19th century France.
(61 items): Mexican devotional paintings on metal sheets, primarily including medical imagery.
correspondence and working files (1876-1963) of the Beaux Arts architect and Penn professor of architecture.
Correspondence, manuscripts, and original works of art, 1893-1936, of these illustrators, printmakers, and writers of art criticism and travel books.
Correspondence, manuscripts, and notes by and relating to the life and work of Mumford (1895-1990), writer and critic of cities, technology, and American culture.
Correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, and research notes regarding Zigrosser's personal and professional life as founder and director of the Weyhe Gallery in New York and as the first Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Correspondence, diaries, and drawings, 1920-1946, of this American artist and children's book creator.
Correspondence, exhibition and events files, minutes, and other records, 1906-1990 (bulk 1915-1980), regarding this center and marketplace for the fine and performing arts.
Administrative files, exhibition files, catalogs, and other materials of the Penn-affiliated museum.
Over 2,500 original drawings, notebooks and scrapbooks, correspondence, books, posters, and other materials by this artist.
Collections of children's book designer and art director Atha Tehon (1926-2012), including files of designs for children's books.
Correspondence and research materials of this curator and art historian.
A significant collection 20th and 21st century artists' books displaying a wide variety of inspiration and technique.
Several thousand books produced by fine and private presses, mainly in America, from the nineteenth century up to the present.
[Description forthcoming]
Photographs and photography are contained in a number of different collections and, because of their great range, are difficult to categorize fully. The linked search provides an overview.
