Please click on the database you'd like to use.
HSP Discover (Catalog)
HSP Digital History
HSP Digital Library
HSP Encounters (Genealogy Databases)
J. G. Brill Company Photograph Index
Lantern Slide Index
| Database | Notes |
|---|---|
| HSP Discover (Catalog) | Contains records describing printed materials, archival collections, digital records, and names associated with HSP collections. Hint Start here! |
| HSP Digital History | Curated digital history exhibits prepared by HSP staff including "Closed for Business: The Story of Bankers Trust Company during the Great Depression", "Preserving American Freedom", "Pennsylvania Abolition Society Papers", "PhilaPlace", and the "William Still Digital History Project". |
| HSP Digital Library | Images of photographs, artwork, cartoons, and manuscripts, most of which are part of HSP's collections. |
| HSP Encounters (Genealogy Databases) | A database system containing 428,000 records referencing names found in HSP collections.
Sources include Oliver H. Bair Company funeral records, Philadelphia Home for Infants registers,
Philadelphia Placement Office registers, Home Missionary Society of Philadelphia records and others. Hint This system is a great resource for family history researchers. |
| J. G. Brill Company Photograph Index | The J. G. Brill Company Photograph Index offers a searchable database of photographs of Brill
railcars available at HSP. The collection consists of approximately 16,000 photographs, 6,000
glass-plate negatives, 10,000 acetate negatives, and thirteen order books, and documents the wide
array of products manufactured by Brill. The photographs include interior and exterior views of
railroad cars, trolleys, buses, ambulances, and trucks, as well as images of undercarriages, small
parts, and seats. The database is free to the public. Hint Copies of Brill photographs may be ordered through HSP's rights and reproductions service. |
| Lantern Slide Index | Consisting of images painted or developed photographically on glass plates, lantern slides were first created in the 18th century. This index describes more than 2700 glass lantern slides from various HSP collections, including images of landmarks in Philadelphia and surrounding areas, portraits of local prominent individuals, and reproductions of work by artists associated with the region. |
If you are an HSP member and are having problems accessing these resources, please contact library@hsp.org for assistance.
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