LibGuides: WCU Digital Collections: Philips Autograph

Autographs

Click on the link to view the digitized autograph pages.

The Philips Autograph Collection
The Philips Autographed Collection of books is one of the treasures of West Chester University. It includes autographied copies of books collected by Dr. George Morris Philips during his tenure as principal of West Chester State Normal School (1880-1920). The collection's value is not the books themselves but the inscribed autographs, comments, and drawings that were solicited by Dr. Philips. Thus, only the autographed pages have been digitized.
Philips collected many books published during that time, including both popular and scholarly books autographed by many of the most prominent authors of the day, such as Helen Keller, Mark Twain, John Philip Sousa, and many others.
The collection passed to his son, William Pyle Philips, who donated the Philips Autographed Library to West Chester University in 1952. Though the core collection was gathered from 1880-1920, through the years additional titles have been acquired by the University.

Digital Statement

The autographs were digitized through a cooperative effort between the WCU Special Collections and the Keystone Library Network (KLN) Digital Collections. The KLN represents the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and other affiliated libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Bloomsburg University, Kutztown University, Millersville University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University currently each contribute to the Keystone Library Network of Pennsylvania Digital Collections.

Access

The Philips Autographed Collection is housed in the Philips Autograph Library on the second floor of Philips Memorial Hall. It is reccomended that you use the digitized copies online. If you are interested in accessing the physical collection, Please contact the Special Collections Librarian for more information.

Rights Statement

Digital images in University Libraries' Digital Collections are issued by Special Collections, Francis Harvey Green Library, West Chester University. Images are provided for non-commercial, educational, and personal use only, and are not intended for reproduction or redistribution. For the above purposes the user may reproduce these materials (by download, printing, etc.) without further permission, on the condition that proper attribution of the source for all copies is provided by clearly acknowledging the name of the Library, the title of the web page or resource and the URL at which it was located, please credit as follows: Special Collections, Francis Harvey Green Library, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania. For questions regarding use of digital materials contact Special Collections (libspeccol@wcupa.edu or 610-436-3456). Special Collections assumes no responsibility for direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental infringement of copyright by content users.