For La Salle University's History 665 class

1. The Wister Family Collection
CONNELLY LIBRARY
DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

2. “An effective exhibit gives
reign to the visitor’s
imagination.
It should create a direct
link to an authentic
past, a sense of
immediacy and
intimacy.”
(National Park Services
Museum Handbook, Part III
, 2001)
Special Collections
houses a curated
collection of primary and
secondary
resources, which contain
rich possibilities for your
background research. Dr. Owen Jones Wister

3. Wister Collection Overview
This collection is comprised of a range of materials relating to the
prominent Philadelphians who are associated with the estates of Belfield,
Little Wakefield, Wakefield and Wister in the Germantown area of
Philadelphia. The bulk of this collection relates to Owen Wister (1860-
1938), author of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (1902), and to
members of the Wister family.
In addition to an excellent selection of works about Germantown history,
this collection includes books by and about Wister family members; as well
as archival material such as photographs, scrapbooks, and correspondence.
The collection includes ephemeral material, family-owned Bibles and
genealogical information. Spanning five generations, this collection reflects
the experiences of the family from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War
and both World Wars.

4. Archival Collections
Approximately five dozen Owen Wister letters, some
discussing The Virginian and a number discussing politics
(1900-1935)
The Starr Family Papers (1889-1992), being the personal
papers of Sarah Logan Wister Starr and her husband James,
chiefly concerned with the running of Belfield estate.
A small collection of personal papers of Sara Yorke
Stevenson (1847-1921), archeologist, Egyptologist, civic
leader, newspaper editor and columnist, and friend of
Frances Anne Wister.

5. The papers of Ethel Langhorne Wister
Chichester (1881-1977); including
correspondence with her father Jones
Wister (1839- 1917). The collection also
holds a corrected typescript of Jones
Wister’s Reminiscences (1920)
The papers of American horticulturalist
John Caspar Wister (1887-1982); including
correspondence, diaries and day books,
manuscripts of lectures and publications,
and garden and landscape plans. Works by
and about John C. Wister, primarily
related to gardening in the US.
Wister family photograph albums and
diaries, circa 1900-1930.

6. Searching the Catalog
The Wister Collection is fully cataloged. The library cataloged is configured
to sort by specific collections. To narrow results to the Wister Collection
select: Owen Wister Spec Coll. To find selections of archival materials
the following keyword searches are helpful:
• Diary
• Letters
• Papers
• Photograph album
Special Collections also maintains a separate Germantown History Collection.
For this project you may want to broaden your search to “All of Special Collections”
to find some other useful books. Some useful phrases to search:
• Germantown history
• Germantown historic
http://connelly.lasalle.edu/

7. Full
Inventories
Use the
Online “find
Multi-box archival feature”
collections have more
complete inventories of
collection contents linked
to the catalog record.
Certain catalog records
will have a link to View
the inventory online
Text embedded in the
collection inventories is
not indexed in the
catalog. But you can do a
basic word search of the
pdf using the embedded
search box.
You will find much more
rich description in these
item-by-item guides.

8. Online features
Our online features for this collection are undergoing a total “renovation.” Please use these links to
access our online features:
• Department website and collection overview
http://www.lasalle.edu/library/speccoll/wister.php
• For excellent articles and biographies from our old digital platform:
http://www.lasalle.edu/digital/articles.php
• Our new content management system for all of the digitized materials from Special Collections
(a.k.a. “Digital Collections”):
http://digitalcollections.lasalle.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15860coll2
In order to achieve a more up to date look, and allow for more interactive exhibit features online, we are
presently using Omeka web publishing to create a new website. Check out the free version of Omeka at:
Omeka.org

9. Can I Check Out the Book?
Some materials in Special Collections do
circulate, but due to the age and unique
nature of the material in this collection, all
items must be viewed in the Department’s
reading room during research hours.
Please contact me to find the best time to visit
the collection:
Sarah Seraphin
215-951-5166
seraphin@lasalle.edu