Join us for an evening filled with fancy menus, the history of brewing and wine making, and recipes for non-alcoholic botanicals and teas – all based on drinks in the archives!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

6:00pm – 8:00pm
Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Central
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Free
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drinks-in-the-archives-tickets-50460009246

More than a dozen local archival institutions will be at the Free Library the evening of October 10th to celebrate drinks in the archives, from medicinal tonics to beer, with hands-on activities and views of rarely seen material. Stop by to learn what drinks were popular during the temperance movement (and how to make them), see brewery advertisements from the 19th century, and participate in a 1935 party game! Plus, live music from Ken Kweder and Company featuring drinking songs, and a drink-inspired treasure hunt throughout the library with prizes!

Participating Institutions

Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia
The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia cares for the archives of The Union League of Philadelphia, including their extensive collection of menus from the 1860s to the present. The display includes original menus from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century and a cocktail recipe book that dates from the 1950s. Stop by to pick up your own copies of some of their traditional recipes, including the League’s signature drink—the Union League Appetizer.

Barnes Foundation Archives
The Barnes Foundation may be world-renown for its amazing art collection but its archives holds some items of an even more intoxicating nature: recipes for bootleg wine and beer sent from artists William Glackens and Charles Demuth ; receipts for the purchase of cases of fine French wine made by the Doctor’s favorite art dealer ; photographs documenting a happy hour of scotch and soda on the terrace in Merion ; fancy menus featuring wine pairings. Share in some of the humor and good times that were once had at the Foundation, and pick up a recipe to make your own homemade apple wine.

Bryn Athyn Historic District Archives at Glencairn Museum
View material supporting the “Wet” movement for repealing Prohibition, including political “cartoons” and propaganda from the early 20th century.

Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Our topic for this year’s theme of drinks will examine and display temperance pamphlets that proclaimed the evils and dangers of drinking alcohol. The pamphlets date from the late 1800s to the early 1900s with many published in Philadelphia. Our activity is giving out alcohol free drink recipes found in the Catholic Standard from the late 1800s.

Drexel University Archives
Making and sharing drinks has long been an important part of student life at Drexel University, most popularly at social events like the coffee gatherings during Homecoming weekend in the 1910s and sororities’ “Parents Tea” during the 1970s. But the University Archives also contain recipes from Home Economics and Domestic Science departments as well as information about what students drank daily at dining halls and food rooms. Stop by our table to learn more about what Philadelphia college students from the distant and not-too-distant past drank during their time as students at Drexel University and pick up a recipe book so you can recreate these beverages at home!

Free Library of Philadelphia
— The Art Department
— Culinary Literacy Center – Pre-registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drinks-in-the-archives-drinking-chocolate-and-cacao-tea-with-shane-confectionary-tickets-50458909958
Join head chocolate maker Kevin Paschall of Shane Confectionary for an interactive drinking chocolate and botanical cacoa tea make and taste class. First, participants will fill tea sachets with ground cacao nibs and their choice of spices and flowers to steep in hot water, producing a customized version of a historic cacao tea recipe.
— The Business Resource & Innovation Center (BRIC)
Come and see different sign displays for patents, trademarks, trade secrets & copyrights relating to drinking and adult beverages, and hear musical jingles promoting popular drinks.
— The Print and Picture Collection
— The Rare Book Department
Drop by the Rare Book Department table and check out a 2500 year old Sumerian clay tablet for the purchase of barley to make beer, Charles Dickens’s punch recipe, or a more recent 19th century copy of the The foundation of death : a study of the drink-question by Axel Gustafson.
— The Map Collection
Swing by the Map Collection display to get a taste of nineteenth century Philadelphia and its thriving whiskey industry. Local handbooks, industrial site surveys, and an atlas illustrate the booming liquor trade in pre-Prohibition Philadelphia.
— The Theatre Collection
— The Children’s Literature Research Collection
On view will be fun beverage-related items from the 1830s through the present, including original artwork, manuscripts, and ephemera of famous authors and illustrators.
— The Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music

Girard College
Stephen Girard was one of the first Americans to trade with China and tea was the big import, everything from Twankey to Hyson to Souchong. Stop by to see a variety of tea-related archival materials from the early 19th-century as well as modern samples of the different kinds of tea for visitors to examine and smell. There will also be documents relating to more potent potables that Girard exported from America and some examples of historic school menus from Girard College.

Hagley Museum and Library
Stop by the Hagley Museum and Library table and see what insights a library of American enterprise can provide into the business of beverages. Satisfy your curiosity about the creation of cocktail culture, participate in a 1935 party game, and go home with a beverage-related button!

Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Throughout the centuries, alcohol – either stand-alone or as a carrier for herbs, fruits, and flowers – has been used in medicine, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Learn about tonics, syrups, and waters (made from alcohol) used to treat all sorts of illnesses, including preventing the plague. You can even try your hand at “mixing” your own herbal medicinal tonic!

Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s collections contain a wide variety of materials relating to beverages, including recipes from brewers, home cooks, and professional mixologists; records of various breweries, soda companies, liquor dealers, and wine merchants; catalogues and advertising and marketing materials related to the beverage industry; and prohibition and temperance-themed records and printed matter. Stop by our table to view a sampling of these items and to test your drink recipe and history knowledge!

Joseph Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia brewing industry was dominated by German immigrants in the 19th century. The German Society of Pennsylvania will showcase some of its holdings on beer and wine making and local beer historian Rich Wagner will display some of his Philadelphia breweriana to accompany examples of the library’s brewery advertisements.

Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA
Germans in the Philadelphia countryside, whose identities tended to be religious—Mennonite, Brethren, Lutheran, Reformed, etc.—tried to live pious and conscientious lives. In early years, distilling and moderate alcohol consumption were part of life; most German farmers made wine and cider for use at home through the 19th century. They also enjoyed non-alcoholic drinks such as peppermint water and garden tea for refreshment on hot summer days (pick up some recipes to try at our table!). As the Evangelical movement grew, strict temperance became the dominant view, especially among Mennonites and Brethren. Today, opposition has relaxed and it is not uncommon to find beer or wine at family picnics.

Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University
One of the signature design features for fashion designer Nicole Miller is her use of bold, themed prints for her scarves and ties. Within these themes, Miller has often returned to the use of food and drink to create bright and energetic designs. The FHCC will showcase these drink related objects, while also inviting visitors to take part in designing their own drink-themed patterns using reproduced design elements from Miller’s iconic prints.

Shane Confectionery & The Franklin Fountain’s Collection of Confectionery & Ice Cream History
Explore the Golden Age of the American soda fountain and ice cream parlor with Shane Confectionery & The Franklin Fountain. Check out their collections to learn why this aspect of American culture coincided with the Temperance Movement, and sample early fountain drinks based on turn-of-the century receipt books.

The Stoogeum: A Museum of Three Stooges Memorabilia
Can you imagine seeing the Three Stooges with a drink in hand? The Stoogeum presents items detailing performances that the Stooges made at various night clubs across the country. See if you can plan a dinner on a budget at Slapsy Maxie’s in Hollywood and take a cocktail recipe home with you.

Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center
From Hire’s Root Beer to Frank’s Black Cherry Wishniak, iconic soft drinks from Philadelphia’s history are highlighted in archival materials from Temple University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center, including photographs, print advertisements, archival documents, and even a mini-zine all about soda. Think you know soda history? Test your knowledge with our trivia game.

Westtown School
A variety of liquids quenched the thirst of 19th-century students and teachers at Westtown School, a Quaker school founded in 1799 outside Philadelphia (and still operating today). Play some trivia games while learning about what they were drinking as they dined and the operation of the school’s own dairy farm that supplied milk for the table. Student letters, farm records, and artifacts such as glass milk bottles and pewter cups and coffee pots all tell the story of quenching Quaker thirst.