Briefer Notices

BRIEFER NOTICES Prepared by John and Barbara Curtis 631 Walnut Lane Haverford, PA 19041 The annual meeting of Friends Historical Association was held on Monday , November 5, 1979, at 6:30 p.m. at the Arch Street Friends Meeting House. This marked the first annual meeting at a changed date following a revision of the bylaws which eliminated the old provision for the annual meeting to take place on the last Monday in November. Some 85 persons gathered in the East Room for an attractive catered dinner together, followed by the annual meeting presided over by the President, Mary Hoxie Jones. The business of the annual meeting was accomplished promptly. The feature of the gathering was a talk by Dr. Don Yoder of the University of Pennsylvania on Quaker culture in the Delaware Valley. Don Yoder provided slides to illustrate the material he had assembled. * * # On December 1st a large audience gathered in the auditorium on the grounds of the Winterthur Museum in Greenville, Delaware, to consider in greater detail the same topic, "Quaker Culture in the Delaware Valley." The moderator of this program was Dr. Yoder, who has been working on this project as part of a grant to the American Culture Program at Winterthur by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The day long program included talks, frequently illustrated by slides, on a variety of topics such as the distinctive contribution of Friends to colonial domestic and meeting house architecture, their influence on printing and bookbinding, their skills in botany and horticulture and their distinctive styles in domestic furnishings such as needlework, silversmithing and cabinetwork. * « ? Friends of Swarthmore Meeting celebrated the 100th anniversary of the completion of the meetinghouse on the college campus on the weekend of November 30 - December 1, 1979. The program, chaired by Jean A. Perkins, a faculty member at Swarthmore College, opened with a dinner in Whittier House, followed by talks in the meetinghouse by Everett Hunt, Dean emeritus of Swarthmore College and Julien Cornell of New York, an alumnus and a member of the Board of Managers, and a panel of commentators , consisting of David H. Scull, an alumnus and former Board member, John M. Moore, Professor emeritus of Philosophy and Religion, and William 'Beau' Weston, a student. On Saturday there was a continuation of the commemoration, held in Bond Hall, organized by the students. Everett Hunt and David H. Scull again spoke on the relationships of the meeting and the college. * ? « The Quaker historians and archivists have announced plans for a meeting in 1980 under the chairmanship of Arthur Worrall, Associate Professor of History at Colorado State University at Fort Collins. Arrangements have been made to gather on the campus of Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, on the weekend of June 28th to 30th. Papers will be presented by Professor Hugh Barbour of Earlham College and Professor Jack 62 BRIEFER NOTICES63 Marietta of the University of Arizona and possibly one or two others. For details about reservations, costs, etc., please write to Arthur Worrall at the address given above. * * * Don C. Skemer, Keeper of Manuscripts at the New Jersey Historical Society, informs us of the recent publication of a Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society. This hardback volume containing 265 pages replaces an earlier one prepared in 1957 by Fred Shelley. The new guide is fully indexed, including over 5,000 names, places and subjects. It is priced at $20.00, plus $1.00 postage and handling, and is obtainable from the Society at 230 Broadway, Newark, New Jersey 07104. * * * Nearly 30 years ago, Professor Arthur E. James published a small book on the potteries of Chester County, Pennsylvania. It has long been out of print. Hence, cultural historians as well as craftsmen in the ceramics field will be pleased to learn of the publication of a much enlarged edition in 1979 of Dr. James' Potters and Potteries of Chester County, Pennsylvania. The book includes much new material based on the study and research of recent years. The volume may be obtained for $20.00 from Chester County Historical Society at West Chester, Pennsylvania. * * * The Canadian Friends Historical Association held its annual meeting for 1979 on December 1st...