Wolf Papers Now Available to Researchers

The personal and professional papers of Edwin Wolf 2nd are now available for research! Containing correspondence, research files, books, photographs, and other records, the Wolf Papers document the education, career, and family life of one of Philadelphia’s most prominent 20th-century bookmen.

Edwin Wolf 2nd (1911-1991) was a librarian, bibliophile, author, historian, Franklin scholar, and civic leader in Philadelphia. Wolf joined the Library Company as Curator in 1953 and became the Librarian in 1955, a post he held until 1984. During those years, he led the organization through a period of rejuvenation, growth, and prosperity. In particular, Wolf recognized the value of the collections and the potential of the Library Company as a non-circulating scholarly research library. He facilitated the move from the Ridgway Library on South Broad Street to the current location, refined the collecting scope to focus on American history and culture through 1880, and helped to increase the visibility of the Library Company through his Annual Reports, which led to donations of material, as well as funding.

Jessica Hoffman, who served as Project Assistant for the Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives project, was thrilled to assist with the processing of the collection. She says, “I feel as if I’ve gotten to know Edwin Wolf fairly well through this endeavor. As a student and new professional in the field, I regard this as a great honor. His perseverance and enthusiasm for the Library Company is evident in our rich collections and in our continuing and varied efforts to serve the research needs of people all over the world.”

View the finding aid for a comprehensive description of this collection. Funding for the Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives Project of the Council on Library and Information Resources was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.