George E. Nitzsche Unitariana Collection 1778-2007; bulk: 1791-1956 Guide to the Collection The original autographs in this collection have been removed to Special Collections. Photocopies are available for use by researchers.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Arrangement Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

George E. Nitzsche was born in 1874 and grew up in Nazareth, Penn. He attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1898 and, after graduation, worked as bursar and registrar of the law school for six years. In 1904, he became manager of the University of Pennsylvania Bureau of Publicity, and in 1912, his title was changed from publicity agent to recorder. In his capacity as recorder, Nitzsche provided general information about the university to students and the public, promoted and managed university events, and collected archival material about the university and its alumni.

Nitzsche's publications include The Proceedings at the Dedication of the New Building of the Department of Law of the University of Pennsylvania (1901), Official Guide to the University of Pennsylvania (1904), University of Pennsylvania: Its History, Traditions, Buildings and Memorials (1914), and Philadelphia: Guide to the City (1920). In November 1902, he founded the alumni publication Old Penn, later renamed The Pennsylvania Gazette.

Nitzsche was a member of the Unitarian Society of Germantown (Penn.) and the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, where he served on the board of trustees for 18 years. From 1923 to 1953, through a combination of gifts and purchases, he collected autographs of renowned Unitarians for the George E. Nitzsche Unitariana collection. He gave the collection to the Unitarian Society of Germantown in 1954.

Nitzsche was married to Elsa Koenig Nitzsche, and the couple had two daughters: Elsa and Helma. Nitzsche died on July 28, 1961.

Collection Description

This collection consists of over 200 documents, primarily letters, containing the autographs of eminent Unitarians and other liberal religious thinkers from the United States and abroad. Among the individuals represented are politicians, authors, scientists, reformers, clergymen, scholars, educators, businessmen, and judges. Included are autographs of John Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, William Ellery Channing, James Freeman Clarke, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Dorothea Dix, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Horace Mann, Harriet Martineau, Theodore Parker, Francis Parkman, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Daniel Webster, and many others.

Although the papers span four centuries, the bulk of the material dates from the 19th century. Among the earliest items are a letter from Vice President John Adams to Secretary of War Henry Knox, 1791, and an 1801 "sea letter," or ship's passport, signed by both Thomas Jefferson and Levi Lincoln. Other highlights include a rare introspective letter from Transcendentalist author Margaret Fuller to Mary Peabody, later Mrs. Horace Mann; a 34-page handwritten account by Harriet Martineau of her transatlantic voyage in 1836; a letter from educator Elizabeth Palmer Peabody about her historical works; and a few lines by Ralph Waldo Emerson from his poem "Voluntaries," written to commemorate the 54th Massachusetts Regiment's attack on Fort Wagner, S.C.

The collection also contains articles, booklets, programs, posters, and other printed material related to famous Unitarians, Unitarianism, and other religious subjects. Included are books by Joseph Priestley and Charles William Wendte.

Arrangement

The papers in this collection are organized alphabetically by author. When the collection came to the Massachusetts Historical Society, some folders contained supplemental material, such as printed matter or correspondence, related to an individual whose autograph Nitzsche hoped to acquire but never did. These folders have been retained.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased from the Unitarian Society of Germantown, July 2008.

Restrictions on Access

The original autographs in this collection have been removed to Special Collections. Photocopies are available for use by researchers.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

George E. Nitzsche Unitariana collection, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives. Included are portraits of Charles Gordon Ames, George Boros, George William Curtis, William Greenleaf Eliot, Jr., William M. Gilbert, Samuel Longfellow, William Wells Newell, George E. Nitzsche, C. J. Street, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Philip Henry Wicksteed, as well as other photographs and engravings related to individuals in this collection.