The collection consists of a day book kept by an unidentified carpenter in the Philadelphia area from 1796 to 1799.

Charles Dutilh (1803-1882) was prominent in the work of commerce in Philadelphia and served as the president of the Pennsylvania Company for Insurance. This collection includes three autograph-signed letters from or to Charles Dutilh during the mid-nineteenth century. The letters concern Charles Dutilh's involvement in Philadelphia societies, such as the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society and the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances.

This collection represents materials collected by Cyrus J. Sharer for his research on the iron and steel industry and particularly the world iron ore trade. The main emphasis is on the iron ore trade of the Great Lakes. The period covered, mid-1960s to mid-1980s, was one of crisis and reorganization in the American steel industry and in the lake ore trade, and this is reflected in the records.

The Leeds & Northrup Company thrived throughout the twentieth century as a premier manufacturer of precision measuring and scientific equipment. The bulk of the Leeds & Northrup Electrical Power Systems records come from three employees, whose work at Leeds & Northrup spanned from 1928-1981: W. Spencer Bloor (1918-2002), Nathan Cohn (1907-1989), and S. Byron Morehouse. All worked within the Instrumentation and Controls for Electric Power Application Division. The records include papers, presentations, correspondence, memos, blueprints, and other materials relating to the development of a national electrical power grid in the United States. Technological and commercial developments in automatic electric power generation control, stabilization of energy load across regions, and problems of interconnection feature prominently in these materials.

In 1811, Girard's Bank was established in the former First Bank of the United States headquarters in order to maintain adequate banking facilities for Philadelphia. This manuscript lists all of the stockholders of the Girard Bank as of October 22, 1839.

John Foster Tucker III (1950-2008) was a Philadelphia-born rail transit operating official and rail history enthusiast. This collection consists of photographs of trolleys, trains, rails lines, and rail stations in Philadelphia and the city's Pennsylvania suburbs, as well as offices, maintenance shops, and garages used by transit authorities. Most of the collection is devoted to SEPTA, but predecessor companies PTC (Philadelphia Transportation Company) and PSTC (Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company) are also represented.

John Krider (1813-1886) was one of Philadelphia's most prominent gunsmiths during the nineteenth century. This item is a receipt book containing the signatures of numerous Philadelphia merchants.

The brothers Louis Edward Levy (1846-1919) and Max Levy (1857-1926) founded a photoengraving business in Baltimore in 1875. In 1877 they moved to Philadelphia and reorganized the firm as the Levytype Company. Here they introduced their invention (jointly patented on January 4, 1875) of a new photochemical engraving process, which they called "Levy-type". This album contains personal cyanotype photographs of their homes, travels, friends and family.

The Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia was founded on May 19th, 1887 by members of the Philadelphia Manufacturers Association, a group of leading Philadelphia industrialists that predominantly consisted of textile executives. The guest book for the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia contains the names and signatures of both guests and the members that accompanied or introduced them, along with the city from which they were visiting.

Manigault's papers consist of her own diaries and correspondence between her and Gabrielle Josephine du Pont (1770-1836), both which document the life of a female member of Charleston's merchant-planter elite during the Early National Period, and the web of connections linking Charleston, New York and Philadelphia society.

Mary Augusta Lammot (1811-1905) was a daughter of Daniel Lammot (1782-1877) and Susan Parham Beck Lammot (1786-1817). The letter is from Mary Augusta Lammot to her sister, Margaretta Lammot du Pont (1807-1898), describing her visit to Philadelphia, the things she saw there, and the people she met.

The Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and the Useful Arts was a membership organization of Philadelphia's political, mercantile, and manufacturing elite to promote the causes of domestic manufacturers, particularly textiles. The Pennsylvania Manufacturing Society accounts include a ledger of both the general and special accounts of the manufacturing fund. The bulk of the transactions are from the period of active operations, with the settlement of accounts taking place between 1790 and 1801.

The Philadelphia Commercial Museum (PCM) was a museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its collections were focused on worldwide manufacturing and trade, with an emphasis on domestic and foreign commerce relations. The museum operated from 1897 to 1994 and was also known as the Philadelphia Museums and the Philadelphia Civic Center Museum. Curatorial areas of note include extensive African, Asian, and South American collections, as well as a large ship model collection. PCM also served as a location for conventions and trade shows through the 1990s; it was affiliated with the Port of History Museum in Philadelphia. The bulk of the collection material dates from the 1910s to the 1990s. This collection includes photographs, diagrams, object inventories, financial ledgers, board minutes, advertisements, brochures, and trade publications. The collection would be useful to researchers interested in Philadelphia museums and the history of trade and commerce.

The lithographs include the following Philadelphia printers' names: E. Beaulieu; Herline & Co.; King & Baird; Wagner & McGuigan; and W. H. Rease. This is a group of nine mid-nineteenth century lithographs showing illustrations of Philadelphia factories.

The Philadelphia Maritime Exchange was formed in 1875 for the purpose of circulating marine intelligence relating to the port of Philadelphia. The records consist primarily of account books, including journals (1912-1942), ledgers (1875-1896), cash books (1875-1957), trial balances (1897-1903, 1911-1941), and invoice books (1922-1925).

The Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company operated bus and trolley lines, many of which originated in Upper Darby Township on the western border of Philadelphia and served Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Suburban Station and the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company building are both located in Center City. The Red Arrow transportation lines are found in Philadelphia's western suburbs. This small collection consists of photographs of Suburban Station, railroad and trolley tracks, and bus shelters.

Red Arrow Lines, Inc. was a suburban transit company. This collection contains photographs of Red Arrow Lines transit vehicles and stations that were used in book R. DeGraw, Red Arrow Lines.

Strawbridge & Clothier was the last family-owned major department store chain in the Greater Philadelphia area. The store was founded as a partnership by Justus C. Strawbridge (1838-1911) and Isaac H. Clothier (1837-1921) on July 1, 1868 at 8th and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia. This collection contains photographs, negatives, transparencies, lantern slides, glass negatives, slides, audio tapes, videotapes, and films from Strawbridge & Clothier. It is valuable to those researching all aspects of retail: history, architecture, department stores, shopping malls, employment, operations, promotion, advertising, fashion, and merchandising. Other topics include family-owned businesses, distinguished Quaker families, business response on the homefront during World War II, the Gallery and Market East, and Philadelphia and its environs. There are also proposal albums from the Pavlik Design Team of store design for the Cherry Hill, King of Prussia, and Willow Grove stores and from Neil/Carter Design Associates for Heritage Hall in the Market Street store.

William Young (1755-1829) was a Philadelphia bookseller and later a manufacturer at Rockland, Delaware. Three surveyor's plats marking the route of canal through White-Hall estate, William Young's property in Philadelphia.

William H. Horstmann & Sons was a manufacturer and retailer of silk products for civilian and military clothing between 1815 and 1940. This item is a steel engraving by Samuel Sartain of the William H. Horstmann & Sons manufactory and sales room building in Philadelphia.