Friends Library marks 300th anniversary of William Penn’s death
The Library of the Society of Friends has posted a story online listing some of the ‘curios’ they have regarding William Penn’s life
The Library of the Society of Friends marked the 300th anniversary of William Penn’s death on 30 July by posting a story on its online blog ‘Quaker Strongrooms’ listing some of the ‘curios’ they have regarding his life.
The story, ‘William Penn: commemorations and curios’, was published on 19 July.
The Library has also written a new guide telling people how they can find out more about William Penn through the library’s collection. Friends can download the guide from their website.
Libby Adams, head of Library & Archives at Friends House in London, told the Friend that some of the objects and letters mentioned are un-catalogued. As well as archives and published material, she said: ‘there are items such as a china set with William Penn’s face on it’.
Some of the other material mentioned in the blog includes letters from William Penn. One example, ‘dated 13th of 11th month 1690’ (13 January 1691, in the modern calendar), is a letter from him to Margaret Fox, formerly Margaret Fell, telling her of the death of her husband, George Fox.
There are also representations in wood, silk and china of the treaty William Penn is thought to have agreed with the Native Americans in 1683 when establishing Pennsylvania.
The blog posting says that William Penn ‘has a complex legacy, however, which continues to be considered and reassessed today’.
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