Date of Award
4-20-2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. John Gordon
Second Advisor
Dr. Robert Kenzer
Abstract
"The Robert W. Ryerss Museum and Library: A Case Study in Upper Class Philanthropy in Late Victorian Philadelphia" looks at the philanthropy of the Robert W. Ryerss family in Gilded Age Philadelphia. It places the Ryerss family within the spectrum of philanthropic spirit and activity that swept upper class Philadelphia in the late nineteenth century and analyzes the unique act of creating a public library and museum out of a private home within the context of the larger trend of scientific giving and museum foundation that characterized this era. Historical scholarship is extremely limited about this particular class of donor because most researchers have chosen to focus on the prolific philanthropists of the age or on the grass-roots charitable organization societies. This study will aid future historians assembling a more complete look at upper class American philanthropy at the end of the nineteenth century.
Recommended Citation
Keefe, Laura L., "The Robert W. Ryerss Museum and Library : a case study in upper class philanthropy in late Victorian Philadelphia" (2004). Honors Theses. 435.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/435