Financial Records

The first series, "Accounting records," probably originated in the Corporate Treasurer and Secretary's offices and consists of several ledgers, journals and registers. That series offers the earliest documentation, beginning in 1875 and 1876, when the museum's original site, Memorial Hall, housed the major art exhibition within the Centennial.

While general bookkeeping records track transactions up until the early 1920s, most of the investment and funding material pertains to later years. In particular are the individual investment records maintained on index cards, which date from the mid-1950s to late 1960s. The Assistant Treasurer appears to have generated most of the material in the second series, "Budgets, proposed and operating." Documentation includes operating expense reports, budget estimates, income forecasts and other reports related to the City's operating budget since the museum is partially funded through municipal appropriations. Most reports date from the 1960s and 1970s.

The final series, "City Planning Commission capital projects," focuses on the museum's funding through the City of Philadelphia. Much of the material dating approximately from 1940 to 1960 originated in the Director's office, specifically during the tenures of Fiske Kimball and Henri Marceau. There is also documentation of specific capital improvement projects at the museum that were inititated during the first half of the 1960s.