American Swedish Historical Museum
1900 Pattison Ave.
Philadelphia , PA 19145
(215) 389-1776
http://www.americanswedish.org

Contact Person:
Margaretha Talerman, Curator, info@americanswedish.org

Scope of the collection:

The American Swedish Historical Museum was established in 1926 to record and celebrate the contribution of Swedish-Americans. The museum illustrates the history of Sweden in the years before the Swedes landed in the Wilmington area in 1638, and continues with the lives of those who founded New Sweden in 1643, and its aftermath . The library was organized in 1941 with a mission to collect one copy of every Swedish-American publication in existence. Its holdings are accessible via catalogue cards and through an online catalogue, both of which are available on site (the computer catalogue is not remotely accessible at the moment). The extensive collection of secondary materials center on the history of Swedes in America, and contains a number of publications by Amandus Johnson, perhaps most responsible for highlighting the contribution of New Sweden and began publishing on the subject in 1911. In addition, the secondary materials include family and town histories that aid in genealogical research.

The library also possesses a collection of rare books dating from the early seventeenth century. They are not as yet catalogued but can be accessed by contacting the Curator or Director. While being important resources for those interested in early American colonies – especially trade with Native Americans (before William Penn) and overseas commerce – they are written primarily in old Swedish and will prove difficult to translate.