The Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the History of the Wagner Free Institute of Science was a tricky collection to process–actually one of the hardest collection I ever processed! It was hard primarily because it is an artificial collection, created by Robert Chambers. Legend has it that Mr. Chambers, director of the Wagner from 1946 to 1981, pulled bits and pieces (the best bits and pieces) from collections to have close at hand when needed. As a result, this collection is FULL of great stuff, but none of it really belongs together.

Some of the incredible stuff in this collection includes information about Wagner’s early career as a supercargo with Philadelphia’s Stephen Girard, years’ worth of correspondence about Wagner’s specimen collections, details about Wagner’s divorce from Caroline and subsequent marriage to Louisa, and Wagner Free Institute of Science operations.

This collection was NOT processed in 2 hours per linear foot. It took a little less than 5 and a half hours per linear foot. I spent a fair amount of time trying to determine what went with what, and in the end, I think the finding aid is fairly successful.

On thing is certain, the Robert Chambers collection is a kind of “highlight” collection. To get the whole story on any part of the collection, other related collections will have to be consulted. That doesn’t take away from the fun of checking out a list of the books purchased by the Library Committee in 1903! This collection is a great starting point if you are interested in the natural sciences, the Wagner Free Institute of Science, William Wagner, divorce in the 1800s, or Stephen Girard’s shipping business!