John Haviland papers. Volume 3: Specifications, Agreements & Memorandums
- Description
- Includes personal and business correspondence, bills of materials required for building, rough sketch drawings, and estimates, 1827-1839.
- Creator
- Haviland, John, 1792-1852
- Form
- manuscripts (documents)
- specifications
- agreements
- memorandums
- Date
- 1827 to 1839
- Language
- English
- Subject
- Architecture
- Extent
- 1 volume
- Notes
- John Haviland was born December 15, 1792 in Somerset, England. In 1811, he moved to London and apprenticed with James Elmes, an architect who became known as both a scholar and a critic. In 1815, he traveled to Russia, hoping to work with the Russian Imperial Corp of Engineers. Instead, he met John Quincy Adams and George von Sonntag who suggested that he work in the United States. Haviland moved to Philadelphia in 1816 and began practicing as a professional architect in an office at 26 North Fifth Street in Philadelphia. He is best known for the Eastern State Penitentiary, the PA Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and the original Franklin Institute building; but also designed a number of churches, other prisons and, public buildings, and renovated portions of Independence Hall. He is also known for his book The builder's assistant, published in three volumes, which provided architectural patterns. This publication, "a landmark event in American neo-classical architecture" (Moss), was probably one of the earliest architectural pattern books published in American, and it increased his visibility, making him a well-known and prominent architect in his time. His popularity may have led to over-ambitious projects and plans and he was, at one point, bankrupt. His work reputation in Philadelphia was somewhat damaged, but he continued to work, particularly on building prisons in East Coast states and the Midwest. Haviland married Mary Wright von Sonntag (sister of George von Sonntag) in 1919 and they were the parents of John von Sonntag de Haviland (1826-1886). Haviland was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the National Academy of Design. He died on March 28, 1852.
- Related works
- Digital facsimile for browsing (Colenda): v.1: https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3mp4vv0j
- Digital facsimile for browsing (Colenda): v.2: https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3mp4w90s
- Digital facsimile for browsing (Colenda): v.3: https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p31g0jp8k
- Finding aid: https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/UPENN_RBML_PUSP.MS.COLL.176
- Also listed in
- Penn Libraries Catalog
- Physical Location
- Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Ms. Coll. 176
- Provenance
- Permanent transfer from the Somerset County Archives, Taunton, England, 1952.
- Rights
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
- Resource Type
- Text
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