Online Reading for the “Exploring National Anniversaries Through the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel” Exhibit

The latest installment of the Drexel Libraries, Collections and Archives’ Library Exhibit Initiative, Exploring National Anniversaries Through the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel, features students’ observations on the history and the importance of national anniversaries, including the 1876 Centennial, 1926 Sesquicentennial, and 1976 Bicentennial.

This student-curated display was created in collaboration with Associate Teaching Professor Toni Pitock, PhD, Department of History, College of Arts & Sciences, and incorporates student assignments from her History of Philadelphia (HIST276) course.

The reading list below includes assigned readings, books and other primary sources from the course, all of which examine national celebrations in further detail. We invite you to explore these additional resources after experiencing the exhibit.

1876 Centennial

• Designing the Centennial: A History of the 1876 International Exhibition in Philadelphia by Bruno Giberti
• Preparations for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 by Faith K. Pizor
• The American People and the Centennial of 1876 by Walter Nugent
• The End of a Century: Celebrating the Centennial, 1876 by Adam Criblez
• The Lithographed Map in Philadelphia: Innovation, Imitation, and Antebellum Consumer Culture by Martin Brückner
• Toward a New Century: Women and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, 1876 by Mary Frances Cordato 

1926 Sesquicentennial 

• A Fine Thing to Show the Nation by Thomas H. Keels 
• Public Ritual and Cultural Hierarchy: Philadelphia’s Civic Celebrations at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by David Glassberg
• Saving the City’s Reputation: Philadelphia’s Struggle over Self-Identity, Sabbath-Breaking and Boxing in America’s Sesquicentennial Year by Bruce J. Evensen 
• Shaping National Identity with Commemoratives in the 1920s and 1930s by Sheila A. Brennan 
• The Negro Excursions: Recreational Outings among Philadelphia African Americans, 1876-1926 by Brian E. Alnutt 
• The Women's Committee and their High Street Exhibit at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 (Master's thesis) by Ellen Freedman 

1976 Bicentennial 

• A Committee of 215 Million People: Celebrating the Bicentennial in the Wake of the Sixties by Benjamin L. Alpers

• Bicentennial Times Newspaper

• Celebrating the Bicentennial: ‘Lessons’ from Past Centennials by Robert Hartje 
• Charting the Bicentennial by Richard B. Bernstein 
• Commemorating the American Revolution: The Bicentennial and Its Predecessors by Milton M. Klein 
• Comprehensive Calendar of Bicentennial Events, by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration
• Master Register of Bicentennial Projects, by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration
• The Bicentennial as History: What Have We Learned from Celebrations of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution? by Michael J. Devine 
• The Bicentennial Landscape: A Mirror Held Up to the Past by David Lowenthal 
• The Bicentennial of the United States of America: A Final Report to the People, by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration 
• The Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History by Michael D Hattem 
• The Spirits of ’76: Diplomacy Commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 by M. Todd Bennett 
• Unsettling the Spirit of ’76: American Indians Anticipate the U.S. Bicentennial by Chadwick Allen
• We the People of the United States: The Bicentennial of a People’s Revolution by Richard B. Morris 

About the Exhibit 

Hosted by Drexel University Libraries, Collections & Archives, with Toni Pitock, PhD, Department of History (College of Arts & Sciences), and Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel. With support from Campus250.

This special 2026 installment of the Drexel Libraries, Collections and Archives’ Library Exhibit Initiative features a student-curated display created in collaboration with Associate Teaching Professor Toni Pitock, PhD, Department of History, College of Arts & Sciences.

Students in Dr. Pitock’s History of Philadelphia courses toured the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel’s storage facility and selected objects from the 1876 Centennial, 1926 Sesquicentennial, and 1976 Bicentennial, researching their history and relevance. Curated by Drexel students Kat McKeown and Sophia Stutte, the exhibit features excerpts from students’ assignments, related artifacts, and an interactive prompting visitor reflection.