Pepper–Zantzinger–Robertson Copy · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Unidentified parent → “Alexander,” January 18, 1859 → unresolved transfer → Ernest Zantzinger → George Wharton Pepper, documented October 1925 → unresolved gap → Joslin Hall Rare Books → Charles J. Robertson…
Family Presentation and the Unidentified Alexander
An unidentified parent presented the volume “For my son Alexander” in Germantown on January 18, 1859. No surname appears. In October 1925, George Wharton Pepper wrote beneath the inscription that the copy had belonged to his stepfather, Ernest Zantzinger, and added: “I do not know who the ‘Alexander’ is whose name appears above.” The census preserves Pepper’s uncertainty. No documentary evidence yet identifies either Alexander or the presenting parent.
Robertson Acquisition and Donation
Joslin Hall Rare Books invoice 19994, item 28111, records Charles J. Robertson’s purchase on March 10, 1998, for $585 plus $5 shipping. It describes the worn original covers, faded gold, and later spine and endpapers. Robertson donated the volume to the Athenaeum in 2026.
Provenance Chain
Unidentified parent → “Alexander,” January 18, 1859 → unresolved transfer → Ernest Zantzinger → George Wharton Pepper, documented October 1925 → unresolved gap → Joslin Hall Rare Books → Charles J. Robertson, March 10, 1998 → The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 2026
Sources and Documentation
Correspondence with The Athenaeum of Philadelphia staff, and seven copy-specific photographs; Joslin Hall Rare Books invoice 19994, March 10, 1998; The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Presidents of the Athenaeum; University of Pennsylvania Archives, George Wharton Pepper; University of Pennsylvania, General Alumni Catalogue (1922), Ernest Zantzinger; and Smithsonian American Art Museum, Charles J. Robertson curatorial biography.
People in This Copy
- Unidentified Germantown Parent
- Alexander
- Ernest Zantzinger
- George Wharton Pepper
- Charles J. Robertson
