RICARDIAN PHILADELPHIA
Sheraton Society Hill Hotel
September 27-29, 1996

Shown above, Richard III meets Philadelphia icons Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin. Detail of meeting logo artwork by Susan Dexter.

[Note: although this meeting has already occurred, this section has been left on the server to give the reader a sense of what takes place at an American Branch Annual General Meeting.]

Philadelphia--home to Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross, the Liberty Bell and the Continental Congress, Rocky Balboa and the soft pretzel--holds many medieval treasures in its rich resources of libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions. Philadelphia has also been home to a remarkable series of scholars who have advanced our knowledge of Richard III in literature, history, and drama.

Come explore Philadelphia's fifteenth-century treasures at the Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society, American Branch. And get to know some of the interesting and welcoming people in the Society, in three days of workshops, lectures, tours, and social events.

This year's meeting theme features Philadelphia area Ricardian resources. (Use this link for the full schedule.) They include:

• a look at the life and work of the Ricardian hometown hero, Paul Murray Kendall, by American Branch chair A. Compton Reeves;

• an illustrated lecture on Philadelphia Free Library Lewis Ms. E201, an elaborate genealogy of King Edward IV produced in the early 1460s (see the Ricardian Register, Fall 1993);

• an illustrated lecture by American Branch research officer Sharon D. Michalove at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Gratz Ms 9.25, a letter signed by Richard III appointing an ambassador to France, setting the document in the context of Richard III's foreign policy

• a keynote address by Dr. Michael T. Ryan, head of the Department of Special Collections, University of Pennsylvania Library and president of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, on the intellectual life of Philadelphia in the nineteenth century with emphasis on the great collectors of medieval works of art and manuscripts and of Shakespearean resources

• a piece-by-piece demonstration of the arming of a medieval knight, showing the construction and purpose of a full set of Wars of the Roses-style reproduction plate armor

We strongly suggest that Ricardians traveling by air book flights early in the day on Friday and late afternoon/evening flights Sunday, or stay over an extra day or days to explore Philadelphia's rich resources of museums, libraries, historical sites, and shopping (no sales tax on clothing!). We're planning a tour of the extensive medieval galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art following our Sunday Schallek fund-raising breakfast this year. We will also try to arrange with the Rare Books Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia a Friday afternoon viewing of Lewis Ms. E201. The annual raffle to benefit our William B. Schallek Memoral Graduate Fellowship Award this year has three grand prizes:

• A full set of the works of Sharon Kay Penman, donated by the author (with some fill-ins by Roxane Murph). In addition to this generous gift of hardbound copies of The Sunne in Splendour and three of her other novels, Penman will individually inscribe each volume with a dedication to the winner.

• A "rose-en-soleil" embroidered pullover, donated by Laura Blanchard.

• Original artwork commemorating the 1996 meeting by Susan Dexter, matted and framed.

A raffle ticket order form will be included in the mailing to members and online registration materials. As in previous years, you do not need to be present to win the Schallek raffle prizes.

The Sheraton Society Hill, a handsome facility located just a block from Philadelphia's Penn's Landing waterfront area and just three blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, has set aside a block of rooms for us at the special rate of $99 a night. These rooms will be held for us until September 4, or until they are sold out. We will be mailing AGM registration information in late July or early August. In the meantime, to reserve your room, call the hotel directly at 1-215-238-6000, and ask for the Richard III Society Special Rate.