Photo album with marbelized cover and 40 plastic sleeves. 12 contain photos and notes related to Lancaster's Bicentennial celebration. Handwritten on card on first page: "June 10, 1992/ These documents from the City Safe were taken to The Conservation Centre for Art, Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia for restoration and preservation. Here are before and after pictures of
a. The Lancaster Corporation Book, 1742
b. The Charter of the City of Lancaster, 1742
c. The Plot Plan of the City of Lancaster, (?)
...Jarvis "(signature)
On page 14, handwritten on a card: "This was the metal box in which the Charter was stored until someone framed it and exposed it to the light."
On page 19: "This is the Plot Plan which needs to be studied. It has the drawing of gentleman X on the reverse side. Who drew this?"
The Judge Joseph Wissler Collection documents his fifty-five year career as a lawyer and judge. He recorded and categorized criminal court cases in a handwritten volume. Two scrapbooks contain his certificate of admittance to the Lancaster County Courts, letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings about criminal cases.
Admin/Biographical History
Joseph Buch Wissler was born in Clay Township, Lancaster County on 7 August 1892. Wissler attended Lititz High School and later graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. He earned his law degree from Harvard University. Wissler became a member of the Lancaster Bar Association, of which he was president in 1964 and 1965. He returned to practicing law as a local attorney after holding the position of District Attorney of Pennsylvania from 1924 to 1928. In 1941, Wissler was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and served in that position for twenty-nine years. Judge Wissler served in the law profession for over fifty-five years. Phi Beta Kappa of Franklin and Marshall College made Judge Wissler an honorary member in 1950 and the college presented him with an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1952. He was also a member of the Lancaster Tucquan Club from 1949 to 1969.
