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Collection
Blanche Nevin Collection
Title
Blanche Nevin Collection
Object ID
MG0039
Date Range
1905-1940
  1 document  
Collection
Blanche Nevin Collection
Title
Blanche Nevin Collection
Description
Collection contains correspondence, poetry, and newspaper articles.
Admin/Biographical History
Blanche Nevin (1841-1925), artist and poet, was born in Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of John Williamson Nevin, a theologian, teacher, and minister, and Martha Jenkins, daughter of the politician and iron master at Windsor Forges, Robert Jenkins. When Dr. Nevin became the president of Franklin & Marshall College in 1855, he moved the family to Lancaster. They moved to Windsor Forges (or Windsor Place) from 1856 to 1858, while Dr. Nevin acted as executor of his mother-in-law's estate, and then moved permanently to Caernarvon Place on Columbia Avenue (the present site of Degel Israel Synagogue). The Nevin children were well-educated and cultivated for society, as their parents had been.
Blanche was the nation's first noteworthy sculptress. In 1889, she sculpted the statue of Revolutionary War General Peter Muhlenberg, which stands in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. She also sculpted the bust of President Woodrow Wilson. Lancastrians are most familiar with her Lion in the Park (1905) at Reservoir Park and her horse drinking fountain (1898) at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and West Orange Street. Blanche composed a number of poems and set several to music; many were inspired by Lancaster County, her travels, and family and friends. Her poems include: "Great-Grandma's Looking-Glass" (1895), "One Usual Day" (1916), and "To My Door" (1921).
She bought Windsor Place in Caernarvon Twp. in 1897, restored the mansion house and the name Windsor Forges, and added a studio. Furniture and other influences from her travels adorned the house and grounds. She also owned a house in Manasquan, New Jersey; spent time with friends in New York and Philadelphia; and traveled a great deal, especially during the winter.
Her obituary in a Lancaster County newspaper states, "The simple, unpretentious neighbors of Miss Nevin never questioned her foreign ideas and eccentricities, but accepted her for the true, human qualities which she so abundantly possessed."
Date Range
1905-1940
Year Range From
1905
Year Range To
1940
Date of Accumulation
1905-1940
Creator
Aungst, John
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 01
People
Appel, Roberts
Appell, John
Carmichael, Catharine
Dock, Mrs.
Forney, J. G.
Gable, S. Edw.
Jenkins, Catharine Carmichael
Jenkins, Robert
Magee, David F.
Nevin, Blanche
Shenk, H. H.
Shoemaker, Henry W.
Other Creators
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Subjects
Sculptors
Poets, American
Letters
Poetry
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Search Terms
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Lancaster Automobile Club
Letters
Newspaper clippings
Poetry
Poets
Sculptors
Windsor Forge
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
1 box, 3 folders, .15 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0039
Related Item Notes
MG-730 Blanche Nevin Papers
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-39
Classification
MG0039
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This collection was cataloged in 1998; added to database 15 May 2018.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Blanche Nevin Papers
Title
Blanche Nevin Papers
Object ID
MG0730
Date Range
1850s-1920s
: Artists China Contracts Correspondence Essays Finding aids Japan Letters Manuscript groups Pets Poetry Sculptors Travel Related Materials at LancasterHistory: Leather portfolio (2014.020) Blanche Nevin Collection (MG0039) See also the Photograph, Library, and Curatorial Collections Archival History
  1 document  
Collection
Blanche Nevin Papers
Title
Blanche Nevin Papers
Description
The Blanche Nevin Papers include manuscripts of Blanche Nevin's prose and poetry, the 1878 contract for her statue of Gen. Peter Muhlenberg, letters, essays, biographies, and articles about her travels.
Date Range
1850s-1920s
Year Range From
1850
Year Range To
1920
Date of Accumulation
[1850s-1920s]
Creator
Nevin, Blanche, 1841-1925
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 02
People
Buchanan, James
Muhlenberg, John Peter Gabriel
Nevin, Blanche
Other Creators
Nevin family
Subjects
Essays
Letters
Pets
Poetry
Travel
Search Terms
Artists
China
Contracts
Correspondence
Essays
Finding aids
Japan
Letters
Manuscript groups
Pets
Poetry
Sculptors
Travel
Extent
1 box, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0730
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Leather portfolio (2014.020)
Blanche Nevin Collection (MG0039)
See also the Photograph, Library, and Curatorial Collections
Notes
The collection has not been fully processed-please see the inventory below.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Original documents may be used-contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at the Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-730
Classification
MG0730
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Inventory prepared by donor, 2014. Added to database 26 December 2023.
Documents
Less detail

The lion in the park : the life and works of Blanche Nevin : biography and poetry of Blanche Nevin the sculptress and world traveler, 1841-1925, Churchtown, Pennsylvania

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo15
Author
Brubaker, Phyllis Jean Smith.
Date of Publication
1997.
Call Number
929 N526b
Responsibility
by Phyllis Jean Smith Brubaker.
ISBN
1887750444 (pbk.)
Author
Brubaker, Phyllis Jean Smith.
Place of Publication
Bethel, CT
Publisher
Rutledge Books,
Date of Publication
1997.
Physical Description
xvii, 253 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-253).
Summary
A resident of Lancaster, PA, for part of her life, Ms Nevin (1805-1890) was an accomplished sculpter and also a poet. This biography is named for a statue of a lion which she donated to Lancaster that was placed in the city's "Reservoir Park." The book contains photos of some of her sculptures and many of her poems.
Subjects
Nevin, Blanche, - 1841-1925.
Sculptors - United States
Decorative arts - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County.
American poetry.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Book
Call Number
929 N526b
Less detail