The Free Library of Philadelphia's Rare Book Department is one of the largest public library special collections in the United States. The Rare Book Department offers free access to exhibitions of historically important books, manuscripts, and works of artfrom 3,000 BCE to today. Among its collections are thousands of illuminated medieval manuscripts and cuttings; first editions, letters, and manuscripts of important writers, including some of the largest collections of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe;nearly 50,000 early American children's books; original artwork by Beatrix Potter and other illustrators; Mughal court paintings; and Pennsylvania German fraktur, manuscripts, and printed books.
Christ Church, the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church, was founded in 1695 as a condition of William Penn’s Charter. Known as “The Nation’s Church,” it hosted members of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution and Presidents GeorgeWashington and John Adams in the first decade of the newly established Republic.
