The Library Company of Philadelphia, founded in 1731, was the largest public library in America until the 1850s, and is now an independent research library with one of the premier collections in the country of early American documents. It houses extensive collections of printed and graphic materials that chronicle the history of American culture. In conjunction with its Program in Early American Economy and Society, the Library Company is augmenting, cataloguing, and conserving its collections related to economy and society — including the areas of commerce, business, banking, technology, and other fields — and is also compiling a regional survey of related scholarly resources. In addition, the Program sponsors regular seminars, holds conferences involving scholars of the early American economy, publishes monographs and essay collections, and carries out other activities. For further information about these and other facets of the Program, please see the links to PEAES at the Library Company’s website: www.librarycompany.org.

The Library Company of Philadelphia’s Program in Early American Economy and Society invites applications for its three types of fellowship awards to be granted for research and scholarship during 2009-2010, as follows:

- One post-doctoral research fellowship, carrying a stipend of $40,000, is tenable for nine consecutive months of residency from September 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. It may also be divided between two scholars, who would each receive $20,000 for the periods between Sept. 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010 or January 15, 2010 to May 31, 2010.
 
Deadline for receipt of post-doctoral fellowship applications is November 3, 2008. Reply date is December 15.
 
- One dissertation-level fellowship, carrying a stipend of $20,000, is tenable for nine consecutive months of residency from September 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. It may also be divided between two scholars, who would each receive $10,000 for the periods between Sept. 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010 or January 15, 2010 to May 31, 2010.
 
- Available to scholars at all levels, four one-month fellowships, carrying stipends of $2,000 each, are tenable for a month of research at the Library Company between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010.
 
Deadline for receipt of one-month and dissertation fellowship applications is March 2, 2009. Reply date is April 15.
 
These fellowships are designed to promote scholarship in early American economy and society, broadly defined, from its colonial beginnings to roughly the 1850s. Some of the possible topics of research include the history of commerce, finance, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, internal improvements, and political economy. Applicants for long-term awards may submit proposals based not only on the extensive collections at the Library Company, but also on the printed and manuscript materials of other institutions in the Philadelphia area. Short-term fellows should plan to spend a continuous month of research in the collections of the Library Company.
 
Fellows will share opportunities to participate in the growing intellectual life of the Program in Early American Economy and Society and contribute to the Library Company’s other scholarly activities.
 
Before mailing an application, fill out an electronic cover sheet here. One-month applicants should submit seven copies each of a brief résumé, a two- to four-page description of the proposed research, and one letter of recommendation. Long-term fellowship applicants should submit seven copies each of a résumé, a research proposal outlining the larger project and the work to be pursued during the fellowship term, a writing sample of about 25 pages, and two letters of recommendation. Applicants for a long-term award should state clearly which of the tenable periods they seek, and whether they also wish to be considered for a short-term fellowship.

Please send all materials to:

Program in Early American Economy and Society
The Library Company of Philadelphia
1314 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

For more information about PEAES and its fellowships please contact Cathy Matson, Program Director, at cmatson@udel.edu.