Shorts

A cartoonist and illustrator for The New Yorker from 1927 to 1966, Mary Petty (1899-1976) was well loved for her humorous and witty depictions of twentieth century life. An exhibit of fifty works in watercolor and ink, “The Life and Art of Mary Petty” will be on view at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford through Sunday, November 20 [1994]. For more infor­mation, write: Brandywine River Museum, P. O. Box 141, Chadds Ford, PA 19317; or telephone (610) 388-2700. Admission is charged.

The twelfth annual Antiques Forum will be sponsored by the Cumberland County Historical Society on Saturday, October 29 [1994], in Carlisle. Dean Norton, director of horticulture for Mount Vernon will give a talk entitled “Landscaping: Gardens, Walks, Shrubs, Trees.” Workshops include “Furniture in Central Pennsylvania: Character, Vocabulary, Wood, and How to Distinguish Federal Period from ‘Later'” and “Textiles: Samplers, Towel Clothing, Materials, and Methods of Construction, Then and Now.” Topics of this year’s event commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of George Washington’s visit to Carlisle in October 1794 to review the fourteen thousand troops assembled to march to western Pennsylvania to quell the Whiskey Rebellion. To obtain agenda and regis­tration information, write: Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 North Pitt St., P. O. Box 626, Carlisle, PA 17013; or telephone (717) 249-7610.

Opening Friday, November 18 [1994], in Philadelphia is “Making History,” an exhibition of maps, posters, prints, objects and artifacts, photographs, books, and documents illustrating the many ways in which the extensive col­lections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania are used for research, historic preservation, reenactments and role playing, historic site interpre­tation, and tracing family history. The exhibit, which will continue through May 1995, will be accompanied by related programs and activities. To obtain more information, write: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107; or telephone (215) 732-6201.

Offering a peek at the rare, the curi­ous, and the unusual, “Hidden Treasures of Harrisburg” will be installed by the Historical Society of Dauphin County from Friday through Sunday, October 21-23 [1994]. The exhibit will feature objects, including antique sil­ver, works of art, porcelain, furniture, and textiles, selected from private col­lections throughout the greater Harrisburg area. For special visiting hours, write: Historical Society of Dauphin County, 219 South Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17104; or telephone (717) 233-3462. There is a charge for admission.

An exhibit exploring the ways in which both women and men adorned their heads, “Heads Up!” can be seen through November at the Lehigh County Historical Society in Allentown. “Heads Up” features hats, spectacles, hair ornaments, and grooming equipment spanning three centuries. On Saturday, October 15 [1994], Dilys Blum, curator of costumes and textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will discuss twentieth century hats and millinery. For more informa­tion, write: Lehigh County Historical Society, Old Courthouse, Hamilton and Fifth Sts., Allentown, PA 18101; or telephone (610) 435-4664. Admission is free.

To celebrate William Penn’s three hundred and fiftieth birthday on Monday, October 24 [1994], a number of spe­cial exhibits, events, and lectures will be conducted by historical organiza­tions and cultural institutions in Philadelphia this fall. For information about these programs, write: William Penn 350th Anniversary Project, Quaker Information Center, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102; or telephone (215) 241-7241 or 241-7024.

“Alone in a Crowd: Prints by African American Artists of the 1930s-1940s from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams” will be on exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from Sunday, October 9 [1994], through Sunday, December 4 [1994]. “Alone in a Crowd” showcases the remarkable efforts of artists who have been largely neglect­ed and includes more than one hun­dred works of art by forty-five African Americans, many of whom first gained access to printmaking techniques at neighborhood art centers sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the New Deal. Ranging in style from social realism to abstrac­tion, and reflecting European mod­ernism, American scene painting, and the Mexican mural movement, “Alone in a Crowd” documents a vibrant period in the African American community and offers insights into the iconographic concerns of artists who helped define the modern African American identity. Additional information is available by writing: Philadelphia Museum of Art, P. O. Box 7646, Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646; or by telephoning (215) 763-8100.

Continuing through April 1995 at the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton is an exhibition entitled “Sound the Alarm! Fire Fighting in Anthracite’s Northern Field.” The exhibition features vehi­cles, equipment, uniforms, and various objects once used by fire companies throughout the Keystone State’s hard coal region. Included are vehicles dat­ing from the mid-nineteenth century to 1927 that had belonged to Scranton’s Neptune Volunteer Company, the Dupont Hose Company, the Nicholson Fire Company, the Dalton Fire Protective Association, the Wilson Fire Company of Peckville, and Carbondale’s Mitchell Hose Company. In addi­tion to examining the development of fire fight­ing equipment and tech­nology, “Sound the Alarm!” also explores the relationship between fire companies and the coal industry. For more infor­mation, write: Pennsyl­vania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Bald Mountain Rd., R. D. 1, Scranton, PA 18504; or telephone (717) 963-4804. Admission is charged,

“Quaker William Penn,” an exhibition commemo­rating the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Pennsylvania’s founder, will be on view from Wed­nesday, November 16 [1994], through Monday, December 19 [1994], at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Established in 1871, the library is devoted to the history of the Quakers. For more information, write: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399; or tele­phone (215) 447-7496.