In the Beginning

A mummified hand and arm had been presented to the Library Company of Philadelphia by Benjamin West in 1763, and a baby mummy had been given to the University of Pennsylvania in 1816, as well as a delicate hand.

An advertisement for Peale’s Museum (in the upper rooms of the State House in Philadelphia) in the 4 March 1817 Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser noted that the hand of an Egyptian mummy had been recently presented by Dr. Shippen. (Dr. Joseph Galloway Shippen).

These were isolated incidents and not generally known to more than the immediate public vicinity of these institutions. However, in 1818 things started to change.

Credits

S.J. Wolfe