Philadelphia Merchant: The Diary of Thomas P. Cope, 1800-1851
by: Thomas P. Cope/Eliza Cope Harrison (Editor)

Hardcover. South Bend IN, Gateway Editions, 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Fair, Hardcover in an edgeworn, unclipped dust jacket. INSCRIBED BY EDITOR HARRISON on the title page. 628 pages, b&w illustrations. Thomas Cope was a wealthy merchant and ship owner, a force in city and state government, a philanthropist and--by no means least--a Quaker. He is best described in his own words about his writing and himself: "I have laid down no regular plan and I follow none. My diary is like myself, a chequered maze." He was committed to the service of others--the poor, the sick, the insane--and labored to improve the civic life of Philadelphia in far-sighted ways. He was a moving force behind the water system, a founder of the Mercantile Library, an advocate for the Penn. Railroad, and a supporter of poorhouses, among many other civic and philanthropic activities. He was also a deeply passionate man, whose fluent style at times seethes with emotion. Even into his eighties he struggled to control his temper. Perceptive and intelligently engaged, Cope comments on all the major historical events of his time, such as the yellow fever epidemics, the War of 1812, and the looming Civil War, as well as the more personal dramas of his own life. Some tape repairs ro dj, clean copy.