Acquisitions Afternoon 2026: Uncovering Treasures from Revolutionary America

In honor of the generosity of collector-donors and the launch of the CLA’s 2026 Adopt-a-Book program, join us for a special virtual event, Acquisitions Afternoon with Dr. Philip Mead.

The Congregational Library & Archives’ collection began in 1853 when eight donors contributed items from their personal collections that they believed to be important to understanding and interpreting the Congregational story. 173 years later, the CLA’s collection numbers over 225,000 print and manuscript works, many of which were donated from private collectors. The collection continues to grow each year.

Historian, curator, and a collector and dealer of antiques, books, and manuscripts, Dr. Philip Mead will share fascinating stories about overlooked books and manuscripts from the era of the American Revolution that he has uncovered at auction, antique and books shows, and in private collections. Learn about the painstaking research, the necessary persistence, and sometimes the serendipity involved in locating materials from the Revolutionary era still in private hands.

Email any questions to programs@14beacon.org.

SPEAKER BIO

Dr. Phillip Mead is the owner of Mead Americana, an antiques and ephemera business specializing in Colonial and Revolutionary American militaria, books, paper, and personal objects. Mead holds a PhD in early American history from Harvard University. Before starting his business, Mead was Chief Historian and Curator of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia (MoAR), where he worked from 2011 – 2024, shaping the new museum’s award-winning galleries and collections. He is lead guest curator of MoAR’s 2025-2027 flagship exhibition for the 250th of the United States, the Declaration’s Journey and he is the co-author of Among His Troops: Washington’s War Tent in a Newly Discovered Watercolor and, with Benjamin Lincoln, Jr., Essays by “The Free Republican,” 1784 – 1786.