From the beginning, the Society focused its collecting activity on colonial and early national history. In that respect, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is the largest single holder of documents from the period outside of government repositories. Given its location, it is not surprising that the Society courted the Penns and other historically significant families in order to secure documents and artifacts of the state's history. The items featured in this case represent the diversity of collections which document pre-1840 local and national history and are now held by the Society.