Annual Reports of the Office of the Treasurer

This collection of annual reports of the Treasurer of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia spans 1841 to 1937. In addition to the annual reports, the collection contains correspondence, a list of the treasurers of the College from 1786 to 1937, and a 1909 calendar of College events. Included in the collection are the reports of treasurers J. Rodman Paul (1839-1877), Charles Stewart Wurts (1877-1893), H. M. Fisher (1894-1898), Richard H. Harte (1899-1912), John B. Roberts (1913-1917), and C. F, Mitchell (1927-1933).

The treasurers presented their annual reports either at the beginning of June or the beginning of December. From 1841 to 1852, the fiscal year of the College began and ended on 1 June, and the treasurers prepared their annual reports in June. By 1856, however, the fiscal year had been changed to commence on 1 December. As a result, the treasurers presented their annual financial statements at the beginning of December.

The annual reports dating from 1841 to 1867 are brief; they provide summary statements of the receipts and expenditures of the College for each year. The volume containing "Annual Statements of the Treasurer" (1876-1902) provides more detailed financial information; this volume, which consists primarily of balance sheets, provides an itemized list of receipts (annual contributions from Fellows, interest from trusts and investments) and expenditures (utility bills, salaries, maintenance of the College building, funds used by committees), Also included on the balance sheets are "Statements of Investments" and estimated income for the following year.

The treasurers' annual reports from 1901 to 1933 attest to the increasingly complicated financial situation of the College as it entered the twentieth century, The financial statements from these years include oversized balance sheets providing information on "appropriations" and "collections" for each year. Also included are receipts and disbursements broken down by committee, financial statements of the Building Fund and the "General College Account", lists of stocks and bonds with their original and market values, and a general summary of the financial transactions of the College. Also included are numerous preliminary notes and figures written on the verso of letters and receipts. The financial records of 1910 to 1914 are especially well documented.