This collection contains more than 260 items relating to John Wesley, his family, and Methodism. Approximately half of the collection consists of artifacts relating to John Wesley. The collection is organized in three series: I., Prominent Methodists; II., Methodist Events; and III., Miscellaneous artifacts. Series I, Prominent Methodists, is organized in two groups and three subgroups. Group A., Wesley family, includes subgroups John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and Other Wesleys. Group B. is Other Methodists. The collection includes images such as cameos, paintings, engravings, and photographs. Other artifacts include commemorative plates and plaques and other ceramic items, busts and figurines, medals, and other items.
Prominent individuals in the collection are John Wesley, Charles Wesley, Samuel Wesley (1662-1735), Samuel Wesley (1691-1739), Susanna Annesley Wesley, Sarah Wesley, George Whitefield, Francis Asbury, Peter Doub, Enoch George, John Fletcher, William McKendree, and George Foster Pierce.
This collection was artificially assembled by the Pitts Theology Library over a long period of time. Little, if any, documentation regarding the provenance or history of most of the items exists. For that reason, the authenticity of the artifacts, such as those attributed to be the personal possessions of the Wesleys, cannot be verified.
