(Easton, March 3, 2025) “To My Much Esteemed Friend ….” The Autographed Portrait Collection of Charles M. Schwab opens April 5, 2025, at Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor’s (DLNHC) National Canal Museum in Hugh Moore Park, Easton PA. The autographed photographic portraits in this collection were presented to Schwab, the business genius who built and led Bethlehem Steel from 1905 until the mid-1920s, by the powerful, prominent, and famous people who filled his world. The exhibition will be the first public display of the collection since the 1980s.
During his extensive career in the American steel industry, Charles Schwab’s network of connections included American presidents and politicians, domestic and foreign military leaders, dozens of foreign heads of state, monarchs, millionaire magnates, and multiple famous celebrities. Business etiquette in that era included the exchange of inscribed formal photographic portraits, and Schwab amassed a large collection which he displayed in his offices. The photographs were later hung in the Schwab Library in the corporate headquarters of Bethlehem Steel. The collection was acquired by the National Canal Museum following the Schwab Library’s reorganization in the 1980s.
The 2026 exhibition includes signed photographs of Presidents Teddy Roosevelt through Warren Harding, “Black Jack” General John Pershing, British Prime Ministers David Lloyd-George and Sir Winston Churchill, John D. Rockefeller, Jr, Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, yachtsman and tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton, and silent film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. The exhibit will also explore the history of autograph collecting, and the evolution of the writing instruments used to sign the photographs.
This program is being funded in whole or in part with funding from the Hotel Tax Grant Program through the County of Northampton Department of Commerce and Economic Development, and through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission along with the ongoing support of all DLNHC members and donors.
The National Canal Museum will be open starting April 2 through May on Wednesdays through Fridays from 9:30AM – 3:30PM and weekends from 10:30AM – 4:30PM. Hours at the Museum will shift in June and then once again in October.
Museum admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (65 and above), $6 for children (3-15), and free for children under three. Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a Smithsonian Affiliate, and their National Canal Museum is accredited through the Alliance of American Museums. As a member of Blue Star Museums and Museums for All, the National Canal Museum also provides free admission to active-duty service members and their families and to families receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits). Admission is free to DLNHC members.
More information about hours and pricing can be found on canals.org.
Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that preserves the historic pathway that carried coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol. Through signature programs like the D&L Trail, National Canal Museum, and St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest, DLNHC connects people to nature, culture, communities, recreation, and our enduring industrial heritage.
For additional information about the National Canal Museum, please visit www.canals.org. Additional information about DLNHC is available by phoning 610-923-3548 x221 or by visiting www.delawareandlehigh.org.
Information provided to TVL by:
Gianna Caruso
