William Penn Charter School’s legacy book, History Revealed, was inspired while celebrating the school’s 325th anniversary in 2014. The book was published in 2018 as an aesthetically rich, composite view of the school told through visually engaging photographs of objects from personal collections and school archives. Penn Charter faculty, staff and board members were empowered to select the objects, and more than 200 members of the community worked to identify historically significant and inspirational objects. That collaboration produced a collection that appeals to audiences of all ages, interests, and connections to the school. Research, writing, refinement, and photography were continually underway over the next three years. Photographic and text editing, graphic design, and revision occupied year four of book realization.
From the Judges
The judges thought that it was very ambitious to pull together the contributions of some 200 collaborators and were impressed that William Penn Charter School ended up with such a good product during what must have been a complex creative process. Archival photos are often of poor quality, so we also applauded the decision to get around this problem by photographing the objects themselves. The photos were artfully enhanced—for instance, the close-up photo of the cane on page 51 was stunning. We also gave points for the graphic on the back cover—a subtle but effective way to show off the school’s mission — and the whimsical inclusion in the book of the campus red-tailed hawk.
