#VCPatLCP

[librarycompany]

These embossed letter specimens are examples of Boston Line Type.  Boston Line Type was developed in 1835 by Samuel Gridley Howe as a raised letter system of printing for the blind. Reading it tactilely, however, was difficult and the embossed alphabet was eventually abandoned for a simpler dot system. 

 commontouch.librarycompany.org

[Collection of samples of raised-letter line types for printing for the blind]

#TypeTuesday #Typography #PrintingHistory #embossedprinting #LCPonline #VCPatLCP #BensLibrary

[librarycompany]

This trade card is one of twenty-five in a series issued by W. Duke Sons & Co., gotta catch em’ all!

Donaldson Brothers (Firm), printer. Rolling cigarette. [graphic]. New York : Donaldson Brothers [ca. 1890] 1 print : chromolithograph ; 10 x 6 cm. (4 x 2.5 in.)

#tradecardthursday #LCPprints #LCPtradecards #ephemera #VCPatLCP #1890s #specialcollections #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

Album of Richard DeReef Venning (1865–1922). Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection.

This photo album contains portraits of a prominent Philadelphia family, the Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Vennings, and other unidentified people. The family, which descended from Richard Cogdell (1787-1866) and the enslaved Sarah Martha Sanders (1815-1850), was actively involved in political, social, and cultural matters in the Philadelphian Black community.

Follow the title link to see the entire album.

From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures : Black Creative Re-Imaginings is on display now through October 18, 2019.

#LCPafrofutures #LCPexhibits #19thcentury #photoalbums #LCPephemera #vcpatlcp #blackhistory #AfricanAmericana #LCPPAAH #specialcollections #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

Learn the hand signing alphabet with this graphic printed in Philadelphia (ca. 1850). 

David G. Seixas Philadelphia [graphic] : The Deaf & Dumb Language [Alphabet in hand signing]. Philadelphia, ca. 1850. 1 print :  wood engravings ;  9 x 21 cm. (3.5 x 8.25 in.)

#LCPephemera #sign language #LCPprints #vcpatlcp #commontouch #1850s #specialcollections #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

We wish we could levitate like Lu Lu, especially when we are trying to reach a book on the top shelf. For now, the traditional step stool will have to do. 

Hopcraft & Co., printer. [Lu Lu, the man bird] New York : Hopcraft & Co., [ca. 1880].  1 print : chromolithograph ; 8 x 13.5 cm. (3 x 5.25 in.)

#TradeCardThursday #LCPprints #visualculture #VCPatLCP #circus #1880s #specialcollections #tumblarians #LibraryGIF

[librarycompany]

It is finally Spring, and with that we are hearing nature waking up from its wintry slumber. This uncut sheet of chromolithographs showing pastoral and natural scenes illustrates some of the joys of being outdoors when weather starts to warm, including lots of baby animals!

[Uncut sheet of four chromolithographs of children and animal scenes. [Philadelphia? ; ca. 1880] 4 prints (1 sheet): chromolithograph; overall 34 x 24 cm.(13.5 x 9.5 in.)

#lambsinthelibrary #WetnoseWednesday #springfever #lcpprints #vcpatlcp #1880s #specialcollections #tumblarians #Chromolithographs

[librarycompany]

Drs. Starkey & Palen's Compound Oxygen claims to aid any number of ailments from headaches to tuberculosis, just inhaling this cure will increase blood flow to where it needs to go. Or, maybe just breathe some fresh air. The seaworthy man in this picture may be doing both, or maybe he’s about to dump the bottle’s contents into the sea. 

[Drs. Starkey & Palen's Compound Oxygen, 1529 Arch Street, Philadelphia] [graphic]. [Philadelphia?] [ca. 1887] 1 print : chromolithograph ; 11 x 15 cm. (4.25 x 6 in.)

#quackery #patentmedicine #TradeCardThursday #LCPprints #1880s #chromolithographs #specialcollections #VCPatLCP #visualculture #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

This album belonging to Mary Anne Dickerson, a young middle-class African American Philadelphian, was probably created as a pedagogical instrument to promote cultivated expression, with contributions dating from 1833 until 1882 including this delicate floral watercolor painted by Sarah Mapps Douglass. Douglass, an artist and prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, was best known as an educator and anti-slavery activist. 

Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882 artist. Forget me not. S.M.D. ca. 1843. Physical Description1 drawing: pen and ink, watercolor; overall 28 x 23 cm. (11 x 9 in.)

#HerNaturalHistory #lcppaah #AfricanAmericana #AfricanAmericanHistory #lcpprints #ephemera #19thcentury #VCPatLCP #specialcollections #Tumblarians #womenshistory

[librarycompany]

For this week’s #MagnificentCollections we highlight Emily Phillips, a collector of some of our favorite trade cards. 

Emily Phillips (1822-1909), descended from one of the first Philadelphia Jewish families, gave her collection of trade cards to the Library Company in 1882. A shareholder in the Library and a philanthropist, Phillips supported several local Jewish benevolent organizations, including the Hebrew Education Society and the Jewish Maternity Association, while collecting nearly two thousand trade cards representing all manner of Victorian Philadelphia businesses from ice to velocipedes.

Visit the trade card collection HERE.

#MagnificentCollections #LCPprints #VCPatLCP #LCPtradecards #1880s #loveyourlibrary #specialcollections #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

Save the date! On July 16, 2019 the Visual Culture Program will welcome artist Rebecca Kamen to the Library Company to talk about her recent art project PLOT. Inspired by the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission, PLOT seeks to evoke new insights about our relationship to the moon prior to the advent of the camera.

Head over to the Library Company blog to read about Kamen’s artistic process, and stay tuned to learn more about how you can join us for the event in July.

Plate “Fig. R” in Johannes Hevelius, Johannis Hevelii Selenographia Gedani, 1647.          

#BensLibrary #LCPblog #Moon #Apollo11 #VCPatLCP #JohannesHevelius #RareBooks #SpecialCollections #1640s #Tumblarians

[librarycompany]

This trade card advertising West End Clothing House certainly gives us the #MayFlowers (and slightly surreal) feels. 

Compliments of the West End Clothing House, 1634 Market Street, Philadelphia. J. Kuh; prop'r. [graphic]. [Philadelphia?] [ca. 1885]

#mayflowers #LCPephemera #LCPtradecards #1880s #ephemera #vcpatlcp #specialcollections #tumblarians #youreturningvioletviolet #lcpprints

[librarycompany]

This week for #MagnificentCollections we highlight Helen Beitler (1915-2002), a descendent of the Morris and Wistar families who unabashedly collected ephemera representing numerous subjects, including advertising — the profession of her husband. The Library Company acquired hundreds of pieces of advertising ephemera from her eclectic, yet refined collection, including postcards, billheads and envelopes, programs, advertisements,  and calendars following her death in 2002.

To see more visit: The Helen Beitler Graphic Ephemera Collection

#LCPephemera #vcpatlcp #MagnificentCollections #specialcollections #19thcentury #ephemera #lcpprints #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

William Birch, Mendenhall Ferry, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1809). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia. Gift of S. Marguerite Brenner.

This is the only country view showing a public building, but in its celebration of the Schuylkill River scenery it is related to many of the other views.  

Birch wrote:

This beautiful spot close upon the falls of Schuylkill is one of nature’s choicest retreats. Mr. Mendenhall has opened his house for public entertainments.

Registration is open for William Birch and the Complexities of American Visual Culture: A Symposium Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Visual Culture Program, taking place Friday, October 5, 2018 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT at the Library Company of Philadelphia.

#LCPexhibits #LCPWilliamBirch #vcpatlcp #countryseats #specialcollections #tumblarians #BensLibrary

[librarycompany]

This week we highlight the joy of finding the unexpected and the joy of naming our collections in the most literal way. 

Ephemera reveals something about regular people in their historical context, what they wanted to remember, and how they interacted with the visual culture of their daily lives. When we process material and find a photograph or note tucked in between pages of a book, that item could be secret token in a hiding place, or it could be as utilitarian as a bookmark. Either way these are clues of history that many can relate to now. Have you ever hidden something in a book?

Things found in books graphics collection.  [ca. 1880-ca. 1950] 

#JoyofGLAM #LCPprints #thingsfoundinbooks #LibraryGIF #19thcentury #LCPephemera #vcpatlcp #SpecialCollections #Tumblarians

[librarycompany]

There is no better talent than being able to fall asleep peacefully anywhere. This gent is in full on slumber mode, open mouth and all. 

Conway, gent's furnisher, 1602 South Street, Philadelphia. [graphic]. [Philadelphia] [ca. 1880]  1 print : chromolithograph ; 11.5 x 8 cm. (4.5 x 3 in.)

#SleepingInTheStacks #librarydreams #dontletthebookwormsbite #LCPtradecards #LCPprints #vcpatlcp #1880s #specialcollections #tumblarians

[librarycompany]

How can we resist a scrapbook page featuring two trade cards showing different illustrations kittens playing with string? Ummm we can’t. 

This scrapbook compiled by Mary (Minnie) Campbell Harris Wilson is an inside look at Harris’ young social life and mementos she valued before she married John L. Wilson and settled on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. 

Wilson, Mary Campbell Harris, 1862-ca. 1948. Scrapbook.  ca. 1877-ca. 1890.  1 scrapbook (ca. 480 items):  chromolithographs, watercolors, etchings, drawings, and albumen prints. 

#felinefriday #LCPephemera #vcpatlcp #LCPprints #LCPscrapbooks #SpecialCollections #1870s #1880s #Tumblarians