Pages

Robt. Dale Owen
Full-length portrait of the social reformer, Indiana Congressman, and Chair of the American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission. Owen, attired in a white collared shirt, a bowtie, a jacket, an overcoat, and pants, stands holding a top hat in his right hand beside a chair, near a drape. Owen's work for the commission has been credited as the impetus for the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction., Title from manuscript note on mount., Date based on presented age of sitter., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of portraits. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
The Rock House,
Exterior view of the first farm of Isaac Shoemaker, known as the Rock House, built in the late 17th century on East Penn Street, east of the Reading Railroad Bridge. Farm also served as a location from which William Penn preached and as a station on the Underground Railroad. Shows a man sitting on top of the large rock beside the stone farmhouse with two chimneys. A wooden fence surrounds the property., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on mount., Date inscribed on photograph., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 3, page 131. The scrapbooks contained approximately 120 photographs by Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia commissioned by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., Also included in an annotated album containing twenty photographs by Richards entitled "Pictorial views of houses & places in Germantown yr 1859." (LCP 66037.D.18)., Reproduced in Kenneth Finkel's Nineteenth century photography in Philadelphia (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1980), entry #207., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Room 5, Lincoln School, Pittsburg, Pa.
Elementary school class portrait, including African American children, posed outside their school. Shows the forty-six boys and girls sitting and standing in six rows facing the viewer. In the second row from the bottom, a white girl holds up a slate that reads, Room 5 Lincoln School, Pittsburg, Pa. 1896. The young white woman teacher is seated in the left., Title from item., Gift of Perot Walker, 1981., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
(13) 1540.F
View depicting an interior of the Lincoln House in Springfield, Illinois. A framed print commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation hangs on the wall-papered wall. Also includes a table adorned with a silver tray, pitcher, and goblets and a chair., Title from accompanying label: No. 21. Room in house., Date from copyright., Unmounted stereograph., Originally part of a McAllister, Hart, and Phillips Civil War scrapbook., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Rosa
Abolitionist, vignette-size portrait of the propagandized fair-skinned child emancipated from enslavement, Rosina Downs. Freed by Union General Butler in New Orleans, the child toured through the North with other people emancipated from enslavement to raise funds for the schools of Louisiana for the formerly enslaved established by Philip Bacon, Assistant Superintendent of Freedmen. Downs, daughter of a multiracial mother and Confederate soldier, was one of three touring children denied entrance to a Philadelphia hotel in December 1863., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Probably by Philadelphia photographer James E. McClees., See Harper's weekly, January 30, 1864, p. 71., See Kathleen Collin's "Portraits of slave children," History of photography 9 (July-September 1983), p. 187-210., One of the cartes de visite trimmed and originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War materials [(2)1540.F.13e]. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Rosa, an emancipated slave from New Orleans.
Abolitionist portrait of the propagandized fair-skinned child emancipated from enslavement, Rosina Downs, attired in a hat, a pleated dress with stripes at the bottom, and a dark-colored cape. Freed by Union General Butler in New Orleans, the child toured through the North with other people emancipated from enslavement to raise funds for the Louisiana schools for the formerly enslaved established by Philip Bacon, Assistant Superintendent of Freedmen. Downs, daughter of a multiracial mother and Confederate soldier, was one of three touring children denied entrance to a Philadelphia hotel in December 1863., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Probably by New York photographer, M.H. Kimball., See Harper's weekly, January 30, 1864, p. 71., See Kathleen Collin's "Portraits of slave children," History of photography 9 (July-September 1985), p. 187-210., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Salvation Army Home, 5415 Lansdowne Avenue, Phila. [graphic] / William H. Rau, Phila.
Postcard promoting the Salvation Army Rescue Children's Home and Hospital. The home, established in 1893, provided shelter, training and medical care to destitute mothers and children. Depicts a group portrait of a row of eleven small children, including an African American girl, attired in identical white jumpers. The children are lined up from shortest to tallest child., Inscribed in negative: 26770., Contains manuscript note on verso addressed to Mrs. A. G. Crandall, Montpelier, Vermont., Purchase 2002., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Real photo. Divided back. Post marked April 16, 1910.
Sandeago - Cuba
Scene of a street in Santiago, Cuba showing pedestrian traffic including a team of Black laborers near a horse-drawn dray. In the left, six Black men sit and stand around the dray. Buildings line both sides of the street with signs in Spanish. Men walk in front of the buildings and in the street. Two men walk towards the viewer. Several horse-drawn drays and wagons are visible in the background., Title from caption on mount., Purchase 1988., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Rich, a professional Philadelphia landscape photographer, was an avid traveler.
Sarah Showell
Cameo portrait showing Showell from the bust up. She wears a shirtwaist and possibly a tie. Family lore suggests Showell died from the flu during the 1917-1918 pandemic following World War I. Showell, younger sister of Arthur Showell (1894-1943), was born and resided in Maryland as a child and young adult., Title supplied by cataloguer., Gift of Brice C. Showell., Very worn condition.
African American dandy
Stereograph, possibly published in London, depicting a scene satirizing race relations in America. Shows the dandy standing and with one foot on the boy's shoe shine box in front of a back drop depicted as a wall adorned with broadsides referencing abolition, slavery, and emancipation. The dandy is attired in striped and checkered pants, a jacket with tails, a ruffled shirt, and top hat. He holds a walking stick under one arm and a cigarette in his other hand. The boy kneels and shines the dandy's shoes with his shining supplies and tools by his box. Broadsides include a "playbill" reading "Adelphi. Tonight The White Slave. Octoroon Farce" and an advertisement for "Fast Clipper. Clyde. For New Orleans." Other posts read "No Slavery. Freedom" and "Great Meeting. Negro Emancipation. Poor Slaves.", Place of publication and date inferred from image content containing a reference to the "Octoroon" at the "Adelphi." Adelphi is a London theater where The Octoroon was performed 1861-1862., Grey mount with square corners., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., See similar visual trope "I say Billy, do you know why I'm doing this? Cause, I'm going to run for Congress soon!" [Political cartoons - 1863-13W, 8033.F.3]
Saturday evening. [graphic].
Photographic reproduction of a print drawn by Helen M. Colburn, daughter of New Jersey artist Rembrandt Lockwood, depicting an African American family returning from a market trip. The figures are drawn with racist and caricatured features and mannerisms. Shows in the left, a bare-footed, young boy, attired in a long-sleeved shirt, breeches, and suspenders, striding next to and looking up at this mother who carries a watermelon on her head. She smokes a pipe and walks with her hands on her hips. She is attired in a bonnet that covers much of her face, shift dress, and apron. Behind her, in the center of the image, the father of the family walks next to a black dog and with two large cabbages tucked into his arms. He slightly frowns and is attired in a short-brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirt, vest and pants. In the right, is an older son, who looks at the viewer. He carries a large basket of produce over his left arm. He is attired in a wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirt, long apron, and pants. In the background, a wooden fence and the tops of trees are visible. Image also shows a white woman, wearing her long, light-colored hair down on her shoulders, and attired in a wide-brimmed hat, and long-sleeved, narrow silhouette dress with an overskirt walking between the fence and the family. Robinson, married to Washington U.S. Treasury clerk Rollinson Colburn, lived in the Capitol between circa 1870 and her death in 1912. In 1887 eight of her works, some purported to be based on her own eye-witness accounts during the 1870s, showing African American life in the city were published as a collectible series of photographs. Occassionally, Colburn described and signed her descriptions of the scenes on the versos of the photographs., Title from item. Title printed on mount and written on original print., Date from copy right statement printed on mount: Copyright 1887., Written in lower right of original print: Mrs. R. Colburn., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchased with the 2019 Junto Fund.
Sawnee
Full-length portrait of the formerly enslaved African American performer, attired in a Union uniform. He stands facing the viewer, holding his cap in his left hand and with his right hand tucked inside his sack coat. Found homeless in 1862 in Chambersburg, Pa. by promoter Robert Criswell, the "Human Organ" imitated the organ, any sound, and sang plantation songs during exhibitions in the North, including New York City and Philadelphia., Article about Sawnee published in Franklin repository, January 27, 1864 (Chambersburg, Pa.), p. 5., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Sawnee
Full-length portrait of the formerly enslaved African American performer, attired in a Union uniform. He holds his hat with his left hand and tucks his right hand into his sack coat while leaning against a chair. Found homeless in 1862 in Chambersburg, Pa. by promoter Robert Criswell, the "Human Organ" imitated the organ, any sound, and sang plantation songs during exhibitions in the North, including New York City and Philadelphia., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Unmounted carte-de-visite., Article about Sawnee published in Franklin repository, January 27, 1864 (Chambersburg, Pa.), p. 5., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Scene at polling place in Wilmington, Del. Local option election, Nov. 5 1907 [graphic] / A.N. Sanborn, 404 Market St., Wilmington, Del.
Documentary view taken by Delaware news photographer A.N. Sanborn showing African American men voters outside of Buck's Chemical Co., a Wilmington, Delaware polling place. Depicts the men standing on the edge of the sidewalk, some conversing, one holding papers in his hand, in front of the brick building of the chemical company adorned in signage reading "Incorporated 1900. Bucks Chemical Co., 1201 & 1203 French St. J.C. Buck[? ], Pres. Wm C. [?], Secy. & Treas. Other men stand near the building by the sign and an entryway with the frame marked "Laundry." To the left, a group of white men stand in a huddle, across from a partially visible entry way, and next to two white girls who look toward the photographer. All the men are attired in suits. To the right, a group of African American and white children crowd together and look toward the photographer. Behind them, in the background, the Black church, the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, is visible. View also includes two lines of ropes and poles that extend into the empty street from the partially visible entryway and create a cordoned passage. In 1901, the Delaware State General Assembly took actions to dismantle laws that impeded voting by the Black community, as well as had finally symbolically ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The November 1907 local option election ballot was on the question of whether state licenses should be granted to outlets to serve alcohol. Wilmington voters voted in favor of licenses., Title and date from manuscript note on mount., Name of photographer from imprint blindstamped on mount., Manuscript note on verso: 5th Dis of 6th Ward. 2nd Ref Dis. Cor 12th & French, Wil Del., Partially purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
[Scene on Atlantic City boardwalk near Lindley's baths.]
Scene depicting the busy Atlantic City boardwalk with many promenaders. Several businesses line the boardwalk including a photographic studio, Adams Bath Houses, Lindley's Baths, and Shimamura & Company. Through the glass storefront window at Shimamura & Co., numerous vases and framed works are visible. Men, women, and children promenaders include two African American girls attired in white dresses and hats; three women attired in Japanese kimono carry parasols and one carries a fan; members of a band; and a white boy carrying a sign for "Cleveland's Iron Pier." In the left, a large American flag flies. An observation tower with people is seen in the background. Shingo Shimamura, along with several Japanese partners including Y. Mayebara, and Takemura, opened Shimamura and Co. in 1888 at Tennessee Avenue and the Boardwalk, Atlantic City. The store sold Japanese art and decorative arts. In 1906, Shimamura opened another store at 579 Broadway, New York City., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from attire of the people., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[The scourged back]
Three-quarter length portrait showing the severely scarred back of the former enslaved and Union soldier, Peter, also known as Gordon, taken in Louisiana and sent to the Surgeon General of Massachusetts., Image reproduced as wood engraving with accompanying article in Harper's weekly, July 4, 1863, p. 429. (LCP **Per H, 1863.) Name of photographer supplied by article., Title and publication information supplied by William Darrah's Cartes-de-visite in nineteenth century photography (Gettysburg: William C. Darrah, 1981), p. 148., Manuscript note attributing original publisher on verso of P.8925.4: "Gordon" by C. Seaver, Jr. Seaver, Jr., a Boston photographer, published the carte-de-visite in support of the abolitionist movement., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War Miscellanies [5786.F.157c]. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886. Accessioned 1982 [P.8925.4]., Recent scholarship has shown the identity of the man photographed in "The Scourged Back" to be a man named Peter, not Gordon. See David Silkenat, "'A Typical Negro': Gordon, Peter, Vincent Colyer, and the the story behind slavery's most famous photograph," American Nineteenth Century History 15, no. 2 (2014):169-186. Copy in LCP Graphic Arts Department research file - Peter., Description revised 2025., Access points revised 2025., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Sec. Chase
Full-length portrait of Salmon P. Chase, the abolitionist leader, Ohio Senator, statesman, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Chase, attired in a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, waistcoat, jacket, pants, and shoes, sits beside a table that has with an inkwell and papers on top of it., Title from manuscript note on mount., Date based on presented age of sitter., Possibly by Mathew B. Brady., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of portraits. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[Second inauguration of President Grover Cleveland, steps of Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1893]
Shows President Cleveland giving his inaugural address surrounded by an immense crowd of guests and spectators lining the stage, steps, and grounds of the Capitol. Also shows patriotic bunting; flag adornments; and a depiction of the American eagle holding the banner "E Pluribus unum." Crowd includes men and women; men attired in military uniforms; and African American spectators., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Centennial and Columbia Exposition views. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[Security Bank & Trust Company, Franklin Street and Girard Avenue, Philadelphia.] [graphic] / Parker & Mullikin, photographers, P.O. Box 275, Upper Darby, Pa.
Real estate photograph commissioned by the Jackson-Cross Company depicting the bank and trust company, established in 1870, at Franklin Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia. People, including African American men, walk on the sidewalk and sit in the adjacent plumbing supply store's doorway at 712 Girard Avenue. An “air-conditioned” movie theater showing the film "State of the Union" with Spencer Tracy stands across Franklin Street. Several cars are parked on the street. The Jackson-Cross Company, established around 1876, was a successful and prominent local real estate firm in operation until 1998., Label on recto: Jackson-Cross Company., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Purchase 2000., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
[Series of photographs of children in North Carolina] [graphic].
Series of primarily captioned photographs depicting white children, a number also including a Black woman caregiver. Images also depict a goat and goat cart. Captions include: "An Important Conference"; "Back yard scenery in N.C."; "Summer"; "Showing the effect of not closing the mouth properly";"Rear view of 'my youngest'"; "Mistaking the shadow for the substance"; "Benjamin My youngest!"; "Master C.M. Gibbon - at 2 yrs"; and "'The 'non-adventurous Billie.', Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from the attire of the sitters., Gift of Marjorie G. Battles.
"She lives way down dar"
Scene depicting an older African American woman giving directions to another African American woman in front of her home. At her open gate, the woman, wearing gray hair and attired in a long-sleeved, patterned dress, a plaid shawl, and a white apron, points left indicating the desired direction. The other woman, attired in a bonnet, a long-sleeved shirt, and a skirt, holds a milk can in her right hand and looks left with her back to the viewer. In the background is a wooden house with a large vine propped up on poles., Title from manuscript note by photographer on verso., Signed by photographer on verso., Alternate title from lantern slide at the Staten Island New York Historical Society., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs won several prizes.
The sick dolly.
Genre photograph showing a young white girl, wearing her hair in ringlets and attired in a dark-colored dress with decorative white piping, white stockings, and black shoes, sitting in a rocking chair in front of a chaise lounge. She holds her white porcelain doll in her arms like a baby. A doll's cradle sits at the girl's feet along with doll’s chair on which a cloth white doll sits. A Black cloth doll is propped on the lounge behind the girl. In the right is a small side table with a glass mug., Title printed on verso., Photographer's label pasted on verso over the printed text of another photographer or publisher., Buff mount with rounded corners., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of David Doret, 2010., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
The sick dolly.
Genre photograph showing a young white girl, wearing her hair in ringlets and attired in a dark-colored dress with decorative white piping, white stockings, and black shoes, sitting in a rocking chair in front of a chaise lounge. She holds her white porcelain doll in her arms like a baby. A doll's cradle sits at the girl's feet along with doll’s chair on which a cloth white doll sits. A Black cloth doll is propped on the lounge behind the girl. In the right is a small side table with a glass mug., Title printed on verso., Photographer's label pasted on verso over the printed text of another photographer or publisher., Buff mount with rounded corners., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of David Doret, 2010., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[Silas McMinn residence, Lake Idaho?]
Portrait of an African American man on a horse-drawn sulky on a farm. The man, attired in a brimmed hat, a coat, pants, and shoes, holds the reins to the horse. In the background are two log cabins, grazing calves, and men with a hay wagon., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s, exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs often won prizes.
Slave pen on Whitehall Street, Atlanta, Ga.
View of a dilapidated building with a sign, "Auction & Negro Sales," on Whitehall Street in Atlanta. A man attired in a brimmed hat sits on a wooden chair with a rifle leaning beside him against the front of the building. Several cigar and cigarette manufactories and tobacco stores, including "F. Geutebruck Tobacco," line the dirt street., Title from item., Issued as #3608 in E. & H.T. Anthony Catalog "War of the Union" series., Original negative in the collections of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War views. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Some of our brave colored boys who helped free Cuba. [graphic].
Stereoview depicting a lineup of African American soldiers in an exterior beach setting during the Spanish American War, 1898. The men, attired in the uniform of campaign hat, button down jacket, trousers, bullet belts, and leggings, stand at attention, and with their rifles held to the sandy ground. Most of the men look straight ahead with a few looking toward the viewer. In the background, an American flag at the end of the line of men and a military encampment with tents and soldiers is visible. The Spanish American War was the conflict between Spain and the United State originating with the Cuban War of Independence. Cuba gained independence and the United States acquired the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands from Spain. The regular army's four Black troops (9th and10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry) and thousands of Black men volunteers served during the war. AFrican American troop's service during the war caused controversy within the African American community which still did not have equal civil rights as citizens of the United States., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1899 by J. F. Jarvis., Distributor's imprint printed on mount: Sold by Underwood & Underwood. New York, London, Toronto-Canada, Ottowa-Kansas., Semi-legible maunscript note on verso: Deliver to Mr. [Heyburn?] ... with ..., J.F. Jarvis was the largest manufacturer of stereoviews in Washington D.C. during the late 19th century. He published his own trade list and numerous views of government surveys., RVCDC
south
Photographic reproduction of a racist caricature showing an African American boy as a visual metaphor for the South, i.e., the Confederate States. Shows a raggedly dress boy holding a banjo and the Emancipation Proclamation, while standing on the Confederate flag. Face of toddler after carte de visite photograph showing a bust-lenth portrait of an African American toddler titled "Young Africa, Or the Bone of Contention" issued by E. Anthony in 1862., One of two companion cartes de visite titled "North" and "South." LCP holds "North." [5780.F.52r], Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of humorous caricatures and photographs., Created postfreeze., See LCP copy "Bone of Contention" (cdv - Anthony [P.2002.5])., Duplicate listed in Early American Historical Auctions Catalog (April 2014) contains stamp on verso: A.M. Bailey agent for American Photography.
Southern tombstones
Photographic reproduction of an anti-Confederate political cartoon showing a dilapidated graveyard of tombstones and a mausoleum inscribed with vitriolic epitaphs for predominately prominent military figures from the Confederate States. The fictionalized deceased include Generals P.G.T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, John B. Floyd, Robert E. Lee, Leonidas Polk and Henry A. Wise in addition to Vice-President Alexander Stephens. Within the cemetery, an African American man with a bayonet peers out from behind a tombstone near a debris-strewn path marked "secession, mob rule, and nullification." Plantations burn in the background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Publisher's imprint printed on verso., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of humorous caricatures and photographs. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Created postfreeze., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[Springbrook, garden estate of George H. Stuart, Frankford Road]
Views of the garden and greenhouses on the forty acre estate of Stuart, a Philadelphia philanthropist. Shows a gravel path in the garden near the rear of a building; the interior of a greenhouse filled with potted plants; and the exterior of a greenhouse. Exterior views include a man possibly, Stuart; African American gardeners, including one with a wheelbarrow; and potted plants lining the edge of a lawn. Stuart bought the estate from Caleb Cope, a collector of botany, in 1857 and sold the property in 1866., Attributed to John Moran., Title supplied by cataloger., Pale yellow or cream paper mounts with square corners., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., For a description of the estate, see clipping in Poulson's scrapbook, vol 1, p. 73., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
St. Johns Episcopal Church's minstral club - graphic of minstral show April 12 and 13, 1901
Negative blocked with marking tape depicting a bust-length portrait of an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature wearing a beard and attired in a bowler hat. Contains name of minstrel club and performance dates. Along the top are small photographs including several portraits of white women, a large group portrait of white men and women, and a seated white man playing the guitar., Title from negative sleeve., Duplicate: St. John's club minstrels, Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13 1901 (cartoon). [P.9645.743], Gift of Matthew Schultz, 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
St. Thomas' (African) Church.
Exterior view of the first African Episcopal church in the United States at the corner of Fifth and Adelphi (i.e., Saint James) streets, in Philadelphia, Pa. Shows an oblique view of the two-story church designed with several windows, including lunette windows. A small wall, topped with a wrought iron fence, surrounds the property. Partial view of adjacent buildings in the left and right. The church was established in 1794 by the religious and beneficent organization, the Free African Society, as a result of the discriminatory practices of the city's congregations. Absalom Jones, a freed enslaved man, became rector of the church in 1796 and remained as its minister until his death in 1818., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on mount., Date inscribed on photograph., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 3, page 151. The scrapbooks contained approximately 120 photographs by Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia commissioned by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., Reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 41., Arcadia caption text: This simple church, photographed in May 1859, stood at the corner of Fifth and Saint James streets. Formed in response to the discriminatory practices of the city’s congregations, St. Thomas African Church was established in 1794 as the first African Episcopal church in the United States. An outgrowth of the religious and benevolent organization the Free African Society, established by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the church served as a religious pillar of the elite African American community during the 19th century. Jones, a freed slave, became rector in 1796., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
[Statue of Diana at Fairmount Water Works]
View showing the statue commissioned by the Water Commission and installed circa 1830-1831 at the foot of the inclined walkway to Reservoir Hill at the Fairmount Water Works on the Schuylkill River. Also shows two men, including an African American man, seated on the ground behind the statue., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the sitters., Trimmed blue mount with square corners., Manuscript note on accompanying label: Philadelphia Water Works. Statue of Diana at Fairmount. With respects of Henry P.M. Birkinbine Chief Engineer., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
[Stereograph showing the office of the Grand Union Hotel advertising Maine druggists J.H. Irish & Co. on verso] [graphic].
Interior view of the office of the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. showing two employees at the front desk. An African American man, attired in a suit, stands and leans his left elbow on the desk. A white man, attired in a suit, stands behind the desk with a large book opened in front of him. Architectural details of the large space include columns draped in flower garlands, a tiled floor, and a large clock hanging above the desk. Built originally as Gideon Putnam's tavern and boarding house in 1802, the hotel formed through many expansions and additions. The name of the hotel as it appears on the stereograph was adopted in 1869. Demolished 1852-1853., Title supplied by cataloger., Yellow mount with rounded corners., Advertisement printed on verso printed by Wm. Miller Co., 57 Cedar, N.Y.: J.H. Irish & Co., druggists and apothecaries, dealers in drugs, medicines, chemicals, fancy and toilet articles, school books, stationery, periodicals, etc., Gorham, Maine. Physicians' prescriptions carefully compounded., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Street cries. [graphic].
Photographic reproduction of a print drawn by Helen M. Colburn, daughter of New Jersey artist Rembrandt Lockwood, depicting a group of African American men and boy peddlers at the corner of a city street. The figures are drawn with racist and caricatured features and mannerisms. In the center, a milk peddler stands and hawks with a trumpet in his left hand and a canteen of milk, ladle, and pitcher in his right hand. The man is attired in a wide-brimmed hat, shirtsleeves, pants, and a long apron. To the left, another African American man peddler pushes a large cart of junk wares and looks down at a young African American child running from a dog. The man wears a rumpled top hat, torn shirtsleeves, a vest, and patched pants. The child wears a smock dress and their hat has fallen by the feet of the milk peddler. In the right, a newspaper boy hawks the papers under his right arm. He is attired in a soft-brimmed hat, jacket, and pants. In the far right, a man attired in a hat, a shirt with turned-up collar, a long jacket, and striped pants, holds a bell and has his left leg stepped up on a box. Cityscape, a white woman street vendor at a table, and a horse-drawn cart are visible in the background. Robinson, married to Washington U.S. Treasury clerk Rollinson Colburn, lived in the Capitol between circa 1870 and her death in 1912. In 1887 eight of her works, some purported to be based on her own eye-witness accounts during the 1870s, showing African American life in the city were published as a collectible series of photographs. Occassionally, Colburn described and signed her descriptions of the scenes on the versos of the photographs., Title printed on mount., Date from copy right statement printed on mount: Copyright 1887., Written in lower right of original print: Mrs. R. Colburn 1870., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchased with the 2019 Junto Fund.
[Studio group portrait depicting African American men wearing modish attire and in a posed scene] [graphic].
Real photo postcard depicting three men, one seated and two standing in an interior setting. The seated man is in the center of the scene. He looks to a man standing in the left of the image. He slightly points up with his right hand and holds his light-colored hat on his right leg. His left leg is crossed over his right knee. The man in the left, slightly hunches over and writes in a small notebook held in his hand. In the right, another man stands and watches the interaction posed as a conversation. All the men wear suits and the two men standing also wear hats, a light-colored fedora (man in left) and a dark-colored derby (man in right)., Title supplied by cataloger., Divided back., Contains Cyko stamp box printed on verso., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., See related postcard: LCP postcards - Portraits - African American [P.2024.48.1]
[Studio group portrait depicting African American women wearing modish attire and posed side by side] [graphic].
Real photo postcard depicting the five women, standing, lined in a row, and many with their hand on the shoulder of the woman next to them. Two of the sitters hold cigars. Four of the women wear similar attire of lightweight fabric, short-sleeve, knee-length dresses, including one with a drop waist; high crowned, crushable, fedora-like hats; stockings; and short-heeled shoes. Two of the women also wear puffy bows in their hair. The woman at the end of the row in the right of the image holds her left hand over her heart. She is attired in an ankle-length work dress with buttons down the skirt. The sitters stand before a drapery backdrop and folding panel., Title supplied by cataloger., Divided back., Contains Cyko stamp box printed on verso., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., See related postcard: LCP postcards - Portraits - African American [P.2024.48.2]
A study in chocolate
Full-length portrait by an unidentified young African American girl taken by an unidentified member of the Columbia Photographic Society. The girl, attired in a long-sleeved, gingham dress and pinafore and boots, holds a toy and looks at the viewer. She stands sideways on the sidewalk of a residential street, probably in Philadelphia. Behind her is a fence and a row of houses. The Society, an amateur North Philadelphia photographer's club established in 1889, sponsored photographic outings, lantern slide shows, and published "Camera" magazine until 1953., Title from label on the item., Date inferred by the attire of the sitter., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1982, p. 42., See "Charter and By-Laws of the Columbia Photographic Society." (Philadelphia, 1905). (LCP Print Room, 68371.D)., Gift of Morris Finkel, 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Tallahasse, Florida
Portrait of an African American man and woman seated in the doorway of a wooden cabin made of boards. In the left, the woman, attired in a head kerchief, a long-sleeved quilted shirt, a torn and worn skirt, an apron, and shoes, sits and looks at the viewer. In the right, the older man, attired in a head kerchief, a torn and worn long-sleeved shirt, a vest, pants, and open-toed shoes, sits with his right leg propped on a log., Title from manuscript note by photographer on verso., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs won several prizes.
Testimonial banquet to Ms. Eugenia M. Neal. Daughter Ruler Keystone Temple, No. 448 I.B.P.O.E.W., Dec. 8, 1930. O. V. Catto Elks Home, Philadelphia. [graphic] / Standard Photo Service, 1357 South St., Phila., Pa.
Panoramic group portrait photograph depicting over one hundred African American men and women, of all ages, at a testimonial banquet of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World for Eugenia Neal (1873-1949). The attendees, attired in evening wear, sit at rows of tables and a few booths in the right of the room. Attendees wear suits, tuxedos, and evening and cocktail dresses. Most of the sitters do not smile and face the camera. Some are turned away or eating. Some of the men wear their I.B.P.O.E.W. fezzes. In the right background, one woman has an arch of flowers over her. The tables are covered in white tablecloths and lined with plates of food, serving platters, and silver pitchers. In the background, at the back of the room, a small band of men musicians is seated next to a woman at a piano. Streamers and a paper bell adorn the ceiling. The O.V. Catto Elks Lodge began in 1903 as a chapter of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World established in 1897 with a mission to "practice charity by providing and performing charitable services in our communities throughout the world and by promoting harmony, friendship, and unity among our esteemed members." By 1926, the Lodge had over 3000 members, and in 1929, it relocated to a new building that included a boxing ring, basketball court, and rooftop garden, at 16th and Fitzwater. Eugenia Neal, born Eugenia Brisby in Virginia, worked as a typesetter in Philadelphia by 1920. Married to Moses Neal in 1896, the couple resided in Atlantic City before relocating to Philadelphia by 1910. As a Daughter Ruler, Neal lead the Keystone Temple with her male counterpart, Exalted Ruler, and "under their leadership, all Elks shall show[ed] truth in activities and live[d] to help others, while promoting Brotherly and Sisterly Love to all.", Title and date from item.
These children
Abolitionist group portrait of the propagandized fair-skinned children emancipated from enslavement, Rebecca Huger, Charles Taylor, and Rosina Downs, denied entrance to the hotel in December 1863 during a fundraising tour of the North. Touring on behalf of the Louisiana schools for the formerly enslaved established by Assistant Superintendent of Freedmen, Phillip Bacon, the rebuffed children were accepted at the Continental Hotel. Revenue from the sale of the portrait was to be donated to the education of emancipated enslaved people in the Department of the Gulf., Title from item., Date based on content., Name of photographer from duplicate photograph., See Harper's weekly, January 30, 1864, p. 71. (LCP **Per H, 1864)., See Kathleen Collin's "Portraits of slave children," History of photography 9 (July-September 1985), p. 187-210., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.

Pages