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Henry B. Odiorne Photograph Collection
Collection of photographs by Odiorne of commercial streets in center city Philadelphia east of 10th Street. Primarily documents Chestnut Street between 6th and 10th Streets, including views from Odiorne’s photographic studio at 920 Chestnut Street showing a variety of retail businesses and several large hotels. Hotels depicted include Continental Hotel, Girard House, and Washington House. Also contains views of the area near Dock Street and the Delaware River waterfront showing boarding houses, hotels, liquor stores, and oyster saloons; 5th Street near Arch Street, including images of Garrigues & Magee Manufacturing Chemists, suppliers of photographic chemicals and William Wilson & Son, manufacturers of silver ware; residences near 4th and Pine Streets; and Franklin Square. Also includes images of the Market Street market sheds, and a police station. Several of the views are snow scenes. Philadelphia photographer Henry B. Odiorne (1805-1860) worked out of Isaac Rehn’s Gallery at 920 Chestnut Street 1859-1860.
Old Landmarks and Relics of Philadelphia Album, Fourth Series
Viewbook containing a folded leave of six titled photographs and a folded leave of titled, narrative texts about the images. Photographs depict "The House in which Gen'l Agnew Died Germantown" showing an exterior view of Grumblethorpe, the house built in 1744 in which British General James Agnew died in 1777; "Swedes Church. Front View" showing the Episcopalian, former Lutheran, church known as Gloria Dei Church, built 1700-1703 at 929 South Water Street; "Old Log Cabin, Richmond & Vienna Sts." showing an 18th-century style dwelling in Fishtown; "The Old Market House, Callowhill & New Market Sts." showing one of the four old market houses, known as Norwich Market, established in 1783 on the 100 block of Callowhill Street; Robert Morris Hotel Phila. Park showing the four-story hotel opposite the race bridge of the Fairmount Water Works that was razed in 1868; and "Ancient Building, First Fish House, Arch St. bel. 4th Sts." showing the 18th-century attached, brick buildings in Loxley Court that purportedly housed fishing implements for the Penn family. Images include grave stones; broadsides; signage; neighborhood dwellers; and partial views of horse-drawn carriages.
Old Landmarks and Relics of Philadelphia Album, Second Series
Viewbook containing six titled photographs and a folded leave of titled, narrative texts about the images. Photographs depict "Independence Hall" showing the front facade of the building built 1732-1748, including the front courtyard with the Joseph A. Baily statue of George Washington; "Whitby Hall" showing the country dwelling built in 1754 on land in Kingsessing acquired by Philadelphia merchant James Coultas in 1741;" "Friends Alms House, Walnut Bel. Fourth" showing the benevolent institution erected in 1729 and razed in 1841; "Acadamy [sic] of Fine Arts, Chestnut St. Bet. 10th & 11th Sts. Phila." showing the arched entry way to the building erected in 1806 and shortly before it was "torn down in 1870, to make way for Fox's American Theatre; "Rittenhouse Mansion, Arch & Seventh Sts." showing the former residence of astronomer David Rittenhouse built 1786-1787 by master builder Joseph Ogilby; and "St. Peters Church, Fourth & Pine" showing the Episcopal church built 1758-1761 "in the midst of a graveyard." Images also include residents; street lamps; signage; partial views of storefront awnings; and trees and greenery.
Old Philadelphia Views Album
Album of photographs, predominately half stereographs, of landscape views of Philadelphia and Bucks County. Images include views of Frankford Creek, Tohickon Creek, Wissahickon Creek, Tacony Creek, Pleasantville, Crescentville, Germantown, Fairmount Park near the water works, and winter scenery. Also contains photographs of Stenton, Woodlands Cemetery, the Desilverwood Estate (Holmesburg), the Burd family monuments at St. Stephen's Church (Philadelphia), the city garden of Joseph R. Evans (329 Pine Street), Atlantic City, and Richmond, Va. Images include trees, creek banks, rocks, waterfalls, dams, bridges, mills, and farm land. Many also include posed figures, including a man, probably one of Moran's artist brothers Edward or Thomas, painting in a ravine and scenes titled "Student at Work"; "Autumn in the Woods - burning leaves"; and "Sit up Sir" showing a man with a dog.
Pawson & Nicholson Photograph Album
Photograph album compiled by James B. Nicholson containing predominantly portrait photographs of prominent local and national members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and their families, including men, women, and children. Photographs depict full-length, bust-length, and vignette portraits; group portraiture; and collages. Several male sitters wear the regalia of the Odd Fellows and most sitters are fashionably attired. Group portraiture depicts employees of Pawson and Nicholson in front of the bookbinding shop (139 S. Seventh), and rosters and meetings and excursions of members of the fraternal organization (1870s-1880s), including Warrior Lodge, no. 873. Collages include portraits of the Rulafson family of San Francisco and examples of work from the respected photographic firm Bradley & Rulafson. Also includes images of the photography department and sculpture at the Centennial Exhibition (1876); photographic reproductions of a Sir Walter Scott manuscript donated to the Sanitary Fair (1864), and an Odd Fellow membership certificate and medal; and a John Sartain engraved portrait of "E. Grand Captain General of Pennsylvania" Varhan Smith.
Pennsylvania Capitol Collection
Collection of photographs, including a series created by Philadelphia professional photographer, William Rau, along with architectural drawings, photomechanical prints, sketches, lithographs and etchings, depicting the Capitol during its construction from 1901 to 1906.
Philadelphia on Stone
The Philadelphia on Stone Digital Catalog contains over 1300 lithographs, related ephemera, and prints documenting Philadelphia commercial lithography between 1828 and 1878 derived from the surveys conducted at eight collaborating institutions between May 2007 and May 2010. Lithographs listed in Nicholas Wainwright’s Philadelphia in the Romantic Age of Lithography (1958), lithographs not listed in Wainwright portraying the built environment of Philadelphia, and advertisements for and printed views of Philadelphia lithographic establishments form the core content of the records and images contained in this catalog. Each catalog record contains the name of the holding institution of the item(s) described and is the repository who should be contacted to obtain reproductions of prints not held in the collections at the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Zoo Photograph Album
Album of photographs predominantly showing the grounds of the Philadelphia Zoo in Fairmount Park, in West Philadelphia. Contains views of the Victorian-style gatehouse after the designs of Frank Furness; "The Dying Lioness" statue after the design of Wilhelm Wolff casted in 1875 at the entrance courtyard; lions, tigers, a jaguar and a zebra walking, standing, and grazing in their caged areas; an elephant, camel, lama, mountain goat, and caribou in fenced yards; buffalo grazing on a pasture; and Solitude, the country retreat of John Penn built in 1785 on the grounds of the zoo (miscaptioned as "Wm Penn's House, Fairmount Park"). Images include zoo keepers, visitors, gates, fencing, "Admission Today" signage, and partial views of other buildings on the zoo grounds. Also contains portrait photographs of a man and woman, probably Josie and Emil, and sculler "Andrew C. Craig, Undine Boat Club" on the Schuylkill River. Craig view also includes cityscape and trees along the riverbank in the background. The Philadelphia Zoo, the first in the nation, opened in 1874.
Philip Frey & Co.'s Centennial Exhibition Souvenir Viewbook
Souvenir viewbook containing 12 prints connected by accordion folds and depicting Centennial Exhibition buildings. Titles include U.S. Government Building; Delaware Building; Connecticut Building; Indiana Building; Ohio Building; Pennsylvania Building; New Jersey Building; Arkansas Building; Colorado and Kansas Building; Spanish Building; English Commission Building; and Japanese Dwelling. Majority of the Centennial buildings were built after the designs of Herman Schwartzmann, Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson. The Centennial Exhibition celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art.
Photograph Album of Philadelphia and Vicinity
Photograph album compiled by Philadelphia photographer Robert Newell containing views by the photographer and his peers, including F. De. B. Richards. Images depict major city landmarks and views of Fairmount Park, including benevolent, educational and financial institutions, historic sites, residences, churches and meetinghouses, bridges, and hotels and taverns. Sites documented include Broad Street (Civil War) Hospital; Foster Home (Twenty-Fourth and Poplar); Germantown Academy; the former bookstore and printing office of William Young (200-204 Chestnut); Landing Avenue during alterations (East bank of Schuylkill); Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (old and new); Carpenters Hall; Independence Hall; Academy of Music; Merchants' Exchange; Girard, Farmers', Mechanics', Pennsylvania, and Fourth National banks; Bartram's, Keene, and Rittenhouse mansions; Woodford residence (Fairmount Park); Washington's residence (Germantown); Womrath property, "where the first 4th of July" was celebrated" (4216 Frankford); Oldest house in Lansdown" (West Fairmount Park); Old Farm house (Broad and Oxford); St. Judes Episcopal church; Fairmount Water Works, and boat houses and ice houses along the Schuylkill; Cedar Hill, Laurel Hill and Woodlands cemeteries; Columbia, Old Callowhill Street, Girard Avenue, and New York Connecting Railroad bridges; Continental, Valley Green, Maple Spring, Markley's and Cole's hotels; and "Punch Bowl" (2100 Broad), "Abbey" (Hunting Park and Wissahickon Aves), Old Buck? (Lancaster Pike) and Old Grey's Ferry taverns.
Photographic Albums
Photographic Views of Philadelphia's New City Building
Albums of progress photographs of the early construction of City Hall built 1871-1901 on Penn Square after the designs of John McArthur, Jr. Photographs show different stages of the construction of the foundation and lower floor of the building between 1873 and 1875. Includes images of the dirt sub basement; construction materials, equipment, and workers; aerial views of the built foundation; partially completed walls and abutments; and studio views of columns and architectural ornaments. Several of the views include scaffolding; horse-drawn carts; pulleys; piles of construction debris; Pennsylvania Railroad cars on Market Street; and workers and well-dressed men, probably the commissioners, reviewing and posed on or near constructed parts of the building and construction materials. Views also show surrounding cityscape, including the Masonic Temple (Broad and Filbert); United States Mint (1331-1337 Chestnut Street); the Seventh Presbyterian Church (Broad Street above Chestnut Street); Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Depot (13th and Market); La Salle College High School (Filbert and Juniper); Sharpless & Watts, flooring tile (1325 Market Street); the spires of Arch Street Methodist Episcopal Church (s.w. cor. Broad & Arch) and First Baptist Church (n.w. cor. Broad and Arch); and other surrounding businesses (beer hall, wall paper, and furniture) and residences.
Political Cartoons Collection
Popular Medicine Collection
Portrait Album of Well-Known 19th-Century African American Men of Philadelphia
Photograph album containing identified portrait photographs, bust-length, half-length, and full-length, of twenty-one prominent Philadelphia African American men. Named sitters in order of inclusion in album include veteran Harmon Richardson attired in a military uniform; educator and activist Octavius Catto; civil rights activist Edwin Chew (son of John and Charlotte Henson Chew); janitor and later undertaker Guy M. Burton with musician Ed[ward] H. Johnson and Terry V. Hall; musician Joseph G. Anderson; Civil War veteran and waiter Taylor Aldridge; Johnson al-Jube holding a basket; laborer Parker T. Smith; Jeremiah V. Hall; George Hall; waiter William I. Lancaster; barber James Keith; caterer Henry Tobias; Cheslea Bass, barber and partner to James Keith, with caterer Andrew F. Stevens; Edwin Lewis; Jas. H. Williams ae.[sic] Rush; Thomas Proctor; and restauranteur/caterer Ja[me]s B. Page. Musicians Edward Johnson and Joseph G. Anderson were members of Francis Johnson's band in the 1830s and 40s., Title supplied by cataloger from label on spine., Date from content and medium of photographs., Cardboard binding with torn spine label inscribed: Portraits of Well Know[n]. Insides of binding covers include scribbles and a pasted partial scrap of a flower., Photographs are loose or attached to album pages within binding., Sitters, and occasionally their profession, identified by manuscript notes on verso of photograph or album page. Some notes include statement "deceased," including for sitters Harmon Richardson, Edwin Chew, Octavius Catto, Edward H. Johnson, Terry V. Hall, Joseph G. Anderson, Johnson al-Jube, George Hall, James H. Williams, and James Page., Mostly unidentified photographers with identified Philadelphia photographers John L. Gihon and Parlor Gallery., Portrait photograph of Octavius Catto reproduced after a circa 1871 portrait photograph taken by African American Philadelphia photographer Gallo W. Cheston and/or Philadelphia photographers Broadbent & Phillips. See "Amy Cohen's Catto the Forgotten Hero" at catto.ushistory.org/. See also Harper's Weekly 15 (October 28, 1871), p. 1005 and a copy of the original portrait at https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2006.8. Photograph stamped on verso: Kean Archives, Phila., Portrait photograph of Taylor Aldridge inscribed on verso: Nov. 27 '83., Verso of album page with portrait photograph of Edwin Lewis inscribed: July '83., Verso of album page with portrait photograph of James Page printed: Sharpless Bros. Dry Goods, Chestnut and Eighth Sts. Philadelphia., Purchase 1990., Description revised 2023., Access points revised 2023., 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.
Portrait Prints and Boxiana Album
Bound volume of portrait plates issued between circa 1804 and 1831 from various publications, including "Mechanics Magazine"; "New British Lady's Magazine"; and the compilation "Boxiana or Sketches of Antient [sic] and Modern Pugilism" (London: George Virtue, 1829). Portraits depict prominent and celebrity European figures, predominantly from Great Britain, including clergymen, legislators, entertainers, scientists and inventors, royalty and pugilists. Plates include full-length, half-length, and bust-length portraiture, with some containing backgrounds, props, or ornate borders. Portraits of religious figures predominantly published by London publishers F. Westley and Westley & Davis and arranged in alphabetical order by sitter's name. Portraits of legislators, celebrity and other prominent figures predominantly published by London publishers Fisher Son & Co. and J. Robins & Co. and arranged in alphabetical order by sitter's name. Portraits of pugilists predominantly published by G. Smeeten and Sherwood, Jones & Co. and most arranged in alphabetical order by sitter's name. Volume also includes a title page and views titled "The John Bull Fighters Splendid Silver Cup" and "A Sparring Match at the Fives Court" from the Pierce Egan's "Boxiana" series originally published in parts in 1813 and later as volumes between 1818 and 1828., Sitters include reverends George Burder (Senior Secretary of the London Missionary Society), William Milne (Late Missionary to the Chinese), David Stuart (Theological Tutor of the Irish Evangelical), and Robert Vaughan; physician Carl Linnaeus; inventor Sir Richard Arkwright; Queen Caroline; statesman John Wilson Croker; authors Madame De Genlis, Madame De Stael, and Hannah More; (Victoria Mary Louisa) Duchess of Kent; George I, II, III, and IV; performers Josephine Girardelli and Anna Maria Tree; architect Peter Nicholson; Whig politician Thomas Spring Rice; and chemist William Hyde Wollaston. Sitters also include pugilists Peter Crawley; Dick Curtis; Josh Hudson; Tom Owen; Ned Painter; Dutch Sam (i.e., Samuel Elias); Ned Turner; and expatriate, African American pugilists Bill Richmond and Tom Molyneux (portraits on the same page)., Portraits of Bill Richmond and Tom Molyneux show the men in bust-length. Richmond looks slight to the right. He has curly hair and is attired in a patterned shirt with a ruffled collar and a jacket. Molyneux is shown in right profile. He has curly hair and is attired in a shirt with a ruffled collar and a jacket., Title from stamp on spine., Inscribed on front free end paper: R. B. bind as arranged., Pages numbered in ink in upper left corner., Inscribed on verso of portrait of ‘His Most Gracious Majesty, George Augustus-Frederick The Fourth” (p. 110): On Celebrated Englishmen, Various artists and engravers, including George Cruikshank; Isaac Robert Cruikshank; Fenner, Sears & Co.; W. T. Fry; W. Hollins; Thomas Lawrence; R. Page; W. T. Page; George Parker; Sherwood, Jones & Co.; J. R. Wildman; and J. W. Wright., Publishers include Knight & Lacey; George Smeeton; F. Westley; Westley & Davis; T. Williams; and Williams & Smith., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Accessioned 1882., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Portraits of American Women
The Library Company's ongoing Portraits of American Women project identifies portraits that appeared in books and periodicals before 1861 and makes them accessible online. In antebellum America, before the development of photomechanical image reproduction, such portraits represented a significant investment of time and money.
Postcard Collection
Collection of postcards depicting Philadelphia businesses, institutions, landmarks, historic residences, and neighborhoods, ca. 1890-ca.1950.
Charles A. Poulson Philadelphia Scrapbooks
Scrapbook of dated textual and illustrated newspaper clippings describing the history, society, built environment, and political climate of Philadelphia, ca. 1830-ca. 1860.
Printed and Graphic Ephemera
Publications by Library Company of Philadelphia Staff
Race and Visual Culture Digital Collection
This collection includes historical materials or references to or descriptions of historical materials that may be considered offensive or harmful. Historical records are evidence of the time in which they were created and often contain language and images that are racist, homophobic, sexist, ableist, or otherwise derogatory and insensitive. The Library Company takes responsibility for these materials and their importance for the study of the past seriously. The Library does not endorse the views expressed in these materials. If you encounter language in this digitized collection, or elsewhere that you find offensive or harmful, or if you have questions about the statement above or about our work, we welcome your feedback. A full statement and feedback form where you can alert us of potentially harmful material is here. The Race and Visual Culture Digital Collection contains historical visual material and popular art works, often racist in content, that pertain to the visual culture of race and its social, cultural, and historical complexities and biases. The collection, in correlation with the African American History Graphics Digital Collection, includes over 1,600 images and descriptions of visual material that depict or reference the BIPOC community between the 18th and 20th centuries. The sub collections contained within are arranged by date spans based on the creation date of the item. The supplied titles, descriptions, and subject headings were reviewed, revised, and remediated to include anti-racist language as part of a 2021-2022 remediation cataloging project of our African American History Graphics Collection. Many records still include legacy Library of Congress Subject Headings, which conform to national and institutional cataloging standards that are under review for their continued public use in our catalogs. The collection was first published in 2023. Resources: Antracoli, Alexis A., Annalise Berdini, Kelly Bolding, Faith Charlton, Amanda Ferrara, Valencia Johnson, and Katy Rawdon. “Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia: Anti-Racist Description Resources.” October 2020. https://archivesforblacklives.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/ardr_202010.pdf Berry, Dorothy. Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021. https://www.dorothy-berry.com/minstrel-description Jeannet, Paula. “The Ethics of Describing Images: Representing Racial Identities in Photographic Collections,” Catalogue & Index, March 2021. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.cilip.org.uk/resource/collection/CC45A47F-BE48-4BA1-B6D4-25BF10F1BC41/C&I202Jeannet_describing_images.pdf
Rae's Philadelphia Pictorial Directory & Panoramic Advertiser
Folio volume of panoramic views of businesses on the 200-900 blocks of Chestnut Street and corresponding pages of advertisements. Also contains a preface, which details that inclusion in the directory required subscription to or purchase of the volume; the intention to "issue the Panoramic View annually"; and the publisher's endeavor to correct all lettering errors "upon the publication of the second edition." Volume also includes interspersed full-, half- and, one-third-page advertisements for business subscribers tenanting, as well as not located on Chestnut Street. Publisher issued only the 1851 directory.
Robert Redfield Photograph Collection
Collection of landscape photographs taken 1885-1900 by Philadelphia-area naturalist photographer and Photo-Secessionist Robert Redfield (1849-1923). Images primarily depict the Brandywine Creek and Mill Creek (PA); Twin Lakes (CT); and Mount Washington (MA) as well as unidentified creeks and streams. Many of the views include people at recreation and sheep or cows. Collection also includes views of the office and darkroom of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia (South Fifteenth Street) and the photographer’s residence in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Frederick De Bourg Richards Photograph Collection
Collection of photographs attributed to Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in Philadelphia.
Max Rosenthal Collection of Portraits Scrapbook
Bound volume of portraits primarily delineated by Max Rosenthal showing prominent Philadelphians, and historical and military figures, including members of the Continental Congress, clergyman, legislators, government officials, physicians, military officers, artists, and authors. Contains full-length, half-length, bust-length, and profile portraits, with some containing backgrounds and props. Also includes the front page of a September 1885 edition of "Paper and Press" containing a portrait and biography of Philadelphia publisher Henry Carey Baird and an article about printed blanks.
Roughwood Collection
Broadsides, certificates, songs and prayers reflecting Pennsylvania German-American folk culture collected by Don Yoder and William Woys Weaver, mostly 19th century.
"Saturday Jaunts: One-Day Holidays Spent Near the City" by the Ledger Monastery
Volume composed of reprinted "Saturday Jaunts" columns (spring and summer 1891) and 25 photographs documenting the one-day excursions of the "Saturday Jaunters," employees of the Public Ledger in Philadelphia. Saturday Jaunters (identified with "monkish" pseudonyms) referenced in and authors of the columns include Bonifacius (William E. Meehan), Benedict (Addison B. Burk), Chrysostum (Joel Cook), Angelo (John J. Mckenna), Damon (Charles S. Spangler), Photius (Edmund Stirling), Friar Tuck (Edward Robinson), Constantius (Stephen J. Burke), Pius (Israel F. Sheppard), Sacristan (C. Johann), Fabian (Dr. William H. Burk), Medicus, Ananias (Collins W. Walton), Titian (John A. Johann), Cephas (Peter J. Heborn), and Brother Alban (Captain Robert C. Clipperton). Contains the columns: I. Marble Hall and Spring Mill. II. A Visit to the Coal Fields of Pottsville. III. A Trip along Cresheim Creek and the "Happy Valley." IV. A Roundabout Journey to Edge Hill. V. A Pilgrimage through the Gulf and to Belvoir. VI. A Pilgrimage through the Gulf and to Belvoir (Continued). VII. A Pleasant Pilgrimage into New Jersey. VIII. A. Walk Up the Wissahickon Valley. IX. A Trip to Reading and Its Grand Environs. X. The Soapstone Quarries and Rockdale. XI. Villanova and Its Vicinity. XII. Glimpses from a Car window of a Picturesque Country. XIII. A Trip to Mount Gretna and the Cornwall Ore Banks.
Scenery on the Pennsylvania Railroad Album
Album of photographs documenting the Philadelphia, Middle, and Pittsburgh divisions of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated in 1846. The consolidated company sought to build a trunk route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh through the Allegheny mountains in order to compete with the Erie Canal for freight traffic. In 1854, rail passage through the Alleghenies via the "Horse Shoe Curve" was achieved and spurred the establishment and growth of the several towns depicted along the route.
Scrapbook of Ephemera
Scrapbook compiled circa 1821- circa 1894 containing tickets, invitations, textile and perfume labels, tokens, and trade cards, primarily issued in Philadelphia. Materials included document University of Pennsylvania medical department courses; Pennsylvania Horticultural Society events, including bazaars; and advertising souvenirs from the Centennial Exhibition (1876). Imagery depicts buildings, genre scenes, and allegorical figures.
Scrapbook of Greeting Cards, Menus, Invitations, etc.
Scrapbook compiled by Philadelphia socialite Minnie Campbell Wilson (neé Harris) containing primarily place, greeting, holiday and calling cards predominantly issued in the United Kingdom and the Northeast United States. Majority of the cards are printed and or chromolithographs, with a small number illustrated with drawings by hand. Many cards also contain ornate border details, embossing, and adornments, including ribbons, fringe, lace, a wishbone, and overlays.
Scrapbook of Greeting Cards, Programs, etc.
Scrapbook compiled by Philadelphia socialite Minnie Campbell Wilson (neé Harris) primarily containing ephemera from luncheons, suppers, university class days, and other high society social events. Events attend by Harris include dances and recitals at Wissahickon Inn; receptions, club socials, and a gymnastics exhibition at Princeton University; class days at Harvard, Brown, Princeton, and University of Pennsylvania (1885-1891); a Cricket Ball (1888); Authors Dance for the benefit of the School of Industrial Art and Pennsylvania Museum (1890); U.S.S. New York launching at Cramp's Shipyard (1891); and "supper at the Stratford after seeing [Sarah] Bernhardt given by Charles Lea, Feb. 1891." Ephemera includes programs, invitations, menus, and place, dance, holiday, and tally cards. Majority of the cards are printed, with some designed by hand. Holiday cards often depict religious, sentimental, and genre imagery, including children, animals, flowers, landscapes, and costumed and historical figures.
Scrapbook of Prints
Scrapbook containing primarily engraved periodical illustrations issued between circa 1820 and 1852 from American publications, including "Wellman's Literary Miscellany" and "Sartain's Magazine." Illustrations predominantly depict sentimental, religious, and genre views, many after European paintings, and often including children and animals, predominantly dogs.
Scrapbook of Trade Cards, Holiday Cards, etc.
Scrapbook possibly compiled by Fanny Keene containing trade cards, sentiment cards, holiday cards, rewards of merit, die cut and embossed scraps, and a temperance pledge card primarily issued in New England. Majority of the contents are chromolithographs and some contain trompe l'oeil, embossed, die cut and overlay designs.
Scrapbook with periodical illustrations, comic valentines, and patent medicine advertisements
Eccentrically-arranged scrapbook predominantly containing newspaper clippings, patent medicine almanac advertisements, and comic valentines. Also contains scraps, trade cards, and labels. Clippings, many published in the sensational periodicals “National Police Gazette” and “Days' Doings” primarily depict illustrations of murders and violence, crimes and punishments, human curiosities, animal attacks, human peril, women in distress, evocative theatrical performances, acts of daring, cross dressing and comic scenes in silhouette.
Section through the engine house of the Centre Square Water Works, Philadelphia
Photomechanical reproduction of a mechanical drawing of a cross section of the pumping machinery for the waterworks, including the boiler and reservoirs, which when full were able to hold 17,660 gallons of water. Also includes smaller vignettes in the upper left and right corners showing the elevation and plan of the waterworks. The neo-classical style marble pump house was completed in 1800 after the designs of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, in the tree-lined public square at High (Market) and Broad streets. The city's first waterworks delivered water from the Schuylkill River to subscribers and city hydrants until 1815, when superseded by the Fairmount Waterworks. The pump house was razed in 1827.
John Serz Scrapbook
Scrapbook of print specimens, proofs, and original drawings primarily delineated and compiled by German-born Philadelphia engraver John Serz (1808-1881), an engraver, professor of drawing at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, and president and secretary of the old Artists Club. Contents include book and periodical illustrations; separately-issued views; portrait prints; certificates; and job printing specimens. Majority of graphics depict religious, landscape, historical, genre, and fashion views, including plates from "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints" (New York, 1864); Auerbach’s "Tales of the Black Forest"; Sartain’s Magazine; Graham’s Illustrated Magazine; W. Alvin Lloyd’s Railroad Guide; and Demorest’s Monthly Magazine.
Silhouette Collection
Collection of over 1,000 silhouettes, including the portrait of African American silhouettist Moses Williams, and hundreds stamped Peale Museum, ca. 1800s-ca. 1830s.
Montgomery P. Simons Philadelphia Stereograph Collection
Montgomery P. Simons (1816-1877), one of the earliest practitioners of photography in Philadelphia, was also a successful photographer of stereographs. The Library’s stereograph holdings contains several of Philadelphia businesses, religious institutions, and public buildings and spaces from the Simons studio circa 1865-circa 1875. A large number of the stereographs show Fairmount Park and Water Works in addition to views of churches, including St. James the Less (East Falls) and Holy Trinity (6th and Spruce streets). Images depicting the Betsy Ross House, Custom House, the Post Office, State House, and Headhouse Market are also found in the stereographs as well as views of banks, the Apprentice Library, and the Wire Suspension Bridge at Fairmount. In addition, the collection includes panoramic views, most from the State House, but also one from the La Pierre House (Broad Street) showing Penn Square.
John J. Smith and Rachel Collins Pearsall Smith Family Photograph Album
Photograph album containing predominantly posed portraits of the family, extended family, and friends of prominent Philadelphia Quakers John Jay and Rachel Collins Pearsall Smith.

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