[Camp Independence, Civil War recruiting camp, Independence Square, rear of Independence Hall, 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia] [graphic].
Title
[Camp Independence, Civil War recruiting camp, Independence Square, rear of Independence Hall, 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia]
Description
Views showing rows of tents adorned with flags and recruitment banners lining the central path in the tree-lined square. Views also include soldiers manning the tents, male visitors, and women standing outside the gate of the square., Attributed to F. De B. Richards., LCP AR [Annual Report] 2000, p. 63-64., One of the images [P.9808.3] 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. 120., Arcadia caption text: From September to October 1862, Independence Square was transformed into the Civil War recruiting camp Camp Independence. In an effort to avoid a statewide draft, recruiters manned 25 tents along the main thoroughfare amid a band playing patriotic music and under the gaze of dutiful spectators. A few thousand of the over 80,000 Philadelphians who served in the military during the Civil War enlisted at this site, one of the most successful in the city.
Creator
Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
Date
September or October 1862
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Civil War [P.9808.2 & 3]
Mercantile Library, on the southeast corner of Fifth and Library Street. [graphic] / Photograph by Richards.
Title
Mercantile Library, on the southeast corner of Fifth and Library Street
Description
View showing the building of the library, organized in 1821 for the benefit of merchants and merchant clerks, built 1844-45 after the designs of William Johnston at 125 South Fifth Street. Includes a horse-drawn carriage parked in front of the library and a partial view of Independence Square. Building demolished circa 1925., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on mount., Date inscribed on photograph., Mount inscribed with directions: N. E. S. W., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Select link below for a digital image., 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 111. 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. 11., Arcadia caption text: William L. Johnston designed this Greek Revival edifice, constructed 1844-1845, at the southeast corner of Fifth and Library streets for the Mercantile Library Company of Philadelphia, which formed in 1821 as a member-supported institution for merchants and clerks. Initially serving the specific interests of bankers, traders, and accountants, by the late 19th century the library became a place for the general public to utilize its collection of newspapers, magazines, and novels. Pictured here in 1858, the library relocated in 1869. The building was demolished c. 1925.
Creator
Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
Date
December 1858
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Libraries - M [(3)2526.F.111 (Poulson)], http://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/2526f111.jpg