Search results

Title: Down where the cotton blossoms grow
Description: Postcard depicting a group portrait of African American cotton pickers, predominantly women and children, in a cotton field. Show the workers stopped from their work and posed toward the viewer. One of the women holds a baby. A wooded area is seen in the background., Date inferred from postmark: New Orleans, May 13, 1911, 9AM., Addressed in manuscript to: Miss Ester Wilson, 318 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, Penna. Signed H.F.M., Contains cancelled one-cent stamp printed in green ink and depicting Benjamin Franklin in profile., Printed on verso: Made in U.S.A., Gift of George R. Allen., Divided back., Lipsher Specialty Co. operated 1909-1914 and published views of and around New Orleans.
Date: [ca. 1911]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Non-Pennsylvania [P.2013.65.20]

Title: Sugar cane plantation
Description: Postcard depicting a group portrait of male African American sugarcane workers, including several boys, posed in a sugarcane field. Most of the workers, stand and hold canes, while two boys sit on reaped cane in the foreground. A wooded area is seen in the background., Date inferred from postmark: New Orleans, May 13, 1911, 9AM., Addressed in manuscript to: Mr. John Wilson, 318 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, Penna. Signed H.F.M., Contains cancelled one-cent stamp printed in green ink and depicting Benjamin Franklin in profile., Gift of George R. Allen., Divided back.
Date: [ca. 1911]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Non-Pennsylvania [P.2013.65.19]

Title: Henry Simons. Wagon & U.S. national coach works. Philadelphia [graphic] / W.H. Rease N.E. cor 4th. & Chestnut Sts.,i
Description: Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Select link below for a digital image., Lower left corner missing., Advertisement with ornate border containing a series of vignettes displaying several types of wagons, coaches, and carts produced by the manufactory. Vignettes are captioned with details of the products uses and surround a central view of the exterior of the busy "Simons, Coleman & Co. National Wagon Works" factory and office at No. 1109 North Front Street. Vignettes depict: African American plantation workers transporting sugar cane to a barge by a "cane cart"; laborers and settlers hauling materials out West by "road wagon" and "catamaran"; an ambush of U.S. Army soldiers, baggage wagon, and ambulance by Native Americans; and a busy Philadelphia port scene with a disinterested constable overseeing the wharf congested with carts and wagons as docked Henry Simons's factory ships ready for departure. Also contains an allegorical scene with a Northern factory worker and his Southern patron extending each other their hands before the shadowy figure of a factory agent; a large American eagle clutching the American flag; promotional text; and a listing of the factory's several business locations and names of agents. The city's high quality blacksmithship and large local lumber supply made Philadelphia the primary national and international manufacturer of wagons immediately following the Civil War.
Creator: Rease, W. H. lithographer., creator
Date: [ca. 1865]
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W174.htm

Title: Henry Simons. Wagon & U.S. national coach works. Philadelphia
Description: Advertisement with ornate border containing a series of vignettes displaying several types of wagons, coaches, and carts produced by the manufactory. Vignettes are captioned with details of the products uses and surround a central view of the exterior of the busy "Simons, Coleman & Co. National Wagon Works" factory and office at No. 1109 North Front Street. Vignettes depict: African American plantation workers transporting sugar cane to a barge by a "cane cart"; laborers and settlers hauling materials out West by "road wagon" and "catamaran"; an ambush of U.S. Army soldiers, baggage wagon, and ambulance by Native Americans; and a busy Philadelphia port scene with a disinterested constable overseeing the wharf congested with carts and wagons as docked Henry Simons's factory ships ready for departure. Also contains an allegorical scene with a Northern factory worker and his Southern patron extending each other their hands before the shadowy figure of a factory agent; a large American eagle clutching the American flag; promotional text; and a listing of the factory's several business locations and names of agents. The city's high quality blacksmithship and large local lumber supply made Philadelphia the primary national and international manufacturer of wagons immediately following the Civil War., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 351, Lower left corner missing., Rease, a prominent mid-19th century Philadelphia trade card lithographer known to highlight details of human interest in his advertisements, partnered with Francis Schell in the 1850s, and eventually owned his own press until around 1872.
Creator: Rease, W. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1865]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W174 [P.2143]

Title: [Incomplete set of racist playing card game Game of In Dixieland. No. 1118]
Description: Incomplete collection of playing cards from the racist card game "Game of In Dixieland. No. 1118" issued by the Fireside Game Co. of Cincinnati, the subsidiary company established in 1896 by executives of the U.S. Playing Card Company. Advertised by the publisher as "life-like reproductions of characteristic sketches from the Sunny South," the captioned and lettered cards depict stereotyped and caricatured portraits and scenes of African American men, women, and children and African American southern life. The object of the game was to compile all the cards with the same letter into a book, with the winner holding the most books. Cards include: "A1. The Crossing Sweeper." Scene depicts an African American boy street sweeper on a street corner. He is attired in oversize jacket and pants. He also wears a cap and holds a broom. "A3. In Clover." Scene shows three young African American boys, attired in worn long-sleeve shirts and pants, seated on a log and eating quarters of a watermelon. The boy in the middle wears a bucket hat. Stacks of watermelon, including the remaining quarter of the one being eaten by the children rest at their feet. "A4. Picking Cotton." Scene shows an African American boy in a field of cotton, bent over, and picking a cotton boll. He wears a cap, long-sleeved shirt, and loose ankle-length pants. He is barefoot. Men picking cotton and a cart are visible in the background. "B2. Picking Up a Living." Portrait shows an African American girl holding a large satchel over her left shoulder. She wears a checkered, long-sleeved dress, and floppy hat. "B3 '"Jest A Restin’."' Portrait shows a young African American man seated on a crate next to a barrel and a second crate. He wears a domed cap; loose, long-sleeved jacket; cropped pants; and rolled-down boots., "D4. Heavily Laden." View shows two young African American girls, attired in ankle-length shift dresses, and aprons, and carrying buckets on their heads. Girl in left, balances the bucket on her head, and her apron contains a hole at the chest. The girl in the right holds the bucket on her head with her hands. They are bare foot and stand near the brick wall of a mill. "E1.A Georgia Charmer." Bust-length portrait shows an African American woman, slightly smiling, and her right hand resting on the side of her chin. She wears a light-colored blouse with slightly puff sleeves; a short-brimmed, straw hat; and bracelet. "F2. The Coquette." Full-length portrait shows a young African American woman, her hand on her hip, bare foot, and standing in front of the door to a log cabin. She wears a kerchief on her head, a shirtwaist, belt, and calf-length skirt. "F3 '"Look pleasant, please."' Reproduction of a drawn view shows an African American man taking a photograph of an African American woman, three African American children, and a dog on a beach. The women and children, attired in summer dresses and jumpers, sit and stand on a log and the photographer stands by a makeshift camera and removes the lens cap. The photographer wears a hat, overalls, and a long-sleeved shirt., "G2. A Genuine Brunette." Full-length portrait shows a very young African American girl, bare foot, attired in a shift dress, and seated on a step. She frowns slightly and she clasps her hands in her lap. "G4. Learning to Walk." View shows two, very young, African American girls, in blousy dresses, standing side by side on a sidewalk and in front of the brick wall of a building. "H3. The Virginia Pine Chopper." Full-length portrait shows an older African American man, with a white beard, seated on a stump, holding an ax over his left shoulder. He also has the handle of a tin pail over his left wrist and holds a walking stick in his right hand. He is posed in a dirt yard laden with sticks. Stacks of logs and a wooden fence are visible in the background."I2. A Mississippi Beauty." Half-length portrait shows a young African American woman, her left hand resting on the side of her chin. She looks slightly to the right and has a slight smile. Her hair is pulled back and somewhat teased at the crown. She wears a shirtwaist and checkered, apron dress., "J2. A Hidden Nest in the Bushes." View shows two African American boys seated on their knees in a field and eating slices of watermelon. They wear wide-brimmed caps, long sleeved shirts, and pants. Boy in right also wears a jacket. “J3. On the Wharf.” View shows an African American man and woman seated on the edge of a wharf. The man attired in a long-sleeved shirt, vest, pants, and cap, sits with his feet dangling over the edge. The woman attired in a shirtwaist, skirt, and cap sits with her feet on the wharf landing. Sailing vessels are visible in the background. "K3.'"Mos’ to de end ob de road."' Full-length portrait shows an older African American man, with a beard, seated on a chair, in front of a crumbling brick wall. He wears a worn jacket, vest, shirt, and pants. A hat with kindling rests at his bare feet. He holds a walking stick that he rests between his legs. "L3. Among the Virginia Pines." View shows a log cabin, in the distance, along a dirt road lined with dry underbrush and a few trees, some barren. A woman stands in the yard of the cabin. Fireside Card Co. was dissolved in 1908 and U.S. Playing Card Co. began to issue educational card games., Publication information from copies included in the World Web Playing Card Museum. Publication date inferred from copyright date included on box covers., Card letter printed in upper left corner., Copyright statement printed on 8 of the cards: Copyright ’96 by L.D. Baldwin., Gift of Jennifer Woods Rosner., Housed in phase box., Many stained and in poor condition., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Fireside Game Co.
Date: [1897]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.2019.47]

Title: Heroes of the colored race
Description: Print commemorating men prominent in and representative of the advancement of African American civil rights. Depicts a central vignette of bust-length portraits of ex-Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce of Mississippi, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and ex-Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi surrounded by four scenes of pre- and post-Civil War African American life. Includes two titled scenes, "Receiving the News of the Emancipation" depicting an older African American man, two women, and children celebrating, and "Studying the Lesson" depicting an African American man teacher instructing a classroom of children. Adorning the borders of the central vignette are a portrait of John Brown flanked by a horn of plenty and school books, and an eagle holding American flags embellished with portraits of Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, and Ulysses S. Grant. Other scenes depict enslaved African American men and women picking cotton and African American Civil War soldiers fighting a battle. Includes corner portraits of African American legislators John R. Lynch of Mississippi, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina, Robert Smalls of South Carolina, and Charles E. Nash of Louisiana., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1975, p. 60-61., Gift of Gordon Colket, 1975., Reaccessioned as P.9615., 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.
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [8140.F]

Title: Afro-American historical family record
Description: Blank African American genealogical certificate containing a family tree surrounded by portraits of the first twenty-four U.S. presidents; portraits of prominent African American men and women religious, political, and educational leaders; and eleven vignettes contrasting life in the South of the enslaved versus the free. African American portraits include Frederick Douglass flanked by Washington and Lincoln; Judson W. Lyons, Register of the Treasury; Miss Lucy C. Laney, Founder of the Haines Institute; Booker T. Washington; H.M. Turner, Bishop of the A.M.E. Church; T. Thomas Fortune, editor New York Age; Hon. John M. Langston, diplomat; Madam Sissiretta Jones, performer and singer; Miss Hallie Q. Brown, educator and African American women's rights activist; Prof. Mary V. Cook, Principal of the State University, Louisville, KY; Miss Ida B. Wells, editor and author; Hon. John R. Lynch, U.S. Paymaster and ex-Congressman; Dr. Henry Fitzbutler, founder of the Louisville National Medical College; and L.H. Holsey, Bishop of the C.M.E. Church. Vignettes depicting slavery include the last auction of enslaved people in Savannah; enslaved cotton pickers working the field; enslaved people dancing and playing instruments "as children were taught in the dark days of slavery"; and an enslaved family in front of their “hut.” Contrasting post-emancipation scenes include a view of Tuskegee Institute; a view of "progressive farming as taught at Tuskegee Institute"; a group portrait in front of a "school house erected by a Tuskegee graduate"; the Victorian house of R.R. Church, a free man; and Spanish-American War battle scenes of African American regiments assisting the Rough Riders, including at San Juan Hill. Also contains the white eye of Providence below the title., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1899, by J.M. Vickroy, Terre Haute, Ind., Printed on recto: Branch Office Terre Haute, Ind., Purchase 2002., 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., Vickroy, a prominent Indiana fine arts publisher, specialized in genealogical and fraternal order certificates.
Date: 1899
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [P.2002.16]

Main menu