Search results

Title: [African American boy carrying a serving tray]
Description: Full-length portrait of a smiling African American boy, attired in a long-sleeved white shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a white apron, standing in front of a balustrade. He holds in front of him a serving tray of dishware., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Title supplied by cataloger., Date based on the active working dates of the photographer and attire of the subject., Purchase 2001., 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., Keenan operated his studio at 526 South Second Street from around 1855 until 1867.
Creator: Keenan, John A., photographer
Date: [ca. 1861]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits – photographer – Keenan [P.9981.3]

Title: Indian Rock Hotel
Description: Exterior, oblique view depicting the roadhouse hotel opened in 1848 by Reuben Sands north of Rex Avenue Bridge near Indian Rock in the Wissahickon Valley. Shows the two-story building with a covered veranda. Two white men stand leaning against the columns on the veranda, while another man stands on the ground. A white woman with a young girl stand behind the bannisters on the second-story veranda. An African American man, attired in an apron, stands in the left on a staircase beside the house. The hotel was sold to the Fairmount Park Commission in 1872 and Sands opened a second Indian Rock Hotel at a nearby location., Pale pink mount with rounded corners., Paper label on verso listing over sixty Fairmount Park stereoscopic views published by the firm., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Reproduced in Joseph D. Bicknell's The Wissahickon in History, Song, and Story written for the City History Society of Philadelphia and read at the meeting of October 10, 1906 (Philadelphia, 1908), p. 18., Purchase 1989., 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., Newell and Son, a partnership between Robert and his son Henry, was active from around 1870 until 1897 and the death of the elder Newell.
Creator: R. Newell & Son
Date: [ca. 1872]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereos - Newell - Hotels [P.9260.69]

Title: [Diorama of a scene from the American Revolution displayed at the 27th Annual Exhibition of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society, held in the Main Building, Fairmount Park, Phila., 1880]
Description: Shows the diorama displayed at the annual exhibition of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society in 1880 showing British troops during the Revolutionary War marching in formation past a residence adorned with a banner inscribed, "Don't Tread on Me." The family stands outside of the house, and an African American woman domestic stands in the front doorway., Title supplied by cataloger., Text printed on mount: 27th Annual Exhibition of the Penna State. Agricultural Society, held in the Main Building, Fairmount Park, Phila., 1880., Publisher's imprint printed on mount., Yellow mount with rounded corners., Gift of Francis James Dallett, 1994., 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.
Date: E.F. Hovey, pub., 813 Arch St
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereos - Hovey - Exhibitions [P.9461.2]

Title: Leadbeater's renowned stove polish
Description: Racist advertisement for Leadbeater & Co.’s stove polish depicting a white woman and an African American woman polishing stoves. In the left, the brown-haired white woman, attired in a blue ruffled dress, white gloves, a necklace, and bracelets, stands holding a bottle of Leadbeater’s stove polish in her left hand, which she brushes onto a heating stove. In the right, an African American woman domestic, attired in a yellow head kerchief, gold hoop earrings, a red collared shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, and a green skirt with black stripes, kneels as she brushes polish on the cooking stove. She turns her head to see her reflection on the stove in the left. Also visible in the image are a framed portrait, landscape, and still life, and a green sideboard with white plates and a cup. Leadbeater & Company, was a one year partnership between Philadelphia stove polish merchants, F.C. Leadbeater and D.L. Wells, at 920 Market Street., Title and date from manuscript note written on recto: Leadbeater's Renowned Stove Polish; Feb. 1861., Not in Wainwright, Philadelphia on Stone, POSP 134, Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of engravings relating to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [February 1861]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department BW - Advertisements [(7)1322.F.441a]

Title: Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax
Description: Racist trade card advertising soap manufacturers the Smith Brothers and depicting the white woman head of house with three of her women housekeepers while they use Borax to complete various tasks in the kitchen. In the center, the mistress of the house, attired in a red dress with a white collar and cuffs, applies Borax onto a white cloth held by a white housekeeper. In the left, a white housekeeper sprinkles Borax over a group of cockroaches on the floor in front of the stove. In the right, the African American woman housekeeper, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots, a yellow dress with red stripes, white stockings, and tan shoes, stands before a wash basin with her hands in the soapy water. Behind her a clothesline full of white sheets hang. Brothers Frank and Julius Smith established Smith Brothers Borax in 1874. In 1888, Frank Smith incorporated his new company, Pacific Coast Borax., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso provides directions and various uses for Smith Brothers' Borax, including washing, starching, preventing moths, removing cockroaches, dressing ulcers, wounds, bruises, sprains, and chilblains, removing inflammation, bathing, arresting fermentation and cleaning clothes., Distributor's imprint print on verso: Githens & Rexsamer, 40 and 42 South Front Sts., Philadelphia., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, 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., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Smith Brothers [1975.F.751]

Title: Old '76 and young '48 From the original picture in the possession of the American Art-Union
Description: Mexican War-era genre print evoking the memory of the American Revolution depicting a young, white man Mexican War soldier returned home to his family, including his grandfather, a Revolutionary War veteran. In a parlor, the young man, attired in his uniform, sits, turned away from his meal, surrounded by his mother, father, sister, grandfather, and family dog. He raises his hand in the air as he regales his family about his experiences. They all look at him intently, except the grandfather, seated in an arm chair, and leaning on a cane, who stares a little off to the side. In the background, three servants (two African American men and an African American woman) listen from the doorway. A portrait painting of the grandfather as a young man in his military uniform hangs on the wall. In the left, a fireplace with mantle is visible. Above the mantle, a framed print reproduced after Trumbull's painting "Declaration of Independence" is displayed near lamps, a clock, and a bust of Washington on a bookcase. Also shows the soldier's cap and sword lying on the floor in the foreground., Title from item., After an 1849 painting by Robert Caton Woodville in the collections of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore., One of six prints issued in 1851 for the members of the American Art-Union in New York., Gift of David Doret, 2006., Description revised., Access points revised., Described in the Bulletin of the American Art-Union, June 1850, p. 46., 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.
Creator: Pease, Joseph Ives, 1809-1883, engraver
Date: 1851
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Mexican War [P.2006.28.23]

Title: The pic nic on the Fourth of July, "A day to be remembered"
Description: Copy of subscription print published in 1864 and 1866 for "Demorest's Monthly Magazine" after the painting of Lily May Spencer showing her family at a Fourth of July picnic in a grove near, possibly, the Passaic River, in Newark, N.J, the hometown of the Spencers. Shows Spencer's husband Benjamin in the center of the view, lying on his side, and with one hand on the broken rope of a tree swing. Family members surround him, seated and standing, and predominately laugh and clap, except for a boy who attempts to help him up and the artist who runs toward him with her arms out. Another child waves a flag while on her father's shoulders. In the foreground, in the right, an African American man servant with a picnic basket, pot, and ice cream churn at his feet is distracted by the husband and pours wine on an older female guest who scowls. To their left, an African American woman caretaker holds a concertina and watches the scene with African American man. Seated next to her is her young white charge, who rests on a dog. To the right, a boy, holding up a small instrument, possibly a noise maker, lays behind a log on which a young couple courts each other. They hold hands and the woman places a fan to her face. Lush greenery forms the landscape, and in the background, a path through the woods, and canoes, a sailboat, and boys playing at the river is visible., Title from item., Published and copyrighted by the New York Engraving, Printing & Publishing Company in 1864 and published by H. Peters and P. & J. Levy (N. Y.) in 1866., Gift of David Doret, 2009., Trimmed and strip of paper mounted on bottom edge., 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.
Creator: Hollyer, Samuel, 1826-1919, engraver
Date: [ca. 1864]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Holidays - F [P.2009.6.1]

Title: Chew house, Germantown, 1867
Description: Exterior view of the colonial residence built 1763-1767 by master carpenter Jacob Knor for Philadelphia attorney Benjamin Chew at 6401 Germantown Avenue. Shows an African American man, James Smith, posed near the front door of the home. He is attired in a hat, a white collared shirt, white gloves, a dark-colored jacket, pants, and shoes. A smaller building used as a kitchen or for laundry is visible in the rear (left). Smith was enslaved in Chestertown, Maryland before buying his freedom. He began work for the Chews as a coachman in 1819 and later worked as a general servant until his death in 1871. Chew House, also known as Cliveden, was the site of the turning point in the Battle of Germantown in 1777. The Chew family enslaved people of African descent in the city of Philadelphia and in Germantown during the 18th and 19th centuries. The estate was the Chew family residence until 1972 when it was acquired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation., Title and date from inscription on mount., Originally part of an album of seventy eight views by John Moran entitled "A collection of photographic views in Philadelphia & its vicinity taken in the year 1868-1869" (Philadelphia, 1870)., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Photograph pasted on verso: Stenton 1900., See website "Cliveden. Know it. Feel it. Share it." (link above)., Purchase 1870., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Moran, John, 1831-1903, photographer
Date: 1867
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Moran album [1717.F.123], http://www.cliveden.org/

Title: Wootten's excelsior stove lustre or pure black lead Prepared by John Wootten, Jr. No. 94 Spruce St. Wholesale Depot, no. 13 North Third Street Phila
Description: Racist advertisement promoting Wootten’s Excelsior Stove Lustre and depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature, polishing a stove. Shows the African American man servant, barefoot and attired in a plaid, collared shirt and pants, kneeling before a stove with a brush in his left hand. On the floor in front of him is a glass of water, an open can of polish, and a box labeled, Wootten’s Excelsior Stove Lustre or Pure Black Lead. In the right, a white woman stands wearing her brown hair in a bun and attired in an off-the-shoulder dress with a bow at the chest and lace sleeves. She looks toward the man and asks, “Uncle Tom whose blacking is that you are useing [sic].” He replies in the vernacular, “La Missey don’t you know dat -- dat is Wooten's Lustre." To the left of the woman, a black cat stands on a wooden chair with its back raised and looks at the man. Also visible in the image are plates, bowls, and cups on shelves, another wooden chair, and an open window that has a potted plant on the ledge. John Wootten Jr. (1820-1872) is listed in the 1861 Philadelphia city directory as a blacking maker., Title from item., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: Mar. 28 -59; S. 4 (old no.) Spruce Street., Not in Wainwright., Text printed on recto: For polishing and beautifying stoves, this Lustre stands unrivalled. It may with perfect justice be called The Housekeeper’s Choice; it gives a more brilliant appearance, retains it gloss longer, and requires Fifty per cent less labor than any other preparation in existence, when moistened with a little water, and applied vigorously to iron work of any kind, the effect is truly magical; housekeepers and others are well aware what great labor is requisite, and time expended in the attempt to give a fine polish with many of the lustres sold at the present day – here however both these evils are remedied; a beautiful gloss is obtained in a few minutes, and without scarcely any exertion whatever. Another advantage which this article possesses over all others, is, that it tends to preserve the iron from the deleterious effects of damp and rust, which so often render a stove entirely useless in the course of a few seasons. This Lustre is prepared with great care from the very best lead that can be found in the market, and is entirely free from all those foreign substances which so greatly destroy the efficacy of other articles.", Philadelphia on Stone, POSP 279, Accessioned 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Sinclair, Thomas S., approximately 1805-1881, lithographer
Date: [March 28, 1859]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *BW - Advertisements [P.8729.21]

Title: Granite floor paint. Manf'd only by Acme white lead & color works, Detroit, Mich
Description: Trade card containing two panels and depicting a contrived, racist scene of two African American women domestics talking to each other from the kitchens of the respective, separate homes in which they work. The women are portrayed with caricaturized features and speak in the vernacular. They are attired in head coverings, sheath dresses with rolled-up sleeves, aprons, stockings, and slipper shoes. The depicted kitchens contain a sink, pans stored on hooks or a shelf, and a stove. In the left panel, the woman frowns and holds a kettle in one hand and the side of her skirt in the other. She stands "like a monument" on a floor "painted tree days now" and marked with her footprints. In the background, a white man, his mouth open in a shocked expression, and attired in a suit opens the door to the kitchen. In the right panel, the woman dances with one leg raised and her hands on her hips on a floor with "hard 'nuf" Granite Paint. In the background, a smiling white man attired in a suit looks on behind an open door to the kitchen. Separating the panels is a column of red cans labeled "Granite Floor Paint." Acme White Lead and Color Works was incorporated in Detroit in December 1884, by H. Kirke White, A.E.F. White, and W.L. Davies. In March 1920, Sherwin-Williams of Cleveland purchased the company and renamed the brand Acme Quality Paints. The firm continued under that name into the 21st century., Title from item., Text printed on recto: G'way chile! Dis floor been painted tree days an now I'se stuck fas' like a monument, why dont you use de Granite Paint? Law sakes only painted las' night and dat Granite Paint am hard 'nuf dis mawnin fur a breakdown., Advertising text printed on verso: Granite Floor Paint. You have undoubtedly in your experience, had an occasion to paint a floor, steps or a piazza. If such is the case, the chances are that you realize that the same paint used for painting the exterior of houses will not answer to paint floors, yet up to the time we invented the Granite Floor Paint that was what must be used. There are three great faults with the paints heretofore used, namely: First, they require a long time to dry, which causes great inconvenience; second, they never dry perfectly hard, and consequently will not wear; third, cold water will stain, hot water blister, and soap will to a certain extent remove them. After many long and costly experiments we succeeded in perfecting the Granite Floor Paint, and present it to the public with the assurance that it has none of the above faults. It is sure to become as great a favorite as our other popular specialty, "Neal's Carriage Paint," which is prepared ready for use in eight beautiful colors, and renders the re-painting of a buggy possible at a cost of not to exceed one dollar. Acme White Lead and Color Works, Sole Manufacturers, Detroit, Michigan., Distributor’s name on verso: For sale by Thorne & Rogers, Troy, N.Y., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Acme [P.2017.95.1]

Title: [Plates from "Sketches supposed to have been intended for Fanny Kemble's journal"]
Description: Series of eight prints satirizing journal entries published in 1835 that were written 1832-1833 by the British-born actress during her American tour. Includes citations to the lampooned "Journal" entries from the two-volume Philadelphia edition published by Carey, Lea & Blanchard in 1835. Plates 1 and 2 depict scenes from her sea voyage. The first shows her "embroidering one of [her] old nightcaps" in "sea sickness" surrounded by a "Bible Cover," Dante's "Opera," a journal page, and a basin as she is a "Dear Good Little Me" and an "Angel." The second shows Kemble being served dinner by a caricatured African American servant as she is "lying on [her] back" surrounded by "[her] dinner followed [her] thither" above quotes comparing her appetite to "Danaides' tale of credilable [sic] memory" and her being as fat as an "overstuffed pin cushion." The African American figure is portrayed with exagerrated features.[Plate 3?] satirizes a poem "To bed - to sleep - To sleep -perchance to be bitten!" she wrote about the onslaught of insects at night in her New York hotel room. Shows Kemble aghast as she raises her blanket inscribed with the names of New York newspapers in her attempt to get into a bed swarmed by bed bugs, ants, and mosquitoes. [Plate 4?] caricaturizes her actor father, Charles Kemble, as a stumbling drunk "who a little elated made me sing to him" while muttering "To be or not to be that is the q-q-qu-question" in a parlor near his consternate daughter beside a piano above her quote about his "gallant, graceful, courteous, deportment.", [Plate 5?] shows a small-framed "interesting youth" delivering "a nosegay as big as himself" to Ms. Kemble who reflects "How they do rejoice my spirit." [Plate 6?] depicts the death scene from a December 1832 performance of Romeo & Juliet when the prop dagger was misplaced and Kemble improvised 'Why were the devil is your dagger.." as she rummages the body of the prostrate Romeo in front of the Capulet mausoleum. [Plate] 7 " A Funny Idea of My Father's" shows another caricature of Charles Kemble as a drunk satirizing her entry about a playful moment during a walk past kegs on Market Street in Philadelphia when her father joked 'How I do wish I had a gimlet. What fun it would be to pierce every one..." An illusion of a gimlet floats in front of her father as she cowers behind him beside the kegs. [Plate] 8 mocks the horsemanship of Kemble who criticized Americans' abilities and wrote of an impromptu jaunt on a cart horse in Lockport, NY Niagara where she 'got upon the amazed quadruped and took a gallop..' Shows she and her mount in a barnyard being chased by a dog and trampling ducks as she exclaims "Go it, old fellow" in front of her "father and good old D." in the background., Title supplied by cataloger., Published as Sketches supposed to have been intended for Fanny Kemble's journal (New York: Endicott, 1835). [LCP *Am 1835 7196.F]., Four of the eight prints contain plate numbers: 1, 2, 7, and 8., [Plate 5?] inscribed: G.H.B. [P.2006.17.3], Gift of Michael Zinman, 2006., 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., Access points revised 2021., Description revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1835]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Kemble [P.2006.17.1-8]

Title: The last days of Webster at Marshfield To the family and friends of the late Daniel Webster, this plate, representing a scene from his last days at Marshfield, is most respectfully dedicated by the publishers
Description: Engraving after a painting by Joseph Ames showing family, relatives, and friends gathered around the dying Daniel Webster, who sits in bed propped up against a pillow. Webster, a Whig senator from Massachusetts, died at his home in Marshfield in 1852 after falling from his horse. His attendees, gather around the foot of his bed, including his wife Caroline LeRoy Webster, attired in a white lace veil, who cries with her head in her hand. In the right, a seated, Mrs. Caroline Fletcher Webster gazes at Webster while her son leans against her and a young, white girl rests on a stool at her feet. Behind her is Sarah, an African American servant, holding a silver tray with a pitcher and cup. Attendees include: Charles Henry Thomas, Jacob LeRoy, Edward Curtis, Caroline LeRoy Webster (wife), Mrs. James W. Paige, Samuel A. Appleton, James W. Paige, George Ashmun, Rufus Choate, Peter Harvey, Daniel Fletcher Webster (son) and his wife Caroline S. White, Caroline L. Appleton, Daniel Webster, Ashburton Webster, Caroline Webster (granddaughter), Dr. J. Mason Warren, Dr. John Jeffries, Sarah (African American servant), John Taylor (farmer), and Porter Wright (farmer). A bust of George Washington sits on a shelf on the wall in the right. In the lower margin is a small vignette of the estate at Marshfield., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858 by Smith & Parmalee in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York., See A Description of the great historical painting of The last days of Webster at Marshfield. Painted by Joseph Ames, of Boston. New York : Smith Brothers and Parmelee, 1855. [Am 1855 Smi Bro, 73625.O], LCP also holds one trial proof, two proof without letters, two engraved artists proofs without letters, and five additional copies of print. [***GC - Webster, P.2012.69.1-10], Gift of David Doret, 2011., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Mottram, Charles, 1817-1876, engraver
Date: 1858
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***GC - Webster [P.2011.63.26]

Title: [Scraps no. 3 for 1832]
Description: Plate three from the 1832 edition of, "Scraps" Johnston's popular satirical series of societal caricatures published between 1828 and 1840, and in 1849. Depicts a montage of nine scenes lampooning contemporary social issues and everyday life such as fashion, gender relationships, bed bugs, the theater, modesty, materialism, parental relationships, and drunkenness. Includes "A Rain Bow" depicting a white man dandy offering to assist a white woman with her parasol under the judging eye of a fellow unwilling to "wear out" his umbrella in the rain; "Great Cry and Little Wool" depicting white chambermaids mocking the fearfulness of a white man being attacked by gigantic, near sated bed bugs and a mosquito; "Pressure of the Times" depicting a crowd of white men fighting with each other for "Boston Theater" box tickets; "Ne Plus Ultra of Delicacy" depicting white men discussing "decently clothed tables and chairs" while tending to an unconscious white woman driven to faint after viewing a sculpture of barely-clad "Chanting Cherubs"; "Sport of His Satanic Majesty" depicting Satan and his minion fishing for white drunkards to be eaten and used as firewood; "Mother's Hope and Father's Joy" depicting a little, white "gentleman" being bid upon by his mother and a little girl; "The Test of Friendship" depicting a white man drunkard showing true friendship by lying in the gutter with his equally inebriated white man friend; "Steamboat Scene" depicting white individuals and a family reacting to a "man overboard" with gawking looks, a cry for a rope, a criticism of drunkenness, anger at his non-removal of expensive shoes, and a desire to exchange places to forgo seasickness; "Going Off Half Cocked" depicting and an intoxicated white man stuttering "good evening" in front of his snickering African American maid, portrayed in racist caricature., Title supplied by cataloger., Printed in upper left corner: Plate 3., Published in D.C. Johnston's Scraps No. 3 1832 (Boston: D.C. Johnston, 1832), pl. 3., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, 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.
Creator: Johnston, David Claypoole, 1799-1865
Date: 1832
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1832-Scr (c) [P.2275.27]

Title: [Group portrait including photographer W.L. Germon on the porch of the hotel Long Beach House]
Description: Group portrait of over thirty men, women, and children posed sitting and standing on the veranda and the ground in front of the Long Beach House. Group includes an African American man and a African American woman servant. Germon, a Philadelphia photographer and engraver, stands second from right attired in a hat and collared shirt with white trim. The resort hotel was located opposite Tuckerton, N.J., Title supplied by cataloger., Date from manuscript written on mount, Aug. 14th, 1868., Purchase 1985., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Germon, W. L. (Washington Lafayette), 1822-1877, photographer
Date: August 14, 1868
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *photo - Germon [P.9101.2]

Title: Death of Washington. Dec. 14. A.D. 1799
Description: Deathbed scene depicting Washington lying peacefully on a four poster bed, the curtains drawn, his head propped up on pillows, surrounded by his wife, grandchildren, a Quaker friend, the family physician (Dr. Craik), and a man and woman African American domestic. In the bedroom, dimly lit by candlelight from a nearby table, a somber Martha Washington, her grandson and granddaughter by her side, sits by Washington's bedside and holds his hand. On the opposite side of the bed, the physician checks for the President's pulse. The saddened Quaker and servants watch from the foot of the bed; the woman domestic kneels and cries. In the upper left corner above Washington's head, a hat and sword hang on the wall. A key to the eight figures is listed below the image., Probably after an undated version of one of eight variant lithographs titled, "Death of Washington. Dec. 14. A.D. 1799," published by Nathaniel Currier beginning around 1840., See Currier & Ives: A Catalogue raisonne (Detroit: Gale Research, 1984), vol. 1, p. 172-173., Gift of Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, 1979., 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: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Washington - Death [P.8474.30]

Title: Outing of Philadelphia politicians at Ed Vare's Fort Pierce, Fla. place
Description: Group portrait of the politicians, including state senator James McNichol, Pennsylvania Judge Thomas Knight Finletter, and state senator Edwin Vare, posed outside with members of the estate's staff, including African American men. A row of nine white men stand behind a seated a row of men, including two African American men attired in white collared shirts, black bow ties, white jackets, and dark-colored pants, and three men, attired in chef’s uniforms and aprons, consisting of one white man and two African American men. The group is in a fenced in area with palm trees in the background., Title from manuscript note on verso., Photographer's blindstamp on mount., Inscribed in negative: 2281., Purchase 1993., 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.
Creator: Florida Photographic Concern, photographer
Date: [ca. 1910]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department group portrait photographs - men [P.9410.30]

Title: Marriage of Tom Thumb
Description: Series of six cartes-de-visite size engravings of portraits and scenes from the February 10, 1863 New York City marriage of P.T. Barnum's Little People entertainers Charles Stratton, known as Tom Thumb, and Lavinia Warren. Includes: the ceremony; the couple; the attendants, fellow Little People entertainers Commodore Nutt, and Lavinia's sister, Minnie Warren; the "Reception"; the following morning "At Home" with the seated couple attended by an African American man servant, attired in a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, a gray waistcoat, and a black suit jacket and pants, who carries a tray; and a "Promenade" down Broadway. The wedding, paid for and heavily promoted by Barnum, attracted the social and political elite of New York., Title from series title., Date inferred from content., Series numbers and captions handwritten on verso., Manuscript note on recto of five of the series: Mr. & Mrs. Stratton., Possibly after 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.
Date: [ca. 1863]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Thumb [5750.F.59a-e;(2)5750.F.169f]

Title: [Scraps no. 3. for 1832]
Description: Plate four from the 1832 edition of "Scraps," Johnston's popular satirical series of societal caricatures published between 1828 and 1840, and in 1849. Depicts a montage of nine scenes lampooning contemporary social issues and everyday life such as fashion, religious hypocrisy, ignorance, vanity, country life, class inequities, the military, and higher education. Includes 'The Glass of Fashion & The Mould of Form' depicting a white man sales clerk falsely flattering a white man dandy trying on a puff-sleeved coat; "Faith and Works" depicting a hypocritical white man Deacon, near a fireplace, reneging the shelter that he promised to a cold, poor white woman outside his door while his African American servant offers her money; "Arrival of a Country Cousin" depicting a snobby, white, city gentleman snubbing his country cousin; "About to be Astonished" depicting a dimwitted gloating white man farmer about to intentionally kill a sleeping "varmint" and unintentionally kill his friend with a sickle; "Champagne [Campaign] or the Fatigues of Modern Camp Duty" depicting a grossly intoxicated troop of white military officers toasting their intellect and patriotism; "A Body Coat & A Coat of Arms" depicting a rotund and thin "John Smith" exchanging wrongly delivered coats; "The Able-Bodied Man & The Exempt" depicting a scraggly white soldier encountering an "exempt" hardy white gentleman; "Symptoms of Extravagance" depicting a white man, attired in rags, debating the necessity to "dress better on Sunday"; "College Acquirements" depicting an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular, discussing 'de college for de colour'd circles' based on the beneficial effects of college on "Massa Bob," including his staying out later, no longer reading, and drinking champagne., Title supplied by cataloger., Printed in upper left corner: Plate 4., Published in D.C. Johnston's Scraps No. 3 1832 (Boston: D.C. Johnston, 1832), pl. 4., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Accessioned 1893., RVCDC, 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.
Creator: Johnston, David Claypoole, 1799-1865
Date: [1832]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1832-Scr (d) [5656.F.24]

Title: [Entry of Washington into New York, after the city was evacuated by the British in 1783, Nov. 20th]
Description: Print after the painting displayed at the National Academy of Design in New York by native Philadelphian and prolific 19th-century book illustrator, Felix Octavius Carr Daley. Depicts the historic scene at the close of the American Revolution showing General Washington, his hand on his hip and his face turned to the left, on horseback and triumphantly parading his troops through a crowded New York City street on November 25, 1783. Exuberant spectators, some running and some held back by uniformed guards, line both sides of the thoroughfare and cheer from balconies, roofs, and windows. Spectators include many parents with children. In the left foreground, an African American man servant or waiter, attired in hoop earrings, a white collared shirt, a bow tie, a jacket, breeches with white stockings, and buckled shoes, carries a serving tray under his arm and stands and peers into the street to watch Washington. Three dogs run in the foreground., Title from: Illustrated by Darley: an exhibition of original drawings..., May 4- June 18, 1978 (Delaware Art Museum. Wilmington: The Museum, 1978). (LCP Print Room Yb A2696.O)., Alternate title from 1863 artist's proof at the Museum of the City of New York., Manuscript signature of engraver in lower right corner., Gift of Dr. Anthony N.B. Garvan, 1981., 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., Ritchie, a New York painter and prolific engraver of portraits and genre scenes, produced at least three engravings after the works of F.O.C. Darley.
Creator: Ritchie, Alexander Hay, 1822-1895, engraver
Date: c1858
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - American Revolution [P.8646.3]

Title: A case of infectious fever (from "84 South Street, 4 doors from Callowhill Street," Philadelphia) before the New York Board of Health
Description: Cartoon criticizing the New York Board of Health's handling of the 1820 yellow fever epidemic based upon August 1820 newspaper accounts about "John C. Williams," a drunk man falsely claiming to be from Philadelphia who was misdiagnosed with the fever. Depicts several doctors and officials from the Board, with handkerchiefs over their mouths, surrounding and discussing the condition of the bed-ridden Williams who is vomiting into a bucket and exclaiming, "drunk, drunk, oh lord." Despite the protestation of the African American housekeeper who holds a tankard and states that he is drunk from "de toast and toddy," the various doctors, including prominent physicians Felix Pascalis, Samuel Latham Mitchill, and President of the Board, David Hosack, discuss his symptoms of "black vomit," "delerium," "a red nose," and "difficulty of speech," as evidence of "yellow fever." Others including New York Post editor William Coleman and Marine Hospital attending physician Joseph Bayley discuss treatments and his being sent to quarantine., Date and place of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., LCP exhibition catalogue: Made in America, p. 24., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, 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.
Date: [1820]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - [1820] - 1W [P.2275.24]

Title: [Scrapbook with linen pages]
Description: Scrapbook containing scraps, cutouts, periodical illustrations, and trade cards. Contents depict sentimental, genre, and religious scenes; images of children, animals, mothers and mothering; fancy heads; patriotic, historical, and allegorical figures, including George and Martha Washington; advertisements for Philadelphia, Hartford (Conn.), and New York businesses, including promotions for druggists, patent medicines, and soap; imagery documenting the Centennial Exhibition 1876, including portraits of prominent figures; figures in European costumes; scenes of rural life and European scenery; and landscape views. Also includes a small number of views of factories and industrial buildings; a patent medicine advertisement including an African American man servant character opening a door (p. 76); a print depicting a stanza from Robert Burn’s “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” (p. 22); illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood; the periodical cartoon “A Parent’s Vengeance” (p. 53); "La Belle Chocolatiere from the original painting by Leotard now in the Dresden Gallery" (p. 57); a cutout from a women’s fashion plate (p. 77); H.M.S. Pinafore theatrical character illustrations printed by Ledger Job Printing Office (p. 64); and a calling card for Mary S. Bassett (back inside cover)., Businesses represented include B. T. Babbit (soap); Clark’s O.N.T. (thread); C. F. Rump (leather goods); Corning & Tappan (perfumes); Marburg Bros. (tobacco); Devlin & Co. (clothiers); Dundas, Dirk & Co. (pharmacists); [Hiram] Duryea’s Starch Works; Fairbanks scales (E. & T. Fairbanks & Co.); J. Milton Brewer (druggist); C. L. Hauthaway & Sons (shoe polish); Charles S. Higgins (German laundry soap); The New York Bazar (fancy goods, Phillip Isaacs, proprietor); Demorest’s Monthly Magazine (W. J. Demorest, publisher); Edwin C. Burt (shoes); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg; Samuel Gerry & Cos. (patent medicine); Alex. Boost (analytical chemist); Chas. F. Hurd & Co. (chinaware); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg (photographers & art dealers); and Willcox & Gibbs (sewing machines)., Title supplied by cataloger., Front cover stamped: Scrap Book, Various artists, engravers, and printers including F. Beard; Illman Bros.; Ledger Job Print; L. Prang & Co.; Major & Knapp; Thomas Moran; and Shober & Carqueville., Cutouts and calling card pasted to inside front and back covers., Edges of scrapbook leaves contains stitching in different colors, including yellow, green, blue, red, lilac, and purple., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., Housed in phase box., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1876-ca. 1879]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Linen [P.2013.69.1]

Main menu