Search results

Title: [Caricature of a laughing African American man]
Description: Bust-length portrait depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, laughing with his head tilted back to the right, eyes closed and mouth wide open, as he reads a "Texas" newspaper. He is attired in a white collared shirt, a tie, and a jacket., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, in national and international photography exhibitions. His work won several prizes.
Creator: Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.184]

Title: [Caricature of a laughing African American man]
Description: Bust-length portrait depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, laughing with his head tilted back to the right, eyes slightly open, and mouth wide open, as he reads a "Texas" newspaper. He is attired in a white collared shirt, a tie, and a jacket., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, in national and international photography exhibitions. His work won several prizes.
Creator: Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.185]

Title: [Unidentified young African American man]
Description: Full-length portrait of a well-dressed young African American man. The man, attired in a white collared shirt, a bowtie with a pin, a jacket with a boutonniere, striped suit pants, and shoes, stands his left hand resting on a plaster block in front of a backdrop painted with a tree and grass., Title supplied by cataloger., Photographer's imprint with insignia stamped on mount., Photographer's advertisement on verso., Mount contains gold border., Accessioned 1988., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Fowler Studio, photographer
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cabinet card portraits - photographer - Fowler [P.9217]

Title: "Dar boss, how's dat?"
Description: Racist, satiric genre scene staged in a cargo hold setting. In the left, shows a well-dressed white man attired in a floor-length overcoat and bowler hat with valises at his side. He stands and watches an African American worker, attired in a cap and overalls, who secures the man's trunk with rope and his foot. Clothes hang out of and lie in front of the trunk. Stacks of trunks and valises line the wall in the background., Title from label on negative., Buff mount with rounded corners., Distributor's imprint stamped on verso: Robert Miller, 1110 W. Nor'W St., Gift of George R. Allen, 2013., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., The Standard Series of New York was a producer of pirated views during the 1890s.
Date: [ca. 1895]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Genre [P.2013.65.14]

Title: The travelled monkey - wiser & sadder
Description: Cartoon depicting two unidentified white men, attired in suits, on the balcony of the "Cleveland Hotel" in front of a hostile crowd calling out "Traitor" and "You be Damned." The speaker clutches a handkerchief and the bannister of the balcony as he tries to placate the crowd by stating it is their "Congress that is trying to break up the Government." The man beside him in the left smugly comments that he hopes the mayor is in town. An African American man in the crowd, portrayed in racist caricature, taunts the speaker, "How about that $400 Gold watch.", Title from item., Date inferred from content., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., 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.
Date: [1884?]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1884 Tra [5760.F.110]

Title: I'se a dude!
Description: Trade card promoting New Jersey grocer H. G. Prall & Sons and depicting an African American man dandy, with a sheepish expression, and posed with his left hand to his lips and his other hand holding a white top hat at his shoulder. He is portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a ruffled white shirt, a white waistcoat adorned with a watch fob, a gold jacket with tails, and blue and white striped pants. He stands in front of a background of fauna details. H. G. Prall primarily appears as the sole proprietor of his grocery in later 19th-century directories, but is listed as H. G. Prall & Son in 1883., Title from item., Date inferred from city directory listing for business., Series no. printed on recto: 58., Advertising text printed on verso: H. G. Prall & Sons, Dealers in fine Groceries. Headquarters for Fish, Provisions, Flour, Feed, &c., 174 and 176 Main Street, Somerville, N. J., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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: [ca. 1883]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Prall [113419.D]

Title: No. 5 The duel
Description: Fifth scene in a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Scene shows two African American men (i.e., the suitors of the twins), attired in suits, at the start of a duel in a pasture between two trees. The suitor with a squat figure is in the right and the tall suitor in the left. They point guns at each other and look aghast. An African American man (witness), attired in a ruffled suit and hat, stands behind the tree in the foreground and another, in shirtsleeves, kneels behind the tree in the background. “Dr. Black M.D.,” an older African American man, sits behind the standing observer with his medical bag, labeled “Dr. Black M.D.,” in one hand and a medicine bottle in the other. Figures representing the twins are visible in the distant left background near their log cabin., Title from item., Publication information from copyright statement in other reproduced drawings in series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of publisher from other reproduced drawings in series: Cartoon Printing Co., Name of artist stamped on verso: McGreer Chicago., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.5]

Title: No. 9 Coming events
Description: Ninth scene in a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Shows "Dr. Black MD" on his donkey racing with the twins' husbands on their donkeys down a dirt road along a river. A raft sails on the river past a log cabin and a dwelling with smoke-spewing chimneys is visible in the background., Title from item., Name of publisher inscribed in original drawing., Date from copyright statement inscribed in original drawing: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist from stamp on verso: McGreer Chicago., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.8]

Title: Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton
Description: Racist trade card promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting a genre scene of an African American man and woman in conversation on a country road. The man and woman are portrayed with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular. Shows, in the left, the man standing on a dirt road and holding a piece of thread attached to a giant spool labeled "Clark's mile-end 60 spool thread." He is attired in black boots; yellow striped pants with patches on the knees and rolled to his calves; a white shirt; a red vest; and a green jacket. His straw hat is upturned on the ground beside him. In the right, an African American woman sits in a horse-drawn wagon holding the reins to a white horse. She tells the man, "Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything - lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with." She is attired in a yellow head kerchief and a red dress with yellow trim at the neck. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Text on recto: Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything- lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with., Advertising text printed on verso: Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is the best for hand and machine sewing. Clark's Mile-End Colors are made expressly to match the leading shades of dress goods, and are unsurpassed both in quality and color. Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is six-cord in all numbers to 100 inclusive., Stamp on the recto is illegible., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.33]., Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - C - Clark's [P.2022.42.7]

Title: Joseph L. Varnam, ladies' and gents' & children's boot & shoe maker, Bustleton, 23rd ward, Philad'a Fine custom work made to order. Repairing promptly attended to
Description: Racist trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature with an oversized head and exaggerated facial features, sitting on a chair and playing the cello. He is attired in bright, mismatched clothing, including a yellow hat, a red and white striped and collared shirt, a yellow bowtie, a blue jacket with tails, yellow and red striped pants, blue socks, and yellow and black shoes. Includes vignettes of a boot and a shoe printed on verso., Title from stamp on verso., Purchase 2001., 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 - Varnum [P.9984.1]

Title: B.M. Weld, drugs & medicines, also boots, shoes, slippers, etc. Bradford, Vermont
Description: Series of three illustrated trade cards promoting druggist B.M. Weld. Depicts a white child raising the American flag on a flag pole; a framed image of two men walking beside a house under the moonlight superimposed onto a spray of flowers; and an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt, a green bowtie, and a blue jacket, who leans over the folded signboard containing the title, and dangles a red suit for a monkey, which sits in the lower right corner holding a red cap in its hand., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., 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., Gift of William H. Helfand, 2000., 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: [ca. 1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7053-7055]

Title: "D em brats done gone and stole dat melon."
Description: Racist, genre stereograph depicting an African American man coming upon three African American boys sitting next to each other and eating large slices of watermelon at the entrance to a stone root cellar. Shows an outdoor setting in which the man, holding a switch, peers around the stone, curved structure at the boys who sit with their legs crossed, or bent at the knees, or to the side, before the open entryway. Each holds a slice of watermelon toward their mouth. Half a watermelon with a knife in it and two other slices of the melon lie near the boys. View also show a grassy hillside in the background and a patch of greenry near the cellar. The man is attired in a soft-brimmed hat, shirtsleeves, a vest, and slacks. The children wear shirts and shorts., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of publisher and content., Name of photographer and publisher from copyright statement: Copyright Griffith & Griffith., Curved grey mount with rounded corners., Griffith & Griffith, established in Philadelphia in 1896, expanded in 1908 to included offices in St. Louis and Liverpool. The non-Philadelphia offices were relocated in 1910., RVCDC, Gift of George R. Allen, 2022.
Creator: Griffith & Griffith
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Griffith & Griffith - Portraits & Genre [P.2022.42.18]

Title: Customer. "Rather cool weather Pete, for a close crop like that." Pete. "Can't help it Boss---the proprietor says long hairs gits in de wittles."
Description: Reproduction of a drawing of a racist, comic scene showing an African American waiter serving a bearded, white man seated at a restaurant table. The African American waiter is depicted with exaggerated features, including an oblong-shaped head. He wears a black suit, a white shirt with a high collar, and an apron around his waist. The waiter stands beside the table that is covered in a tablecloth. He rests his left hand on it and holds a bowl of soup on a saucer in his right. The customer, attired in a tuxedo, rests his left arm near a pitcher, glass, napkin and condiment display on the table. In the background, a bald man, sits and eats at a nearby table. Paneling adorns the walls of the restaurant on which the morphed shadow of the waiter is visible., Title printed on negative., Yellow mount with curved corners., Date inferred from attire of depicted figures., Gift of David Long., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unid. photo - Portraits & Genre [P.2018.16.8]

Title: [Frederick A. Rex & Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards promoting coffee manufacturer Frederick A. Rex & Co. and depicting a fox leaping to grab grapes in its mouth from a vine running along the top of a tall stone wall. Racist trade card titled "An absorbing subject" and depicting a caricature an African American man lying on top of a barrel and drinking from it with a straw. Shows the barefooted man, portrayed with exaggerated features, and attired in a straw hat, a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and patched and torn pants. He lies straddling on top of a wooden barrel and rests his head in his hands. He closes his eyes as he drinks from a straw through a hole in the barrel. The barrel has a label pasted on it and is marked “XXX.” In the foreground, a painter’s palette leans against the front of the barrel. Frederick A. Rex (1850-1916) founded the Frederick A. Rex Company in the 1880s which manufactured coffee and tea. The firm had an office in Philadelphia and a mill in Camden, N.J., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9651.20] copyrighted 1881 by Geo. M. Hayes., One print [P.9651.20] contains advertising text printed on verso promoting "Peerless Coffee," the finest coffee sold, roasted and packed by Fred'k A. Rex & Co., 39 North Front St., Philadelphia, with mills in Camden, New Jersey., Purchase 1999, 2001., 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. 1881]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Rex [P.9651.20 & P.9984.2]

Title: H. Jahke, wholesale & retail dealer in all descriptions of fresh & salt pork, hams, lard, tongues, &c. 130, 131, 132 & 133 Nineteenth St. market, residence, cor. Baring & Sloan Sts., West Phila
Description: Racist, trade card promoting butcher John Henry Jahke and depicting a caricature of an African American man on mule-drawn plow. Shows the African American man, attired in a hat and a blue, plaid jacket and pants, sitting on top of a plow. He holds the lever to the plow in his right hand and the reins to the mule pulling the plow in his left hand. The mule is kicking its back legs into the air because three pigs are running around it. Trees are visible in the background. John Henry Jahke (1835-1919) was a prominent butcher who owned a slaughtering and packing plant in West Philadelphia on Baring and Sloan Streets., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., Digitized., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Jahke [P.9766]

Title: The eureka poisoned fly-plate will kill every fly in the house
Description: Trade card promoting Eureka Fly Plate Co. and depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, observing the fly plate kill a swarm of flies. The man, attired in a white collared shirt, a red jacket, and blue pants, stands holding a broom, which he uses to sweep dead flies from the table in the left. On the table is the fly plate that fills with flies. Above the table is a window., Title from item., 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. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Eureka [1975.F.294]

Title: [Armand Dalsemer trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Armand Dalsemer's "fine shoes" and "common sense shoes" at 136 North Eighth Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a grinning African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, standing in an open window holding a newspaper labeled "The American Citizen"; a cherub sitting on a lily pad in a lily pond; and a portrait of a little girl wearing a bonnet., Title supplied by cataloger., Printers and engravers include Sunshine Publishing Company (Philadelphia) and Leon Meyers, 29 S. Liberty St., 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 - Dalsemer [1975.F.15; 1975.F.19; 1975.F.286]

Title: He dreamt dat from away off thar de angels sent him news. He 'woke and found it was Dunbarr dat sent dem bully shoes; 60 N. Fourth St. Philadelphia
Description: Racist, satiric trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, pants with patches at the knee, and old shoes, sleeping with his back resting against a haystack in a field. A rifle is propped on the haystack beside him. An African American angel with wings flies toward the sleeping man with a pair of boots in his outstretched right hand. In the background is a scarecrow. Text printed on the recto describing the scene is written in the vernacular. Burns & Zeigler succeeded the firm of Geo. S. Clogg & Son in 1875., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., Contains advertising text printed on verso: E. L. Burns. F. T. Zeigler. Burns & Zeigler, dealers in fashionable boots and shoes, No. 1109 Pennsylvania Avenue, betw. Eleventh and Twelfth Sts., Washington, D.C. F. Lisiewski & Co., prs., 639 Arch St., 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.
Creator: Donaldson Brothers (Firm)
Date: [ca. 1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Burns & Zeigler [1975.F.33]

Title: [Proofs from specimen album loose prints collection]
Description: Contains proofs, primarily of advertising vignettes, depicting views of factories and storefronts predominantly in Ohio. Businesses depicted include manufacturers of saddlery hardware, "burial cases," sewing machines, and glass; dealers of liquor, dairy supplies, wallpaper and painter supplies; and engravers, printers, and lithographers. Vignettes often include street and pedestrian traffic. Prints also show portraits of men, women, and children; genre and satiric scenes, including the stereotype character "Uncle Remus" (portrayed in racist caricature) designed for trade cards; pictorial and border details designed for certificates, labels, and billheads; machinery and transportation vehicles; trademarks and seals; and a rocking chair. Series also contains a reward of merit designed as a stock certificate and an uncut sheet of six illustrations titled in German. Illustrations primarily depict historical and religious scenes, including the conversion of Saint Eustace., Title supplied by cataloger., Various printers, including H.J. Toudy & Co. and W.J. Morgan & Co., Originally part of Specimens Album [P.9349]., Gift of Margaret Robinson, 1991., 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., Added to African Americana Digital Collection 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: [ca. 1860-ca. 1882]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Specimens Album Loose Prints Collection - Proofs [P.9349.296, 308, 320, 339, 342, 344-347, 349, 351-353, 360, 365, 416, 419, 427-430, 443, 445]

Title: Franks Dining Room, for ladies and gents, open day and night, 216 N. Ninth St., Phila
Description: Racist trade card promoting the restaurant of Frank Tiefenthaler and depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature with grotesque facial features. Shows the man, portrayed with a blank stare and attired in a striped, long-sleeved shirt, eating from several stacked bowls of "mush." He holds a spoonful of porridge close to his open mouth from within a wooden pantry. Illustration also shows the open door to the pantry. Tiefenthaler began to operate his restaurant from 216 North 9th Street in 1884. Tiefenthaler died in 1934 retired from business, but was listed in city directories as operating a dining room through the early 1920s., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of advertised business., Printed above image: "Mush-Room.", Printed in blue., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - F [P.2015.35.2]

Title: Mechanical target and gun. Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Co., 813 Girard Ave., Philadelphia, Pa
Description: Illustrated flier for "comic head" mechanical target issued by the Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Company. Contains image of target (Patented Aug 28 1877), which includes the racist, comic head of an African American clown, portrayed in caricature with a slack jaw and grotesque features, and pictorial details of the "Target Arrow" (Pat. Sep. 5 1876). Flier also contains vignette of "Toy Target Arrow For Boys and Girls." Shows a child's hand pulling the arrow through an egg-shaped barrel. Vignette surrounded by advertising text reading "Throws the Arrow very accurately, and affords hours of amusement for both young and old. Made of hard wood, finely polished, beautifully colored. Price, per gross, $35.00 nett. Sample, by mail, 50 cts." Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Co. operated until at the least the 1920s., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Several lines of advertising text printed below image explicating the size, construction, price, and shipping of toy, and advertising potential of "Target and Envelope." Text also includes the solicitation that "Agents can earn over $30,000 weekly, and Canvassers from house to house more than $3.00 daily, selling our different Novelties. We would like to make you an Agent, and if you send out Sub Agents you can make upwards of $2,000 yearly.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., 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.
Date: [ca. 1877]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr - 8x10 - Advertisements - M [P.2013.36.4]

Title: Scent to the legislature
Description: Racist cartoon expressing disdain for African Americans who were elected to office as a result of Reconstruction. Depicts a bust-length portrait of an African American man legislator, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque features, attired in a white collared shirt, a plaid bowtie, a waistcoat, and a jacket, smiling. He is flanked by two white men legislators who hold their noses as though he had a bad "scent." Many African American legislators were targeted as the source of corruption in politics during the era., Title from item., Date of publication of 1868 is used as the content suggests that the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment has occurred. Weitenkampf suggests an earlier date of 1865 arguing that African Americans were elected to office during the early era of Reconstruction, Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., 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.
Date: [1868?]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868 Sce [5760.F.117]

Title: Two souls with but a single thought
Description: Lantern slide formerly owned and probably used in art lessons by Philadelphia painter, photographer, and art teacher, Xanthus Smith of a racist depiction of African Americans in caricature by comic artist, Thomas Worth. Depicts a young and dapperly-dressed African American couple eating a piece of watermelon on a porch as the parents of one of the couple watches them from a doorway. Seated on a bench, the woman, wearing her hair tied up with a pink ribbon and attired in a blue shirt with buttons down the center, a white skirt with ruffles at the bottom, red and black checked stockings, and black shoes, sits beside the man, attired in a gray bowler hat, a white shirt with stripes, a gray waistcoat, gray and black striped pants, and black shoes. They hold a large slice of watermelon up together and bite from it while looking at one another. In the left, the mother, attired in a blue and pink plaid head kerchief, a pink and black striped shirt with a white lace collar, and a pink skirt, and the father, attired in a white collared shirt, a black waistcoat, and black pants, looks on at the couple from an open doorway. A banjo hangs from the post of the porch in the right. In the background, trees and the night sky is visible., Title from label on mount on verso., Gift of Edna Andrade, 1994., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Lantern Slides-Smith, Xanthus [P.9471]

Title: Gantz, Jones & Co.'s sea foam
Description: Series of trade cards containing captioned scenes in silhouette and profile, including racist imagery, that promote and portray the use of the New York firm's baking powder in cooking. "The First Lesson in Cooking" shows a matron-like figure (in the right) holding out a can of "Sea Foam" baking powder to three young woman standing in a row (in the left). The older woman is attired in a long-sleeved dress with a tiered skirt and bustle, spectacles, and an adornment in her hair. The young women wear long-sleeved dresses with tiered skirts and bustles and hair ornaments that resemble pointed caps. The woman closest to the matron also holds a parasol in her right hand and the woman in the far left also wears a long braid that runs down her back. The women look at and lean toward the baking powder can with interest. "Mine is the Best" shows a woman home cook and a professional male cook facing off. In the right, the man, holds his right hand in a fist, and points behind himself to a table on which a can of "Sea Foam" and a bowl rest. In the left, the woman points at him with her left hand and with her right hand points behind herself at a table on which a bowl and two canisters rest. The man wears a mustache, baker's hat, long smock, and pants. The woman wears a long-sleeved dress with an apron. "Missus, We'll Nebber Use Any Odder!" shows an African American man, portrayed with exaggerated features, and holding an extra-large "Sea Foam" can, walking toward a stove at which a woman is kneeled and placing something in the oven. A pot and tea kettle rest atop of the stove across from the stove pipe. The woman wears her hair down and is attired in a long-sleeved dress with ruffles at the bodice and a skirt with bustle., Gantz, Jones, & Co. was originally established as a chemical business in 1849 by Thomas Andrews. George W. Gantz joined the firm in 1853. About 1869 Andrews retired and in 1877 Walter H. Gantz and F. B. Jones joined the business as partners. In 1884 the firm's New York warehouse was heavily damaged by fire and in 1890 the partnership dissolved. Following the 1856 patent of the first modern baking powder, several later 19th-century chemical firms, including Gantz, Jones & Co. attempted to capitalize on the new, very profitable baking powder industry. Baking powder significantly lessened leaving times for baking and cooking, and multiple companies began to market either cream of tartar or alum based powders that required no combining at home. The "Baking Powder Wars" mired in propaganda about the pure and safe properties of various firms' products ended in the early 20th century with alum baking powder companies Clabber Girl and Calumet dominating the American industry., Title from items., Date inferred from attire of figures portrayed and format of advertisements., Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.1, "The First Lesson in Cooking": It is a first-class article, and will do more than it claims to do, and never fails to do its work well. Good health makes labor of all kinds easier and prolongs life. Sea foam is warranted to make better, lighter, healthier, sweeter, more toothsome and more [in italics] digestive [in italics] and nutritious bread, biscuits, cakes, puddings, etc., than can be made in any other way. Those who use it say: "We prefer it over all others." "It is A No. 1." "Gives universal satisfaction.", Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.2,"Mine is the Best": SEA FOAM BAKING POWDER IS PERFECTLY PURE. Those who have used it once will never use any other. The BEST in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Without an equal. It is the perfection of science in cookery. Your cookery will be always good. You will always have a good cook. It makes every cook a good one. Your bread will never be sour. Light, well-raised bread, biscuits, and cakes digest easily and conduce to good health., Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.3, "Missus, We'll Nebber Use any Odder!": Bread is always good. Cannot be beaten. Champion Yeast Powder of America. Every body likes it. Sells like hot cakes. The best customers ask for it. It is A No. 1. The ladies never get tired of telling each other about it. All first-class stores keep it. Gantz's Sea Foam is perfectly pure. Without an equal [in italics]. It is an entirely new invention. Never fails to make light bread. To avoid dyspepsia, use Sea Foam. One can is worth three of any other., Captions printed in all capitals., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Gantz, Jones & Co. [P.2018.6.3.1-3]

Title: Use Merrick's thread. "Gully this cotton beats 'em all!"
Description: Racist trade card promoting Merrick thread and depicting a domestic scene of an older African American man sewing. Shows the man, in a cabin setting, seated atop a stool, his feet slightly turned in, and mending the seat of a pair of blue pants. The man holds the pants in his left hand and pulls a needle and thread through a patch on the pants in his right. The thread comes from a large spool beside the man which is marked with "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8" logo. Behind the man is a window with a sill, which is lined with potted plants. A candle holder rests on a shelf attached to the wall below the window. The man is attired in a red button-down shirt, blue suspenders, brown pants, and brown shoes. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Buy Merrick Thread Co's best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing warranted 200 yds. also these threads are made from the finest quality of combed sea island cotton, and for strength, evenness, elasticity and smoothness surpass anything in the market. By the use of the "ready wound bobbins" the annoyance of winding the iron bobbin is done away with, and a more perfect stitch obtained. When in want of more thread, don't fail to ask for Merrick's., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Merrick [P.2017.95.122], Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - M - Merrick [P.2022.42.10]

Title: [Early model for Freedmen's Memorial by Thomas Ball]
Description: Front and oblique views with a dark background, likely photographed in Thomas Ball's studio, showing his model for a design later proposed and adapted for the Freedman's Memorial to Lincoln (erected 1876, Washington, D.C.) that was first discussed as a Lincoln monument in the later 1860s. Shows the model composed of a figure of Abraham Lincoln (left) and a kneeling, emancipated, enslaved Black man figure (right). The Black man figure, is portrayed in left profile, looking out toward the vista, and with his left knee to the ground and his right knee bent. His left foot is arched up from the ground. He holds his left hand with his knuckles to the ground and his right hand across his waist and resting on the inner elbow of his left arm. The figure has curly hair and wears a Liberty cap and a loin cloth. Broken shackles adorn his wrists. The Lincoln figure, attired in a suit with a long coat, stands, looks down on the Black man figure, and holds out his left hand above the kneeling man, while his right hand holds the Emancipation Proclamation (semi-rolled) on a plinth decorated with patriotic symbols. Symbols include a profile portrait of George Washington, the fasces of the U.S. Republic, and a shield adorned with the stars and stripes. The base of the plinth is inscribed "T. Ball 1865." The figures rest on a base marked "And upon this act-I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favour of Almighty God.", A national monument project sponsored by the Western Sanitary Commission of St. Louis was initiated after formerly enslaved Charlotte Scott of Marietta, OH pledged $5 for a monument to Abraham Lincoln following his assassination in 1865. Donations from formerly enslaved persons grew to $20,000 within months of Scott's original donation. After years of competing projects, designs, and sponsoring agencies, on April 14, 1876, Ball's sculpture adapted from the model depicted, the "Emancipation Memorial," and designed without the input of the formerly enslaved donors was erected in Lincoln Square, Washington, D.C. on an eastern edge of Capitol Hill., Title supplied by cataloger., Photographer's imprint stamped on mount., Manuscript note on verso of verso of P.2023.32.1: Florence March 15th 1872. Emancipation Proclamation. T. Ball of Boston., Manuscript note on verso of verso of P.2023.32.1: Florence March 15th 1872. Emancipation Proclamation. T. Ball of Boston. Sculptor in Florence., Date from manuscript note on verso., Thomas Ball (1819-1911), sculptor, focused his career on the portrayal of statesmen and historical figures. He located to Florence to study sculpture in 1854. Between 1857 and 1865, he worked in Boston before returning to Florence until 1897. Ball was part of an expatriate community of artists and sculptors, including Hiram Powers, father of Longsworth Powers., See Kirk Savage, Standing soldiers, kneeling slaves: Race, war, and monument in nineteenth-century America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), p.77-83 and 114-123., RVCDC, Longsworth Powers (1835-1904), son of sculptor Hiram Powers, lived in Florence with his family in the 1830s and returned in 1860 and began a career as a sculptor and photographer. Powers photographed prominent men and women in the city.
Creator: Powers, Longsworth, 1835-1904, photographer
Date: [1872]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Powers [P.2023.32.1-2]

Title: Cotton is king. Plantation scene, Georgia, U.S.A
Description: Scene showing an African American girl, women, and men picking cotton in a cotton field. In the foreground, a girl picks cotton near a large basket filled with the fiber. Behind her, a number of women and men, some hunched over and with large cloth bags hung over their shoulders, pick cotton from the rows of plants. One man holds a large basket of cotton with his hands over his head and the basket on his back. The women wear long-sleeve, checkered cotton dresses and kerchiefs. The mean wear long sleeve shirts and pants. Most wear wide-brimmed hats, except the man carrying the basket, who wears no hat. In the background, a white man, attired in a suit and on horseback, oversees the cotton pickers., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1895, by Strohmeyer & Wyman., Title from item., Curved grey mount with rounded corners., Title printed in six different languages, including French, German, and Spanish on verso., Several lines of text printed on verso about the cotton industry, the "world-problem of clothing," the cultivation of cotton, including "picking is usually done by negro laborers, as here, though experiments with harvesting machines are meeting with some success," and suggested further reading, including encyclopedia article subjects and Carrol D. Wright's "Industrial Development of the United States." Text begins: This beautiful field "white unto the harvest," is a sense to delight a painter, and at the same time, it is a condensed cyclopaedia of one of the greatest industries of the whole world., Gift of David Long., Title variant of P.2017.121.2., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., In 1912 Keystone View Company purchased rights to some Underwood & Underwood negatives for use in educational sets, and in 1922 purchased the remaining stock of Underwood materials. Keystone remained in business until 1970.
Creator: Underwood & Underwood
Date: 1895
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Underwood & Underwood - Work [P.2018.16.6]

Title: Camp of 2d Penna. Infantry, "Anthony Wayne." Clifton Heights, Delaware Co. Pa. August 1889. (Major Porters tent) Lt. Col. O. C. Bosbyshell; Major Jno. Bieldles? [porter?]; George Brown (Colored.)
Description: Group portrait showing Lt. Col. Bosbyshell (right), Major John Bieldles? (left), and George Brown (center right) posed in front of the tent of Maj. J. Biddle Porter at the Pennsylvania National Guard Second Regiment encampment in Clifton Heights, August 4-10, 1889. The Lt. Col. and Major, attired in their uniforms of dark-colored jackets and white pants, sit on folding chairs, their legs crossed. Bieldles (left), with cropped dark hair and a mustache, holds a book in his right hand and points a finger on his left hand upwards. Brown, an African American man, possibly a porter, with cropped dark hair and attired in a white, long sleeve shirt, and dark-colored trousers, lies on his side, in front of Bosbyshell (right). Bosbyshell wears glasses and has grey hair and a goatee. He rests his right arm on the back of his chair. The flaps to the tent, marked "N.G.P.," are open. Shelving, pails, and a steamer trunk are visible inside. The men sit and lie under an awning pitched in front of the tent. A wooden water tower, shed, shelter, and crates, near a row of trees, are visible in the background. An African man stands next to the shed, and the head of a seated African American man is visible in the shelter. Bosbyshell was a coiner at the Philadelphia mint 1875-1885 and superintendent 1889-1894. The Pennsylvania National Guard encampment included drills, a dress parade, receptions, and inspections by Adjunct-General Daniel H. Hastings and Governor James A. Beaver. The camp adjoined the grounds of "Mr. Bishop.", Title from manuscript note on verso., Date from manuscript note on verso., Mount is black with gold edges., See Philadelphia Inquirer, August 5-6, 1889 and August 9, 1889., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points reviewed 2022.
Date: [August 1889]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department group portrait photographs - military - Second Pennsylvania Infantry [P.2018.36]

Title: No. 2 The introduction
Description: Second scene based on a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Scene shows the “twins,” side-by-side, curtseying to their two male suitors (one tall and one squat) who stand across the parlor. The tall one bows with his hat in hand. The suitors’ mother, portrayed with a face with many wrinkles and attired in a polka dot dress, stands between the pairs. The room is adorned with a table that holds a vase of flowers, an album, and a glass. Framed pictures, including a portrait, as well as a cuckoo clock adorn the walls near a window with a partially rolled-up window shade. The twins are attired in polka dot dresses and the men in suits., Title from item., Inscribed on original drawing: Remodeled from sketch in Harpers Weekly., Date from copyright statement in other photographs in series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist stamped on verso: McGreer Chicago., Name of publisher from other photographs in series., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.2]

Title: No. 3 The courting
Description: Third scene in a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Scene shows the twins and their suitors, seated in an open room with a stove by a mantle. In the left, one twin sits face to face with her tall suitor. She looks down and raises her hand to her mouth. In the right, the other twin sits next to her suitor and smiles. The twin holds a fan to her face. A hat and coat hang on the wall above them. The twins' parents watch from a doorway in the left background. The twins are attired in polka dot dresses and the men in suits., Title from item., Inscribed on original drawing: Reproduced from sketch by Sol Eytinge from Harpers Weekly., Date from copyright statement in other photographs in series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist stamped on verso: McGreer Chicago., Name of publisher inscribed on original drawing., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.3]

Title: No. 4 The proposal
Description: Fourth scene in a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Scene shows the twins and their suitors, seated in an open room with a stove by a mantle. The tall suitor of the twin in the left kneels on the floor, his chair fallen behind him, and proposes to her as he holds her right hand. She covers her mouth with the other. The twin of the couple in the right sits on her suitor’s lap as he holds her. Her foot rests on his hat on the floor, and she holds a fan down on her legs. The parents of the twins, an older couple, stand, their mouths ajar, in an open entryway in the left background. Keepsakes and knick knacks adorn the mantle behind the stove. A coat and hat hang above the couple in the right. The twins are attired in polka dot dresses and the men in suits., Title from item., Date from copyright statement inscribed on original drawing: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist stamped on verso: McGreer Chicago., Name of publisher from other photographs in series., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.4]

Title: No. 6 The wedding
Description: Sixth scene in a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper's Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." The African American figures are depicted with exaggerated features and mannerisms. Shows the twins getting married in the parlor in which they were introduced to their fiancés (see No. 2 The Introduction). The twins are attired in white wedding dresses and veils and their betrothed in formal suits. An older African American reverend stands in front of them and officiates. Their relatives, including an older woman, attired in a bonnet, and seated in a rocker and holding in her lap a boy, attired in a striped suit with ruffled collar, watch the nuptials from behind them. "Dr. Black" and other acquaintances watch from through a doorway. Framed pictures adorn the wall. A table with a cake and a decanter with glasses is visible behind the reverend., Title from item., Name of publisher inscribed on original drawing: Cartoon Printing Co. Chicago., Date from copyright statement in other photographs in series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist stamped on verso: McGreer Chicago., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., RVCDC, Desciption revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: McGreer, John, 1839-1908
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.6]

Title: Philharmonic T[h]eatre, Islington. Every evening at eight. [Sa]turday at three and eight. Sam Hague's Ori[gi]nal Slave Troupe at St. James's Hall, Li[me] Street, Liverpool. Every evening at 8, Saturdays at 3 & 8, all the year round. Positively for four weeks on[ly] commencing Monday, Feb. 14th. Terminat[ing] [on] March 11 [ ] been re-built since the fire), St. James Hall, Liverpool, March 13th, 1876
Description: Advertising print depicting a racist scene to promote Sam Hague's Original Slave Troupe after their dislocation from their permanent home theatre, St. James Hall, following a fire in 1875. Shows a rhinoceros, a bell on his tail, pulling a cart on which members of the minstrel troupe, portrayed as Black men and women caricartures, perform. On the head of the animal, a man sits, his legs straight out while he holds the pole of a banner designed as an American flag and that is marked with advertising text for the troupe. On the animal's back, men and a woman stand, play hand instruments, and dance on a raised plank. On the cart, men play string and wind instruments, including a bass and trombone, as well as one man, bare-chested and in boxing pants, holds up an open umbrella, on which another man sits and plays the drum. The men figures are attired in suits and/or shirt sleeves and pants. The woman figure wears a kerchief, long-sleeved shirt, with the sleeves pulled up and apron-like, checkered skirt. Scene also includes blades of grass and a flowering plant in the foreground. Sam Hague's Original Slave Troupe evolved from the Georgia Slave Troupe Minstrels for which Samuel Hague assumed part management in 1866. Within the year, the troupe of formerly enslaved individuals, including singers, comedians, and minstrels, traveled to Great Britain to tour the country. In 1869, Hague acquired St. James Hall in Liverpool as a permanent home for the company, as well as a site to organize touring companies. In 1875, the hall was razed by fire and for the next year, the Troupe performed from other theatres such as Philharmonic Theatre, Islington. By this time, the Troupe was mainly comprised of white performers who performed in Blackface and Hague had managed the Troupe with a few different partners., Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes., Title from item., Date inferred from promotional text on item., RVCDC, Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Print torn in half and with sections missing.
Date: [1876]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Advertisements - Samuel Hague [P.2022.57.1]

Title: [Van Stan's Stratena and Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for products produced by Van Stans Stratena Co. in Philadelphia. One racist card entitled, "Great lecture on Van Stan's Stratena by Julius Augustus Cesar at Ethiopian Hall," after the 1878 Sol Eytinge illustration "Blackville, 1878" depicts an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, lecturing on a stage in front of an audience of well-dressed African American men. The lecturer, attired in a brown jacket, a tan waistcoat, a white shirt with gold cuff links, a white bowtie, blue pants, and black shoes, leans on a wooden table labeled "Van Stan's Stratena." Rolls of paper stick out of his back pocket, and his upturned top hat is visible underneath the table. A decorative object advertising Stratena and a cup sit on the table. He speaks in the vernacular, "one drop of dis yere Stratena on de conscience of a politician will make him stick to his principles. One drop on de marriage certificate will prevent de divorce court from separating you from de wife of your bosom. Do you heah me! Gentlemen I am a talking." Other illustrations include a double-sided metamorphic trade card showing white women and children upset when their objects and toys are broken and happy after using Van Stans Stratena to repair them and, on the other side, two white men and a white woman cringing while taking a dose of cod liver oil, but smiling after taking Van Stan's Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil. Card shows two white boys' jackets glued together by Stratena after they sat in it. A white boy standing nearby laughs and says, "Ha! ha! ha! No use boys!!! Been sitting in Van Stan's Stratena. Ha! ha! Ha!!", Another series of illustrations entitled, "Marriage a-la-mode. Matter of money," "Marriage a-la-mode. The result," and "The marriage of the future," depicts a white man and woman couple being wed by a white man standing under a sign reading "License marriage fee. $1.00" and a dog standing behind the groom thinking, "I'll be dog-goned if this is anything more than a matter of cur-ency and my privileges are sure to be cur-tailed. Give him a bone." A subsequent scene shows the husband running away from his wife, two children and chaotic household. His wife runs after him with a frying pan as the toddler in the background cries, "Father dear father come home," and the baby, lying on the floor, cries "No one to love me." The final scene shows a wedding ceremony in the "Tabernacle hearts cemented" with the officiator standing before the bride and groom announcing, "with this Stratena I thee wed." The groom replies, "One consolation, if I ever break her heart, I can mend it with Van Stans Stratena." The bride counters, "I'll stick to him through thick and thin.", Title supplied by cataloger., Printers and engravers include Chas. Shields' Sons (New York) and E. Ketterlinus & Co. (Philadelphia)., Advertising text printed on versos promotes Van Stan's Emulsion of Pure Norwegian Cod-Liver Oil and Van Stan's Stratena cement to repair glass, china, marble, iron, bone, jewelry, jet, coral, leather, wood, earthenware, porcelain, ornaments, lamp shades, metals, Meerschaum pipes, billiard cues, and leather belting., 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 - Van Stan's [1975.F.888-890 & 1975.F.892-894]

Title: Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner--"I'll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I'll lick de hul firm." Compliments of J. Harley Compton, druggist, New Egypt, N.J
Description: Racist trade card promoting the druggist J. Harley Compton and depicting a caricature of an older African American man reading a notice on a country grocery store. Shows the man with a white beard and attired in a yellow brimmed hat, a long-sleeved red shirt, yellow pants with patches and held up by suspenders, and black shoes. He bends forward to read the sign on the boarded up, dilapidated store. It states in the vernacular that the Johnsing & Skinner Grocery is out of business and that, “Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me--dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing." The African American man is labeled as a creditor who says in the vernacular, “I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.” Another sign on the building states, "10 miles to de post ofice (sic)." In the right, the man’s donkey is tied to an orange post behind him. In the background, fenced in fields and trees are visible. William Carroll purchased J. Harley Compton’s drugstore in New Egypt, New Jersey in 1895., Title from item., Text printed on recto: Johnsing & Skinner Grocery. Notis—De firm of Johnsing & Skinner am resolved. Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me—dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing. Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner—“I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.”, Advertising text printed on verso promotes items manufactured by J. Harley Compton, including Compton's concentrated flavoring extracts, liquid rennet, camphor ice with glycerine, cholera and dysentery drops, and Compton's tooth powder. Dated Oct. 9th, 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., Gift of William Helfand., 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: [ca. 1883]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - C [P.9828.5679]

Title: [Geo. G. Burbank, druggist and apothecary, 235 Main St., Worcester, Mass.]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards depicting Japanese boys wearing fanciful, stylized versions of traditional attire and geta shoes and performing a variety of activities, including watching a fly pull toys on the ground, playing a stringed instrument as a dog dances on its hind legs, and holding a piece of paper of an illustration of a man and woman. Also includes "Ole zip coon," depicting a racist scene of an African American man stealing a chicken in the countryside. He hangs suspended on a wooden fence, snagged by the seat of his pants. He holds two squawking chickens by the legs in his right hand as another squawking chicken runs away in the left. The man is portrayed with exaggerated features and a look of fear. His mouth is open and the corners turned down. His wide eyes look to the right. In the background in the right, a white man, holding a rifle, runs with a dog towards the fence. A house is visible in the center background., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9828.5576] numbered 450 and printed by Bufford, Boston., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., 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: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - B [P.9828.5573-5576]

Title: Compliments of J.C. Williams & Son, Central Pharmacy, 50 South Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards promoting pharmacist J.C. Williams & Son and including "Surrender" depicting a white man winking as he puts his arms around a white woman from behind. The woman, attired in a hat with red feathers, a red dress with a white collar, and black, fingerless gloves, puts her head down as the man grasps her chin with his left hand and puts his right hand on her shoulder. They stand behind a picket fence. Also includes "Retribution" showing a dog chasing a cat and knocking a startled African American man off of his feet near a fence in a yard. The man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt with blue stripes and white pants with blue patches, flies into the air while his white hat falls to the ground., Title from item., Date from copyright statment on one print: Copyrighted 1882 by Onondaga Lith. Co., Syracuse, N.Y. [P.9828.7105]., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., 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: [ca. 1882]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7105 & 7106]

Title: Photography under a cloud Perry is selling the nicest lot of fine combs, dressing combs, barber combs and misses circle combs, made from rubber, horn or celluloid; from 5 cts. to $1. Remember Perry's Drug Store, Canastota
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting a group of barefooted African American men and boys, portrayed in caricature, looking on as a photographer takes a photograph of them. In the left, a boy, attired in a blue jacket, and a man, attired in an orange collared shirt and yellow pants, stand and look at the camera. In the center, a man, attired in a yellow shirt and pink pants, stands directly in front of the camera and peers into the lens. In the right, a boy, attired in an orange shirt and blue pants, crawls toward the scene on all fours. The photographer is crouched under a cloak. Visible in the background is a woman standing beside a cabin., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., 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: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - P [P.9828.6598]

Title: Is dese' your chickens miss Compliments of Durant & Oehlmann, druggists, 518 Hampshire St., Quincy, Ills
Description: Racist trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a torn hat and shirt, on the ground with baby chicks in front of him. In the left, a white woman with a pitchfork leans over a fence to observe the scene and surprises him. Durant & Oehlmann, the partnership between Dr. Joseph F. Durant (b. 1831) and Charles Oehlmann (1849-1921), operated in Quincy, Illinois between 1875 and 1888., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso promotes Falke's Sulpholine Cream and Falke's Kah-Kan-Kee Hair Restorative manufactured by J. Falke & Co., 418 Elm St., St. Louis., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., 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: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - D [P.9828.5810]

Title: Your home is not complete without the Missouri Steam Washer. The best washing machine in the world. Johnston Bro's. St. Louis. Philadelphia There are more Missouri Steam Washers sold than all other washing machines in the world combined
Description: Trade card for the small portable washing machine invented by George D. Ferris and marketed by Johnston Bros., "General Agents for the United States." Depicts two male fairies, one white and one African American, presenting a "Missouri Steam Washer. Pat'd. May 1, 1883" to a white woman who stands over a washboard in a wash tub. Steam rises from the tub filled with clothes. The African American fairy, portrayed in racist caricature with orange wings and attired in blue pants with suspenders, pushes in the metal washing machine on a dolly, while the other fairy points to it. The African American fairy image was often used in newspaper advertisements for the machine that operated through placement on a family cook stove, internal perforated steam tubes, and a crank to keep the clothes in motion during washing., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1884., Contains five testimonials, including one by G. R. Brandt and Harry E. Brandt (Hurricane Laundry, 232 New Street), Philadelphia, Pa., printed on verso., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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: 1884
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Johnston [P.2013.35.1]

Title: I'm a masher
Description: Set of five collecting cards depicting African Americans, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque facial features, to satirize womanizing, courtship, marriage, and fatherhood. Includes (1) "I'm a Masher" showing a dapperly-dressed African American man, attired in a derby hat, a red bow tie with yellow polka dots, a yellow waistcoat, a blue jacket, and a watch fob, holding up a swagger stick, as well as cigarette that he smokes; (2) "I've Made a Mash" showing the "masher" in a close embrace with a stylishly-dressed African American woman, attired in a red dress with black polka dots, gold drop earrings, and yellow gloves; (3) "I'm Married" showing the couple on promenade with the woman, attired in a red dress with a yellow bow, a yellow and red hat, and white gloves, and the man, smoking a cigarette, and attired in a green bowler hat, a red ascot with shiny cravat pin, a blue jacket with a yellow flower boutonniere, a matching yellow with gray striped waistcoat and pants, and red gloves; (4) 'Home Sweet Home" showing the man, attired in a white collared shirt and blue-striped pants, seated with a look of anguish and surrounded by his six small children; (5) "Dady's [sic] Dead" showing the children as older and dancing around their father's grave adorned with a headstone inscribed "To the Memory of the Masher." Masher was a later 19th-century slang term for a womanizer, known for garish clothes and a vulgar manner., Copyrighted., Series no. printed in upper right corner., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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., Chicago Picture Co, a Chicago publishing firm of advertising card and novelties, was active circa 1881-circa 1883.
Creator: Chicago Picture Co.
Date: [ca. 1882]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Genre [P.2012.25.1-5]

Title: "De breddren and sisters will now relate dere experience."
Description: Set of five collecting cards depicting African Americans, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque facial features and speaking in the vernacular, satirizing African American church life. Includes (1) "De Breddren and Sisters Will Now Relate Dere Experience" showing a white-haired African American minister at his pulpit before a small congregation of mostly African American women, attired in kerchiefs, and seated in pews; (2) Sister Hannibal. - "Oh Breddren and Sisters, Ise an Awful Sinner" showing Sister Hannibal standing up and confessing among the other congregants; (3) Sister Snowball. - "Yes, Breddren and Sisters, Dats So, I Kin Testify Dat Sister Hannibal is an Awful Sinner. I knows It" showing Sister Snowball standing, her hands clasped across her stomach, while Sister Hannibal, sits and frowns, and the minister rests his hand on his head; (4) "Sister Snowball, You Am a Liar" showing the "sisters" fighting among the other parishioners, who are in various states of commotion; (5) "De Congregation Am Dismissed" showing white men police officers escorting the congregation out of the church, including an unconscious Sister Hannibal in a handcart. Images also show the church interior and exterior, including windows, steps, and a tree., Title from item., Date of publication inferred from date of copyright, Series no. printed in upper left corner., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, 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., Sammis & Latham was a New York publishing firm active in 1882 that issued comic card sets and juvenile novelty items.
Creator: Sammis & Latham
Date: 1882
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Genre [P.2012.24.1-5]

Title: Brother Gardner addresses the Lime Kiln Club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
Description: Racist, satiric trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a caricature of an African American man presenting Dixon’s Stove Polish to the African American men members of the Lime Kiln Club. Shows Brother Gardner, the white-haired, African American man, in the left with spectacles on his forehead and attired in a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, an orange jacket with a sunflower on the lapel, red and white checked pants, and black shoes. He stands holding a blue box of Dixon’s in his left hand and a gavel in his right hand. In the left is a wooden table with a blue pitcher and a top hat on top of it and a sign that reads, “Dixon’s Carburet of Iron Stove Polish.” Brother Gardner addresses the men in the vernacular, who are identified by number with the key of their names on the verso of the card. In the right, the man, attired in a striped white collared shirt, a red tie, a white and blue striped jacket, yellow and red striped pants, and black shoes, sits on a wooden chair and examines a blue box of Dixon’s in his hands. Beside him another man, balding with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and a white beard and attired in a red jacket and blue striped pants, kneels down and carries a brush in his right hand. Behind them two men sit on chairs and an additional nine men stand and listen to Brother Gardner. In the background, the wall reads, “Lime Kiln Club, Paradise Hall.” A horseshoe and framed prints that read “Beautify your homes” and “Rules of the Lime Kiln Club” hang on the wall. In the center is a large, black stove., The African American "Lime Kiln Club" caricatures originally were devised by Charles Bertrand Lewis (i.e., M. Quad) in the Detroit Free Press. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1886., Advertising text printed on verso: The Lime Kiln Club, Brother Gardner in the Chair. “Dis Club hab ebery reason to be proud of de Stove Committee. We has tried all de other stove polishes. We has been stunk out wid so-called peperahuns and seen de piping rust to pieces, till de stove-pipe wus a tumbled down disgrace to de good name of de Lime Kiln Club. De honah of dis occashun belongs to Brudder Shindig, who has made a name for hisself, by introducing Dixon’s Big cake of Stove Polish, and has covered hisself wid shine. Stand up, Brudder Shindig, and let us gaze upon your countenance. Now, my frens, let us draw a lesson from dis: Seek and find out for yerselves, and when you’s got a good ting stick to it, so dat, like DIXON’S STOVE POLISH, you may not only be a use to de community in which yer libes, but a shining example for de rest of mankind. “De club owes a vote of thanks to de Stove Committee, an’ to Brudder Shindig in particular, an’ extend de heartfelt thanks of de Lime Kiln Club to DIXONS for de valuable addition to de comfits of dis life through their CARBURET OF IRON STOVE POLISH. Wid one drawback, Brudder Shindig—you orer haf found dis outen befo’ for de DIXON’S STOVE POLISH has bin in de market SINCE 1827,--58 YEARS.” (Signed) No. 1. Bro. Gardner, 2. Old Man Jenkins, 3. Bro. Shindig, 4. Give-A-Dam Jones, 6. Sundown Davis, No. 7. Accordingly Davis, 8. Stepoff Johnson, 9. Trustee Pullback, 10. Sickles Smith, 11. Sir Isaac Walpole, 12. Layback Jones, Committee., Advertising text printed on verso: Fifty-eight years in market! The oldest, the best, the neatest, the quickest. Ask your dealer for Dixon's Stove Polish. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J. Illustration showing a box of "Dixon's Prepared Carburet of Iron (Trademark) For Polishing Stoves, Grates, Ranges, and Every Kind of Cast and Sheet Iron work.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *trade card - J [P.2012.54.2]

Title: "I'm a farder"
Description: Set of four collecting cards depicting racist caricatures of African Americans to satirize fatherhood and the question of paternity. Titles are in the vernacular. Includes "I'm a Farder" showing a dapperly-dressed African American man, attired in a white collared shirt, a red tie, a gray waistcoat, a blue jacket, and blue-and-white striped pants. He talks to his "Aunty," an African American woman, attired in a red and yellow head kerchief, hoop earrings, a green and red shawl, a red dress, and a white apron, and holding her hands to her chest; "Aunty Says Der Am Two" showing the man with a sheepish look and his hands in his pockets while "Aunty" smiles; "And Dat One Am kinder White" showing the man aghast and standing straight up as "Aunty" holds out her hands in a near gesture of comfort; and "If Dat Chile Dont Change Color Der'l Be Trouble in Dis Yer Fam'ly" showing the man forlorn, hands in pockets, and looking down at this two infants being held by "Aunty" in her lap, while she sits in a chair under a placard reading "Bless Our Home." The baby in the left has a dark skin tone, and the baby in the right has a light skin tone., Copyrighted., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchase 2012., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Genre [P.2012.23.1-4]

Title: "The Freedman's Bureau."
Description: Visual pun on the Freedman's Bureau, a benevolent government organization, which aided formerly enslaved African Americans in the South by providing food, housing, and jobs, as well as establishing schools, hospitals, and a court system. Depicts a simply furnished attic room where an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, ties his tie as he stands beside his bed and before his dresser/bureau. Atop the bureau, which has its top drawer open, is a stand with a broken mirror upon which you see the man's reflection. A portrait of Lincoln and a bow and fiddle hang on the wall. His overcoat and hat rest on a chair with a broken back behind him., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year A.D. 1868 by Currier & Ives in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York., Purchase 1968., 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., Worth was a comic and genre artist whose popular work was published by the lithographic firm Currier & Ives.
Creator: Worth, Thomas, 1834-1917, artist
Date: 1868
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868-2W [7687.F]

Title: The two platforms
Description: Racist poster attacking radical Republican support of African American suffrage by comparing the platforms of Democratic candidate and white supremacist Heister Clymer and radical Republican candidate John White Geary during the 1866 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election. Depicts the side-by-side bust portraits of a white man titled "Clymer's Platform is for the White Man" and an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque features, titled "Geary's Platform is for the Negro." Contains three lines of text above the image which reference the other "Radical" Republican candidates who support "Negro Suffrage" and two lines below which declares "Read the Platforms. Congress says, the Negro must be allowed to vote, or the states be punished.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Reilly., RVCDC, Purchase 1998., 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: [1866]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Political Cartoons - 1866-8 [9387.F]

Title: Smoke Day's standard of the world Durham smoking tobacco
Description: Racist advertisement for J.R. Day and Brother smoking tobacco depicting a horse race between two African American men jockeys, portrayed in caricature. In the right, the jockey, attired in a blue and yellow cap and long-sleeved shirt, yellow pants, and riding boots, grimaces as he holds the reins to his white horse. The winning jockey, attired in a red and white striped cap and long-sleeved shirt, yellow pants, and riding boots, grasps the reins as his body lifts off of his brown horse. He screams, “Bound to win!” In the background, white men, all smoking pipes with "Day's Standard" tobacco, watch the race from a spectators' box behind a fence inscribed, "They all smoke it?" James R. Day left W.T. Blackwell & Co. in 1878 and applied for a patent for his smokeless tobacco in 1879., Title from item., Date inferred from operation of the advertised business., Text printed below image: Manufactured by Jas. R. Day, Late of the firm of W.T. Blackwell & Co. for J.R. Day & Bro, Durham, N.C., Gift of Carol Baldridge, 1997., 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: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Advertisements [P.9525]

Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin. On the Levee
Description: Racist scene derived from Stowe's popular abolitionist book, probably a theater advertisement for a minstrel production. Depicts enslaved African American men and women, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated facial features, having a hoedown on a levee. In the foreground, two women and two men dance facing the viewer. In the left, the woman, attired in a straw hat with a white ribbon tied over the hat and under her chin, a pink smock, a green skirt, black stockings, and black shoes, puts her right foot on its heel and raises her left arm up. Beside her the man, attired in a yellow collared shirt, red suspenders, gray and yellow checked pants, and brown shoes, steps back on his right leg as he raised his right arm up. Beside him, the woman, attired in a yellow headkerchief, a green collared shirt with red polka dots, a copper colored skirt with black polka dots, black stockings, and black shoes, holds her skirt with her right hand as her left hand touches her mouth. In the right, the man, attired in a yellow collared shirt with red stripes, white overalls, and black shoes, leans to the right with both hands in his pockets. Seated in the right, two men play banjos. More African American men and women, seated and standing, clap, sing, and raise their arms up. In the background are stacks of wooden crates, and the water is visible., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1899. Courier Litho. Co. Buffalo, N.Y., Purchase 1988., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: 1899
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Entertainment [P.9219]

Title: A line shot - the recoil
Description: Comic print using racist stereotypes to satirize the gunmanship of African Americans. Shows an older African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features and mannerisms, in the aftermath of the husband firing a shot in their backyard. Shows, in the left, the husband, attired in blue coat tails and striped pants, jumping a fence, his gun powder horn flying above his head, and his rifle and hunter's hat lying on the ground behind him. He is accompanied by his dogs, a bony brown dog climbing over the fence with him, and a pit-bull like dog who holds his owner's torn pants seat in his jaws as he prepares to follow him. In the right, his wife, attired in a yellow bonnet, a blue top, a red skirt, and white pantaloons, topples over in a wicker basket of laundry. Her shoes fly off her feet. The clothesline pole lands on her head as her bare-footed legs are knocked into the air. Pieces of clothing, including a gunshot white shirt with clothes pins at the shoulders fly about her. A log house with a chimney and a dog house are visible in the background. The Darktown series of over 100 prints was issued mid 1870s-1890s. Thomas Worth was the artist of several of the prints in the reported popular and profitable series., Title printed below image., Issued as part of the "Darktown" comics series., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1881 By Currier & Ives, N. Y., Gift of David Maxey, 2015., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Currier & Ives
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Genre - Line [P.2015.52.1]

Title: Adams Tampico Chewing gum. Each wrapper has a different Picture and joke, from "The Judge."
Description: Gum wrapper for Adams & Co. depicting a cartoon originally published in the satiric magazine "The Judge" and showing two African American men (Mister Johnson and Brother Snow) portrayed in racist caricature conversing in the vernacular on a dirt path after church services. The man in the left has a beard and is attired in a long overcoat, pants, and a top hat. He holds a "prayer" book and umbrella under his left arm and gestures to the other gentleman with his right arm. The gentleman in the right has a beard, wears glasses, and is attired in an over coat, striped pants, and top hat. He holds an umbrella as a walking stick in his left hand and carries a book under his right arm. He looks toward the gesturing man. Part of a wooden fence and skyscape are also visible. The Brooklyn gum manufacturer Adams & Co. operated circa 1871-1899. In 1899 Adams merged with six other chewing gum companies to form American Chicle Company., Title from item., Date inferred from content reproduced from The Judge., Caption: A Miracle. "What wuz de tex' dis mornin', Mister Johnson? I wuz too late."/"It wuz about de meracles, Brother Snow. Whar de Lor' fed seven people on five t'ousand baskets of fish."/ "I don't see any meracle about dat."/"Oh, de meracle am, dey all didn't bust.", Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - Packaging - A [113538.D]

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