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Title: [Public Ledger Building, south west corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia]
Description: Exterior view from the north east of the offices of the Philadelphia newspaper, the Public Ledger. Building constructed 1866-67 based on designs by John McArthur, Jr. View includes sculptures by Bailly of Benjamin Franklin (electrified with light bulbs in his hand and around the base) and the Pennsylvania state seal; fire escapes; and signage for tenants including John C. Clark & Sons stationers and a tobacconist. An African American man shoe shiner, attired in a bowler hat, a jacket, and pants, sits on his knees on the sidewalk with his case visual. Four white men pedestrians, stand, lean, or sit beside the building., Title supplied by cataloger., Borders masked with purple paints and marked for publication., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Purchase 1989., 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: [ca. 1895]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - businesses [P.9260.476]

Title: [African American boy shoe shine being kicked by a white boy clown]
Description: Racist, trade card specimen depicting a white boy clown kicking an African American shoe shine boy from behind. In the right, the white boy, attired white clown costume with a white cap decorated with a blue ball, a white shirt with ruffles at the neck and waist, white pants with a ruffle at the cuffs, white stockings, and blue shoes, carries a jump rope in both hands. He smiles at the viewer and kicks his left foot propelling the shoe shiner into the air. The shoe shiner is attired in a blue jacket with tails, white pants, black stockings, and brown shoes. His top hat, shoe shining stool, and open can of shoe polish fly away from him., Title supplied by cataloger., Date deduced from the visual content., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Misc. 27 [P.2017.95.238]

Title: Mason's challenge blacking Philadelphia
Description: Photographic reproduction of a racist and whimsically absurd advertisement, including an African American shoe shiner, to promote the premier manufactory of blacking established in 1832 by James S. Mason. Depicts the shoe-shiner "blacking" a boot near a white shoe-shine boy with a puppet and a dog. The shoe-shiner, portrayed with grotesque features, holds a brush overhead in his right hand and a boot over the hand of his other arm. He wears a button-down shirt with an open collar, suspenders, and breeches. To his right, is an oversize boot on which the boy has a propped a puppet. The puppet is an African American dandy-like character. The puppet attired in a jacket and high collar shirt holds an umbrella above his head. A dog, as he looks behind, flees from the puppet. The dog's face is reflected in the foot of the boot. The young shoe-shiner, attired in a cap, jacket, and breeches, smiles and points toward the dog. Scene also includes an oversize opened tin of blacking in the foreground. Following the death of Mason in 1888, his son Richard assumed the business which was in operation into the 20th century., Date inferred from address of engraving firm., Advertising text printed on verso: July 15th, Reduced prices Mason's Challenge Blacking. Net prices, ornamental cases, adapted for display in retail stores, or shipping, without re-packing, holding three dozen each. No. 1, or Small Size, per doz. 25 cts. " 2, or N. Medium Size, " 30 ." " 4, or Large Size, "50." To obtain this Blacking in the original Show Cases, not less than three dozen of a kind should be ordered. The American News Company, New York.
Date: [ca. 1877]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - unid. photo. - Advertisements - M [P.2016.65]

Title: [Automatic Electric Shoe Shining Company of Philadelphia]
Description: Shows men getting their shoes shined at the Automatic Electric Shoe Shining Company of Philadelphia at the 1300 block of Market Street, Philadelphia. The shoe shining booths line the perimeter. Men, attired in boater hats and suits, stand with one foot on the ground and one foot in the electric shoe shiner. In the right, a man, attired in a suit and tie, sits at the ticket booth under a sign, “Get your tickets here. 8 shines for 25c. One ticket good for both shoes.” Standing in the center is African American man, attired in a uniform and cap, holding a rag., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Matthew Schultz, 1998., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., One of the images [P.9645.203] reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 59., Arcadia caption text: At the turn of the century the Automatic Electric Shoe Shining Company of Philadelphia opened its first parlor on the north side of the 1300 block of Market Street. For a nickel, customers could enjoy the latest technological wonder, a machine designed to shine either black or tan shoes. The African American attendant standing in the center of this c. 1900 photograph holding a rag probably buffed the customers’ shoes. According to the large advertisement above the door, the company planned to open 15 parlors in Philadelphia., 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: Levis, Seth Pancoast, photographer
Date: 1900
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department glass negatives - Levis [P.9645.203 & 584]

Title: East front of Main Building
Description: Oblique view of the east front of the Main Building on the grounds of the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 designed by Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson. In the foreground, a white man rests his right foot on a box as he has his shoes polished by an African American man, who kneels on the ground. Two white men browse through a box of goods that an African American man peddler, attired in a white hat and apron, carries on a strap around his shoulders. Two other white men stand to the right and look at the viewer. The fair celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Title and photographer's imprint on mount., Orange mount with rounded corners., 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 Robert M. Vogel, 1984., 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., George Barker was a prolific New York stereographer in the 1860s whose gallery catered to the tourist trade in Niagara Falls.
Creator: Barker, George, 1844-1894
Date: [ca. 1876]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Barker - Centennial [P.9047.69]

Title: East front of Main Building
Description: Oblique view of the east front of the Main Building on the grounds of the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 designed by Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson. In the foreground, a white man rests his right foot on a box as he has his shoes polished by an African American man, who kneels on the ground. Two white men browse through a box of goods that an African American man peddler, attired in a white hat and apron, carries on a strap around his shoulders. Two other white men stand to the right and look at the viewer. The fair celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Title and photographer's imprint on mount., Orange mount with rounded corners., 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 Robert M. Vogel, 1984., 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., George Barker was a prolific New York stereographer in the 1860s whose gallery catered to the tourist trade in Niagara Falls.
Creator: Barker, George, 1844-1894
Date: [ca. 1876]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Barker - Centennial [P.9047.69]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. The cut direct. or getting up in the world
Description: Racist caricature portraying nouveau riche African Americans as prejudiced against lower class African Americans. Depicts an African American bootblack greeting an elegantly dressed African American couple who feign ignorance of the man's acquaintance after their return from New York. The raggedly dressed bootblack, while holding his rod of boots in one hand, uses his other hand to grab the hand of "Casar." "Casar" dressed in a hat and overcoat looks suspiciously at their joined hands. He states that the bootblack has mistaken his identity as his wife, dressed in a large bonnet with feathers and a veil and a dark overcoat, confirms the mistake and adds, "we are Guinea People, you Imperdent Nigger.", Charles Ingrey was one of the premier London lithographic printers of the 1830s., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 80-81. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O)
Date: [ca. 1832]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) (P.9718a)

Title: Go way white trash, dis chile dance yer blind
Description: Reproduction of a sketch by G. W. Leonard depicting an African American shoeshine boy dancing to the musical accompaniment of a white boy and girl, while a white boy mocks him in the background. The smiling African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, is in the center of the image. He is attired in a white, long-sleeved open neck shirt, baggy striped pants with suspenders, and a hat with turned up brims, his hands at his side, and mid step. To his right, stand a white boy playing a concertina and a white girl playing the violin. The boy is attired in a newsboy's cap, a jacket, and pants with patches at the knees. The girl is attired in a short-sleeved, calf-length, light-colored dress, with a sash draped over her right shoulder (the one on which she plays the violin). A shoeshine box marked (with the letter s's backwards), "t. Smith. Boss Shine, 5 cts.," rests near the feet of the trio of children. In the background, a white boy, attired in torn and worn clothes and with mop-like hair, appears in a clomping stance with his arms raised to his shoulders, his back leg bent at the knee, and his other leg kicked out. His hat lays on the ground near him., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1877, by J. P. Soule., John P. Soule was a Boston photographer who also published stereographs and cartes de visite. He served in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts at the end of the Civil War., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund and funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [1877]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - misc. - caricatures and cartoons - G [P.2015.63]

Title: Laird, Schober & Mitchell's shoes. Too fine to blacken!
Description: Racist trade card depicting a white boy kicking an African American shoe shine boy from behind. The white boy wears a white clown outfit with blue details, jumps rope, and kicks his left foot in the air. The shoe shiner, his back to the viewer, is propelled into the air. His top hat, shoe shining stool, and open can of shoe polish flies away from him. Laird, Schober & Mitchell's Shoes began operating in 1870. The partners included Samuel S. Laird, George P. Schober and George A. Mitchell., Title from item., Advertising text on verso: A Request, [Before] purchasing Shoes Examine Ours. Prices are now reduced and goods finest manufactured. Laird, Schober & Mitchell, 1133 Arch [Street], Philad., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Laird [P.2017.95.101]

Title: Frank Miller's crown dressing Well dis chile am 'stonished at his own genius- dat Frank Miller must be a conjuror-shua!
Description: Racist trade card depicting an African American man cobbler in a shop setting. Shoes the boy-faced man shining a boot from a counter lined with shoes and boots. He looks out toward the viewer, and holds a dabber in his right hand and the boot in his left. To his left is the counter of footwear along the wall. A chest, boxes, and a bag are visible in the right foreground. In the left are several pairs of shoes and boots strewn in a pile on the ground in front of a counter on top of which a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing rests. The cobbler is attired in a collared shirt, striped pants, an apron, and leather shoes. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's Improved French Blacking. Gives a quick, brilliant, and durable polish, with positive nourishment to the leather. It is different in composition from common blackings, being based upon the French process, with every valuable feature of the French style retained, while such improvements have been made to insure a dryer and more durable gloss, with increased pliability of the leather. Frank Miller's Crown Dressing. An invaluable preparation for restoring ladies' and children's boots, shoes, rubbers, travelling bags, and all black leather goods that are soiled or worn by age or use, to their original beauty of finish and softness. Frank Miller's Leather Preservative and Water-proof Blacking. This blacking is not designed to produce a polish, but to render the leather soft, pliable, water-proof, and much more durable. For more than forty years it has been the reliance of farmers, miners, sportsmen, lumbermen, soldiers, and outdoor laboring men. It does away with the necessity of using rubbers, which are expensive, uncomfortable, and destructive to health and leather. This is the only article designed for this purpose which has met with universal approval. Frank Miller's Peerless Blacking. This article will fully meet the requirements of the consumer, as to quality. It gives a quick, brilliant, jet black gloss, without injury to the leather., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.126]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. The cut direct. or getting up in the world
Description: Racist caricature portraying nouveau riche African Americans as prejudiced against lower class African Americans. Depicts an African American bootblack greeting an elegantly dressed African American couple who feign ignorance of the man's acquaintance after their return from New York. The raggedly dressed bootblack, while holding his rod of boots in one hand, uses his other hand to grab the hand of "Casar." "Casar" dressed in a hat and overcoat looks suspiciously at their joined hands. He states that the bootblack has mistaken his identity as his wife, dressed in a large bonnet with feathers and a veil and a dark overcoat, confirms the mistake and adds, "we are Guinea People, you Imperdent Nigger.", Charles Ingrey was one of the premier London lithographic printers of the 1830s., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 80-81. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O).
Date: [ca. 1832]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) - publisher - Isaacs, W.H. [7893.F.2]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. The cut direct. or how to get up in the world
Description: Racist caricature portraying nouveau riche African Americans as prejudiced against lower class African Americans. Depicts an African American bootblack greeting an elegantly dressed African American couple who feign ignorance of the man's acquaintance after their return from New York. The raggedly dressed bootblack, while holding his rod of boots in one hand, uses his free hand to grab the hand of "Casar." "Casar" dressed in a hat and overcoat looks suspiciously at their joined hands. He states that the bootblack has mistaken his identity as his wife, dressed in a large bonnet with feathers and a veil and a dark overcoat, confirms the mistake and adds, "we are Guinea People, you Imperdent Nigger.", Charles Ingrey was one of the premier London lithographic printers of the 1830s., Nancy Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 80-81. (LCP Uz, A423.O).
Date: [ca. 1833]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) - publisher - Isaacs, W.H. [P.9718b]

Title: [Laird, Schober & Mitchell trade cards]
Description: Series of trade cards and caricatures promoting Laird, Schober & Mitchell and depicting clowns or harlequins. "I see nothing will suit but Laird, Schober & Mitchell's" depicts a white boy harlequin trying to fit a shoe on a seated white woman fairy with wings and a wand. "Too fine to Blacken!" is a racist trade card depicting a white boy clown kicking an African American shoe shine boy from behind. In the right, the white boy, attired white clown costume with a white cap decorated with a blue ball, a white shirt with ruffles at the neck and waist, white pants with a ruffle at the cuffs, white stockings, and blue shoes, carries a jump rope in both hands. He smiles at the viewer and kicks his left foot propelling the shoe shiner into the air. The shoe shiner is attired in a blue jacket with tails, white pants, black stockings, and brown shoes. His top hat, shoe shining stool, and open can of shoe polish fly away from him. "Oh! my!!..just look at them!!!" shows a white man admiring the shoes of a young, white woman who carries a butter churn. In the background are farm animals including a cow. "How beautifully they fit" depicts a white woman descending the stairs while grasping the hand of a white man, attired in a military uniform who carries a bouquet of flowers. Also a card depicting a white woman in a parlor holding up her skirt to reveal her new shoes, with the shoe box labeled, "Laird, Shober & Mitchell, Philadelphia" on the table. Laird, Schober & Mitchell's Shoes began operating in 1870 and was a partnership formed by Samuel S. Laird, George P. Schober and George A. Mitchell., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Four trade cards [1975.F.488-491] contain advertising text printed on versos: A request before purchasing shoes. Examine ours. Prices are now reduced and goods finest manufactured. Laird, Schober & Mitchell, 1133 Arch Street, Philad'a., 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 - Laird [1975.F.488-491; 1975.F.506]

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