Beauty on the street--front view.
Title
Beauty on the street--front view E. B. Hall, druggist. Established 1852. Wellsville, N.Y
Description
Racist trade card promoting druggist E.B. Hall and depicting an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a brimmed hat with decorative feathers, an elegant, long-sleeved dress with ruffles, gloves, who carries a tiny purse. She walks down the street carrying a parasol in her right hand and her small dog's leash in the other. Edwin B. Hall opened his drug in Wellsville, N.Y. in 1852., Title from item., Date inferred from content., 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 - Hall [P.9984.3]
Two souls with but a single thought.
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]
[Racist metamorphic New Years Day card depicting a man kissing a series of women, including a grotesquely depicted African American woman] [graphic].
Title
[Racist and sexist metamorphic New Years Day card depicting a man kissing a series of women, including an African American woman depicted in caricature]
Description
Racist and sexist metamorphic trade card showing an older man in a tuxedo, holding a bouquet of roses, and kissing a "rotating" series of women through a "window." Only the women's heads are visible. The women include a white woman with auburn hair in a top knot and adorned with a rose; a young white woman with blonde, puffed, chin-length hair and adorned with matching blue bows; a white woman with raven-colored hair, pulled up, and adorned with a bridal veil; a white woman with pulled up cherry-blonde hair and adorned with blue flowers; and an African American woman, wearing a kerchief, hoop earrings and depicted with caricatured and exagerrated features. The man has grey hair and a dark-haired, pencil mustache and also wears a monocle., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from fashion of figures depicted., Greeting printed inside: Here's a nosegay sweet and fair, Lilies, roses, rich and rare. Try each in turn then take a rest, And choose the one you love the best. They're charming, ah I thought you'd say so, Make up your mind pray don't delay so. That SHE'll be faithful, fond, and true, The odds are FIVE to ONE on you! E.E.G. With [fond love and] best Wishes for a Happy New Year, To [Mrs. ? ? ?]., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
[ca. 1895]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ephemera - Cards - New Years [P.2019.23.2]
Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax.
Title
Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax
Description
Racist trade card advertising soap manufacturers the Smith Brothers and depicting the white woman head of house with three of her women housekeepers while they use Borax to complete various tasks in the kitchen. In the center, the mistress of the house, attired in a red dress with a white collar and cuffs, applies Borax onto a white cloth held by a white housekeeper. In the left, a white housekeeper sprinkles Borax over a group of cockroaches on the floor in front of the stove. In the right, the African American woman housekeeper, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots, a yellow dress with red stripes, white stockings, and tan shoes, stands before a wash basin with her hands in the soapy water. Behind her a clothesline full of white sheets hang. Brothers Frank and Julius Smith established Smith Brothers Borax in 1874. In 1888, Frank Smith incorporated his new company, Pacific Coast Borax., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso provides directions and various uses for Smith Brothers' Borax, including washing, starching, preventing moths, removing cockroaches, dressing ulcers, wounds, bruises, sprains, and chilblains, removing inflammation, bathing, arresting fermentation and cleaning clothes., Distributor's imprint print on verso: Githens & Rexsamer, 40 and 42 South Front Sts., Philadelphia., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Smith Brothers [1975.F.751]
The Universal clothes wringer. What Dina, six o'clock and not done yet! And look at these torn clothes. Oh mistis de wringing am awful, always tear de clothes 'spect dat I neber get through
Title
The Universal clothes wringer
Description
Metamorphic trade card promoting the American Wringer Company's Universal Wringer. Depicts a racist "before and after" scene with and without the product. The before scene shows an African American laundress "Dinah" wringing clothes by hand over a tub. She states in vernacular speech that "de wringing am awful." A white woman chastises her to "look at these torn clothes." She holds up a square shaped cloth with tears. A clock is visible in the background. The women are shown as bust-length. Dinah wears a kerchief, an open collared shirt, and her sleeves are rolled up. The after scene shows a smiling "Dinah," wringing laundry with a "Universal" clothes wringer under the happy gaze of her employer. The women reach a hand out to one another. Dinah wears a high ruffled collar shirtwaist with a bow at her neck, long sleeves, an apron, and kerchief. A clock rests on a sideboard in the background. The American Wringer Company was established about 1861 and operated until at least the early 20th century. The company often provided a clock as a premium to purchase their laundry equipment., Title from item., Date inferred from attire of figures depicted., Text printed on recto: Oh mistis de wringing am awful, always tear de clothes 'spect dat I neber get through. What Dinah, six o'clock and not done yet! And look at these torn clothes. "What Dinah! Finished washing so soon! Why it's only three o'clock." "Hi golly! Mistis, been done dese two hours dis chile hab no more trouble, since you done got dis wringer. Neber tear de clothes neder., Advertising text on verso: The Universal Wringer Has the Following Points of Superiority. 1. Rolls of Solid White Rubber. 2. Rowell's Double Cog-wheels. 3. Two Independent Pressure Screws. 4. Double cogs at both ends of each Roll. 5. Folding Apron or Clothes Guide. 6. Rocking Springs of wood and rubber. N. P. Baker, Dealer in General Merchandise, Sunapee, N. H., 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. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - American [113420.D]
I'm a masher
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]
"De breddren and sisters will now relate dere experience."
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]
"I'm a farder"
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]
Uncle Tom's Cabin. On the Levee
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]
A line shot - the recoil. [graphic] / Thos. Worth.
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]
Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton [graphic].
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]
[Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Title
[Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., 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., 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. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]
Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish.
Title
Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
Description
Series of trade cards promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. 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, Printers and engravers include Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Co. (New York) and A. Gast & Co. (New York and St. Louis)., Advertising text printed on verso: Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stove so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1880. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1998., 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 - Dixon [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599]
[Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
Title
[Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
Description
Series of trade cards promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Co. "Make no mistake you buy a domestic" depicts two white women, one tall and the other of short stature, who carry parasols and converse. "Wes don got de "domestic" we has!" depicts a racist, comic genre scene of an African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, who have acquired a sewing machine. In the center is a man and woman in a blue-colored cart being pulled by a galloping brown horse. The man, attired in a top hat; a blue jacket; a white collared shirt; and green checked pants, strains and leans forward as he holds the reins. The woman, attired in a yellow dress with black polka dots and a pink bonnet, leans back and exclaims in the vernacular that "wes don got the Domestic, we has!" She raises her left hand in the air and holds a white handkerchief. A sewing machine is visible inside the cart. In the far right a barefooted boy attired in a straw hat; a white collared shirt; and brown pants rolled up to his calves, possibly their displaced son, runs beside the wagon. In the top right corner is an inset illustration of a Domestic Sewing Machine Co.’s sewing machine. "Yes my father was a great antiquarian; where he studied antiquity" depicts a well-dressed, white man and woman couple standing on a veranda conversing. The next panel depicts an older white man carrying a sack on his back and picking through a barrel filled with straw and scrap metal with garbage strewn around on the ground. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.229] copyrighted by Frank B. Hine., Includes advertising text printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Gift of Helen Beitler, 2001 [P.9983.5]., 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 - Domestic [1975.F.229 & 230; P.9983.5]
[J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Title
[J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Description
Series of trade cards promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting men, women and children performing a variety of activities with the thread, including a white girl swinging on a tree swing; a white man fishing in a stream while a white woman watches; and several white children pretending to be a horse team. Includes a large frog on a riverbank. "So do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts!" depicts an older white woman carrying packages. "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" based on Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" shows an oversized Gulliver being tied down with thread by the Lilliputians. "That's the kind! Bring me some more" depicts an older white woman inspecting different colored spools of thread in a box held up by a white boy. "Ef dis don't fetch you nothing will" depicts an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to tame a donkey. In the left, the woman, attired in a white bonnet with a red ribbon, a red shirt, a blue scarf, a yellow shirt, a white apron, and gray shoes, uses thread from an enormous J. & P. Coats spool to pull on the bridle on the donkey, who pulls back with its mouth open. Behind the donkey, the man stands, attired in a brown, brimmed hat, a red shirt, blue plaid pants, and blue shoes, who holds a rope in his left hand and scratches his head with his left hand. "We never fade!" depicts an African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature, sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread. He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background., Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Five prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Ten prints contain advertising text printed on versos, including promotions for J. & P. Coat's best six cord, soft finish spool cotton; a table of needle and thread numbers; a calendar for 1880; and a description of "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" illustration (on recto of print 1975.F.220)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1999. 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. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Coats [1975.F.123; 1975.F.126; 1975.F.133; 1975.F.150; 1975.F.157; 1975.F.193; 1975.F.195; 1975.F.220; 69211.D; P.9743; P.9984.4]
Effect of the Fifteenth Amendment. [graphic]: Indignant mother, "Cum in out of dat mud right straight! Fust ting you'll know you'll be took for Irish chil'en!"
Title
Effect of the Fifteenth Amendment Indignant mother, "Cum in out of dat mud right straight! Fust ting you'll know you'll be took for Irish chil'en!"
Description
Photographic reproduction of a drawing after a racist cartoon published in Harper's Bazar in 1871 alluding to the social and political tensions between Irish and African American people following passage of the right to vote amendment. Shows an African American woman, a broom in one hand, her other hand on her hip, at her front porch, watching her two sons playing in the dirt. The woman is portrayed in racist caricature and speaks in the vernacular. She has a rotund figure and is attired in a head kerchief, a button-down shirt, an ankle-length skirt, and an apron. Her children make a mud pie beside the porch and in front of a tall wooden fence. Another African American boy, attired in a broad-rimmed hat and slipper-like shoes too large for his feet, sits and balances himself on the fence. View also includes a dust pan, the edge of a bench, and a tall weed near the mother's feet., Title from item., Date inferred from similar cartoon published in Harper's Bazar, March 4, 1871., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
1871
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - 5 x 7 - unidentified - Events [P.2015.29]
The Salt River gazette---extra, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 1867. [graphic]: The Great Negro Party--born, 1856--died Oct. 8, 1867.
Title
The Salt River gazette---extra, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 1867 The Great Negro Party--born, 1856--died Oct. 8, 1867
Description
Cartoon publicizing the death of the "Great Negro Party" (i.e., Republican Party) as a result of the defeat of several Republican candidates to Democrats in the Philadelphia local elections of 1867. Depicts a series of racist captioned vignettes and caricatures. Includes the head of an African American man above a coffin inscribed with the life and death dates of the party (1856-Oct. 8, 1867); “a Scene at the Broad St. League House” depicting a white man minister forced to perform an interracial marriage between a white woman and an African American man; and a scene entitled "The Work of Congress repudiated by the People" showing an African American man lounging and watching white men labor to pay their taxes. Also includes an African American man dandy commenting in the vernacular on his making electors sick "dis time"; and a scene titled "Statue to be erected in front of the Union League House" showing the sculpture of an older African American woman on a ragged horse. The African American dandy caricature originally appeared as an illustration titled "S.S. Sanford in One of his Great Delineations of Ethiopian Character" in "Our Day," an 1860 circular that advertised his Sanford Opera House. The statue caricature originally appeared in the "Original Comicalities" section of the June 1854 edition of "Graham's Magazine" and was titled "Woolly Equestrian Statue of the late Mrs. Joyce Heth." Mrs. Heth, an early attraction of P.T. Barnum from 1835 until 1836, claimed that she was over 100 years old and a nanny to George Washington., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Originally part of McAllister scrapbooks of views of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania views and political miscellany. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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
[1867]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1867-1W [5759.F; (2)1322.F.77]
No. 1. The flirtation [graphic] / McGreer.
Title
No. 1. The flirtation
Description
First 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 African American twins greeting two African American men. They depart from the gate of their log cabin home, attired in polka dot dresses, aprons, and turned-up brimmed hats. They smile at the two African American men as they begin their walk. One twin lifts her handkerchief. One of the men is tall and thin and he tips his hat. The other is shorter and squat and has a hand on his chest. The men are attired in suits with striped pants that are hemmed high. The twins' log cabin home with their parent's seeing them off is visible in the left background. Background also includes the log cabin with "Dr. Black’s Office"; the town church; a "Dry Goods and Clothing” store; a "Saloon"; and a "Hotel.”, Title from item., Name of publisher from other photographs in series., Date from copyright statement on original drawing: 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.2017.26.1]
No. 2 The introduction [graphic] / McGreer.
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]
No. 3 The courting [graphic] / McGreer.
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]
No. 4 The proposal [graphic] / McGreer.
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]
No. 6 The wedding [graphic] / McGreer.
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]
No. 8 Return from the honeymoon tour [graphic] / McGreer.
Title
No. 8 Return from the honeymoon tour
Description
Eighth 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 and their husbands in fashion-forward attire promenading down the street of their small town. In the right, an older man in the stance of the minstrel character of Jim Crow, and an older woman attired in a bonnet, polka dot dress, and apron, and leaning on a tree laugh at the couples as they approach them. From a distance, "Dr. Black" watches them from astride his donkey. Townscape, including a storefront with signage reading “Groceries” and “Watchin Dun Hyar,” as well as a “Eatin House” and saloon is visible in the background. Figures are visible in the windows of the grocery store., 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. Jim Crow (mid to late 19th century) was a Minstrel character representing enslaved/rural Black manhood as foolish, lazy, interested in shirking labor., Title from item., Inscribed on original drawing: Reproduced from sketch in Harpers Weekly by the Cartoon Printing Co. Chicago., Date from copyright statement in other photographs in series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist from stamp on verso: McGreer Chicago., Description of Blackface minstrelsy and minstrel character from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., 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.2017.26.7]
No. 10 The event Or where "2 pair is better than 4 of a kind" [graphic] / McGreer.
Title
No. 10 The event Or where "2 pair is better than 4 of a kind"
Description
Tenth 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 tall husband of one of the twins, twin babies in hand, arriving at the home of the other twin and her husband after the birth of their twins. In the right, the twin lies in bed under the covers as “Dr. Black” turns to the entryway and prepares to give her a spoonful of medicine. Near them is the bed-ridden twins' husband, seated and feeding one baby twin a bottle as the other rocks in a cradle. To his right, the “grandmother,” attired in a bonnet, glasses, polka dot dress, and apron raises her hands in excitement as she greets the arriving husband of the twin's sister. A stool, framed pictures, and a sideboard adorn the room., Title from item., Name of publisher from other photographs in series., 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.2017.26.9]
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 we
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]
[Montage of caricatures satirizing Southern Democrats] [graphic].
Title
[ Montage of caricatures satirizing Southern Democrats]
Description
Includes six captioned vignettes critically satirizing Southern democrats, copperheads, Jefferson Davis, and Andrew Johnson. Shows Democrats represented as an overseer forcing "Black Republicans" depicted as fleeing enslaved African American men, women, and children to vote their "Ticket in the South"; white men soldiers loading a cannon representing "General Grant giving the Rebel Copperhead Democrats some more grape"; Jefferson Davis fleeing in his "wife's petticoats"; "Johnson on a "Bender," after the Impeachment Trials; a skull and cross bones to symbolize that "Copperheads and Rebel Democrats are Poison"; and Johnson attired in torn and worn clothes and carrying a sack on his back as he is "Travelling for Tennessee." Several of caricatures also used as Civil War envelope designs., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Created postfreeze., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Civil War miscellanies. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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. 1868]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons [ca. 1868] - Mon [(2)5786.F.176a]
[Photographic reproductions of the Cartoon Printing Co. series after the 1878 Harper’s Weekly "Blackville" series “The Twins”] [graphic]/ McGreer.
Title
[Photographic reproductions of the Cartoon Printing Co. series after the 1878 Harper’s Weekly "Blackville" series “The Twins”]
Description
Photographic reproductions of drawings 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. Includes "No. 1 The Flirtation" showing the "Twins" meeting their suitors; "No. 2 The Introduction" showing the "Twins" being formally introduced to their suitors; "No. 3 The Courting" showing the "Twins" being courted together; "No. 4 The Proposal" showing the "Twins"suitors proposing to them in different manners; "No. 5 The Duel" showing the "Twins" suitors preparing to duel with guns; "No. 6. The Wedding" showing the "Twins" dual wedding; "No. 8 Return from the Honeymoon Tour" showing the "Twin" couples promenading in town; "No. 9 Coming Events" showing the town doctor and the husbands of the "Twins" racing down a dirt road on donkey back; and "No. 10 The Event Or Where '2 Pair is Better Than 4 of a Kind'"showing the arrival of the "Twins" twins., Title supplied by cataloger., Date from copyright statement on four of the original drawings in the series: Copyrighted 1881 John McGreer, Chicago, Ill., Name of artist stamped on versos: McGreer Chicago., Series missing No. 7. The Wedding Feast., Name of publisher inscribed on four of the original drawings in the series (No. 2-3, 6, and 9)., Inscribed on two of the original drawings in the series (No. 2 and 8): Remodeled from sketch in Harpers Weekly or Reproduced from sketch in Harpers Weekly by the Cartoon Printing Co. Chicago., Inscribed on one of the original drawings in the series (No. 3): Reproduced from sketch by Sol Eytinge in Harpers Weekly by the Cartoon Printing Co. Chicago., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2017, p. 52., John McGreer (1833-1905) was a dime museum painter, landscape artist, and cartoonist. He worked in Chicago after 1870 and was a partner in the novelty and satire printing firm Cartoon Printing Co., later Cartoon Publishing Co., by the early 1880s. In 1897, he patented statuettes of African American caricatures for use as cardholders. He resided in New York and was noted as a landscape artist at the time of his death in 1908., See Shawn Michelle Smith, Photography on the Color Line: W. E. B. DuBois, Race, and Visual Culture (Durham: Duke University Press, 2004), 82-86., RVCDC, Description 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.2017.26.1-9]
The great November contest. Patriotism vs bummerism. [graphic]
Title
The great November contest. Patriotism vs bummerism
Description
Racist cartoon depicting the 1868 Presidential Election as a carriage race between the "patriotic" Democrats and the "bum" Republicans who support Reconstruction. Depicts the elegant Democratic carriage with the banner "This is a White Man's Government" pulled by the horses with the heads of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair racing passed the stalled Republican wagon steered by the asses with the heads of nominees Ulysses Grant and Schuyler Colfax. In the Democrats' carriage are four allegorical figures: Liberty, depicted as a white woman holding the Constitution and a banner which reads "Our Glorious Union Distinct, like the Billows, One, Like the Sea' This is a White Man's Government!"; Navigation, depicted as a white woman holding a miniature ship; Agriculture, depicted as a white woman holding sheaves of wheat and a scythe; and Labor, represented by a bearded white man with a hammer and flywheel. The Republican wagon passengers include radical Thaddeus Stevens, the grim reaper, and an African American man and woman couple, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular. Massachusetts Republican representative Benjamin F. Butler tries to push the stalled wagon passed the bones of those who paid "The Price of Nigger Freedom" and the rocks of "Ruined Commerce," "Debt," and "Negro Supremacy.", In the background, a cheering crowd brandishing American flags near the U.S. Capitol await the winning Seymour and Blair while on the building's other side a group of African American men dance. In the left foreground, Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Greeley play a shellgame looking for Grant and an African American man and woman, attired in torn and worn clothes, discuss another man returning to his former enslaver. In the right foreground, an African American man sits behind a table labeled, "Pompey Smash, Salt River Line Ticket Agent" and sells tickets to "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster) to a white man with a bag labeled, "J.G.B. Boston Carpet Bagger." Behind them, two African American men and a drunken white man holding a bottle talk about the Republican wagon., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1868 by Bromley & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the southern District of New York., 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 - 1868-15 [5760.F.125]
[Series of Clarence E. Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes, cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y. racist 1880 calendar illustrations after the "Blackville" series] [graphic].
Title
[Series of Clarence E. Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes, cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y. racist 1880 calendar illustrations after the "Blackville" series]
Description
Series of twelve captioned illustrations from the Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes 1880 calendar portraying scenes after the racist “Blackville” series drawn by Sol Eytinge for “Harper’s Weekly” in the 1870s and depicting caricatures satirizing the social mores, customs, and daily lives of African Americans of all classes. The figures are portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. The attire of the figures includes long-sleeved dresses, shirtwaists and skirts, smocks, shirt, pants, jackets, and caps, and hats. Some of the attire depicted, particularly for younger figures, is worn and/or tattered. Includes scenes from the Eytinge Blackville series within a series - “the twins” (March, May, September illustrations). Scenes are titled (sometimes with text in the vernacular) and depict “The First Ulster in Blackville” (January) of a winter scene showing African American children, attired in shirts, pants, or skirts and hats or bonnets, paused from a snowball fight as an African American man in a blue ulster (an overcoat with hood), holding a cane, and smoking walks between them; “Christmas Dinner Done!” (February) showing an older African American man, attired in an overcoat, pants, and hat, and African American boy, attired in a shirt, pants, and a hat with a scarf tied around his head and chin, in a field, and watching a rabbit run away from a trap held by the boy; “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (March) showing African American women twins, each being courted by an African American man within an open room that has a stove and mantle as their older African American parents “watch” from a doorway;, "April-Fools Day-An Aggravated Case (April) showing an older African American woman, with an upset expression, standing in front of a row of cabins and near a basket of cabbages on a town block, and holding a dead rat within a cabbage as she is watched by two snickering African American boys, the practical jokers, standing within the opening to an alley; "The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wed"ding of the Twins" (May) showing two African American women twin brides and their grooms within a parlor, near a table of food, being married by a reverend in front of friends and family of all ages; "The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start" (June) showing an African American driver pulling at the reins of an unruly four-mule team coach of which African American passengers of all ages sit in and on the cab as African American towns folk wave from a line of cabins in the background and an African American boy and dog run past the wheel of the vehicle; "The 'Fourth' in Blackville" (July) showing a fenced paddock in which an African American boy holds an American flag in one hand and a gun in the other by a group of African American children and a woman who run, cover their eyes, jump the fence, and shield each other under the sight of an African American man in the window of an adjacent cabin; “Hi Abe Come Under De Brellar! Does Your Want to Sunstruck Yerself! De Fremoniter’s Gone Up Moren a Foot!” (August) showing a group of African American children of different ages, under a torn umbrella held by the tallest child, a girl, and approaching a young African American boy, “Abe,” within a fenced yard with a pond and patches of greenery and across from a cabin in which an African American man and woman, stand and sit in the doorway;, “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville" (September) showing “the twins” on promenade with their husbands and an African American women caregiver holding their two babies as they walk on a dirt path lined by African American townsfolks of all ages who stare and also include an older woman who laughs behind a tree; "Who Struck De Futest?” (October) showing an older African American man, seated outside a cabin, and holding up a switch to two African American boys, in worn clothing, standing within the yard, near a broken object, and across from an African American girl in the cabin doorway and three boys seated and looking over a fence lining the property in the background; The “Small Breeds” Thanksgiving-Return of the First-Born from College 'Bress His Heart! Don’t he look edgecated?' ”(November) showing a young African American man portrayed in disheveled attire and manner as though drunk entering the door to his family, including a grandmother figure and a child in a high chair, at dinner around a cloth-covered table; and “No Small Breed Per Yer Uncle Abe Dis Chris'mas! Ain’t He a Cherub?” (December) showing “Uncle Abe,” an African American man holding a large, plucked turkey (with head and feet) near his chest and on a table surrounded by older women and child-aged family members who stand near a chest of drawers, a stool, and two windows with curtains visible in the background. Exterior scenes also often include a dog or cat, or a cabin or cabins, the latter marked “Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes. Cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y.” in the background; as well as fencing, groves of trees, and dirt paths. Interior scenes often include a dining table, chairs, displays of food and household items, such as a candlestick and framed prints advertising Clarence Brooks & Co. April-Fools Day image includes a cobble-stone street., Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper’s Weekly illustrations., Title supplied by cataloger., Publication information inferred from image content and similar material issued by Clarence Brooks & Co. during the early 1880s., Two of the series contains ornamented borders (P.2022.8.2 & 4)., All of the prints inscribed in pencil on the verso with the name of a month, some abbreviated, between January and December., Image for “The First Ulster in Blackville” (P.2022.8.1) originally published in Harpers Weekly, March 18, 1876., Image for “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (P.2022.8.3) originally published in Harpers Weekly, May 11, 1878., Image for The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wedding of the Twins (P.2022.8.5) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 13, 1878., Image for “The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start” (P.2022.8.6) originally published in Harpers Weekly, September 28, 1878., Image for “The ‘Fourth’ in Blackville” (P.2022.8.7) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 14, 1877., Image for “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville” (P.2022.8.9) originally published in Harpers Weekly, October 26, 1878., Image for “Who Struck de Futest” (P.2022.8.10) originally published in Harpers Weekly, June 13, 1874., Image for “No Small Breed fer yer Uncle Abe….” (P.2022.8.12) originally published in Harpers Weekly, January 1, 1876., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
Date
[1879]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - calendars - C [P.2022.8.1-12]