Search results

Title: [Young African American woman]
Description: Sample of photo restoration work depicting a damaged and touched up bust-length portrait mounted side-by-side of a young African American woman. The woman, attired in a beret, a white shirt, and a plaid jacket, faces right with her eyes looking left., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from attire of the sitter., Gift of Joseph Kelly, 1982., 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: Photo Illustrators (Firm)
Date: [ca. 1930]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Photo-Illustrators-Non-Philadelphia-Afro-Americana

Title: [Unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length portrait of a young woman wearing her hair parted in the middle and tied behind her head with long curly bangs and attired in a shirtwaist with buttons down the bodice and a long skirt. She sits facing slightly left with her left arm resting on the chair's armrest, which is decorated with a patterned fabric and fringe. Her right hand rests on her lap., Title supplied by cataloger., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Possibly by Philadelphia photographer Isaac G. Tyson., Slightly discolored and faded., Purchase 2000., 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. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - photographer - Tyson [P.9853.1]

Title: The colored beauty
Description: Bust-length portrait of a young African American woman facing slightly right. Sitter is attired in gold drop earrings with red stones, a three-strand gold necklace with a gold pendant, and a blue dress with a white lace collar., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1872 by Currier & Ives in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington., Purchase 2004., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Currier & Ives
Date: 1872
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Framed graphics [P.2004.25]

Title: [Unidentified young African American woman]
Description: Bust-length portrait of a young African American woman facing slightly left. She wears her hair tied back behind her head in a bun and is attired in small hoop earrings, a puffed sleeve blouse with a high collar over her neck and decorative stripes of ribbon across the shoulders in a patterned fabric., Title supplied by cataloger., Date based on the photographer and attire of the sitter., Missing lower right corner of mount. Surface badly scratched., Purchase 2001., 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: Leuf, William F. J., photographer
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cabinet card portraits- photographer - Leuf [P.9930.3]

Title: [Mary Ann C. Shadd?, Washington, D.C.]
Description: Bust-length portrait of an African American woman, possibly American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Sitter faces right and wears her long hair back and in a chignon and top knot. A head band with an ornament adorns her hair. She is attired in a dark-colored, V-neck garment with a white ruffled collar and dark-colored lace neckerchief. She also wears a cross necklace and drop earrings. Shad Cary, was born free in Delaware to parents active in the Underground Railroad, before relocating to Pennsylvania, then Canada in 1853. In later years, following the Civil War, Shad Cary resided in Washington, D.C. where she died in 1893. During her life, she founded a school for Black children in Pennsylvania and a racially integrated school in Ontario, Canada; was the first Black woman publisher in North America when she founded, in 1853, and edited the anti-slavery and civil rights advocacy newspaper "The Provincial Freeman,"; was the second Black woman to attend law school (Howard University) in the United States; and founded, in 1880, the women's rights advocacy organization the Colored Women's Progressive Franchise. Shad Cary also wrote for multiple newspapers, such as the National Era, served as a Civil War recruiter, and was the first African American woman to vote in a national election., Title from manuscript note on verso: Mariann [sic] C. Shadd, Washington, D.C., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Date inferred from active dates of photographer at address listed in imprint., Henrici & Garns operated from 709 South Second Street between 1874 and 1876.
Creator: Henrici & Garns, photographer
Date: [ca. 1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Cary [P.2023.4]

Title: [Lillie Showell]
Description: Full-length studio portrait showing Showell, seated in a chair containing an ornate back. The young woman wears glasses and is attired in a shirtwaist and long skirt. She rests one hand on the arm of the chair and the other on her knee. A studio backdrop is visible in the background. Family lore suggests Showell, born in Philadelphia, died from the flu during the 1917-1918 pandemic following World War I. Showell, younger sister of Arthur Showell (1894-1943), resided in Maryland as a child and young adult., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Brice C. Showell.
Date: [ca. 1917]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait photographs - misc. - sitter - Showell [P.2015.1.2]

Title: Anti-slavery Token
Description: Reads, "Am I Not A Woman & A Sister 1838." The back reads, "United States of America." Picture of a wreath with "Liberty 1838" within it., These tokens were sold at antislavery fairs organized by abolitionist women to raise money for the cause. In this example, to avoid charges of counterfeiting, the N in United States is reversed., Gift of Chris McCauley, 1996., Exhibited in the Heritage Center at the Union League of Philadelphia exhibition, Philadelphia 1861: The Coming Storm (2011).
Date: 1838
Location: OBJ 869

Title: [Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning unidentified woman family member portrait]
Description: Half-length portrait. Shows the woman, her hair parted in the middle, and pulled back and attired in a long-sleeved dark dress adorned with a white collar and buttons down the bodice. Sitter also wears drop earrings., Title supplied by cataloger., Date from manuscript note on detached label., Accompanied by detached photographer's label., Removed to Print Department from Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Object Collection., See Lib. Company Annual Report, 1991, p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points reviewed 2022.
Creator: Fenton, J., photographer
Date: Summer 1869
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Portrait Collection [P.2012.37.4]

Title: The whitewasher
Description: Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black, female whitewasher. The woman is dressed in work-clothes and coarse shoes; her sleeves are rolled-up and the illustrator emphasizes her muscular forearms. According to the accompanying text, the bucket on the floor contains a mixture of lime and water, with a little salt and indigo to make it clear. In the course of her work, the whitewasher dips long-handled brushes (like those seen here) into the mixture and rubs it onto the walls for cleaning., Illustration in City characters, or, familiar scenes in town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 12., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Date: [1851]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 12, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2782

Title: Forget me not
Description: Album page with an embossed border and containing a drawing of forget-me-nots. Shows a sprig of red and blue flowers, and red and blue buds, as well as green leaves. Border is composed of ornament details., Title from album page., Date inferred from complementary entries in album., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, educator, and anti-slavery activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [ca. 1843]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Martina Dickerson album [13859.Q.83]

Title: [Full-length portrait of an unidentified older African American woman on a porch]
Description: Full-length portrait of an unidentified African American woman standing on the covered porch before the open doorway to her home. The woman, attired in a bonnet, a long-sleeved collared dress, an apron, and shoes, has her arms at her side as she smiles and looks at the viewer. She stands in front of a wooden rocking chair. On the porch, in the left, is a wooden rocking chair and a wooden crate with a milk pail and ladle on top of it., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred by attire of the sitter., Gift of Marjorie G. Battles, 1979., 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. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait photographs - misc. - unidentified female [P.8502.129]

Title: [Bust-length portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Bust-length portrait of a young, unidentified African American woman. The women, wearing her hair tied up and attired in a hat decorated with flowers and a dress with a large crocheted collar that extends down her chest, looks directly at the viewer., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from dates of operation of photographer and attire of the sitter., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Mount decorated with ornate border., Purchase 2001., 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: Rosenberg's Penny Photos, photographer
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait photographs-misc.-unidentified female [P.9930.1]

Title: [Bust-length portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Bust-length portrait of a young unidentified African American woman. The woman, wearing her hair tied and decorated with a bow at the back of her head and attired in a long-sleeved dress in a patterned fabric with a high collar, looks directly at the viewer., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred by the dates of operation of the photographer and attire of the sitter., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Mount contains ornate border., Purchase 2001., 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: Rosenberg's Penny Photos, photographer
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait photographs-misc.-unidentified female [P.9930.2]

Title: [Three-quarter length portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length portrait of a young African American woman. The woman, wearing her hair tied back and attired in a brimmed hat, spectacles, hoop earrings, a ring, a collared shirt, a thin bowtie, a suit jacket with lace on the lapels, and a matching skirt, sits on a wooden chair and looks at the viewer. She rests her hands together on her lap with her right elbow on the armrest and sits with her legs crossed., Photographer's imprint stamped on mount., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from the attire of the sitter., Purchase 2001., 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: Withers, William C., photographer
Date: [ca. 1910]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *portrait photographs - unidentified sitter [P.9930.6]

Title: [Three-quarter length portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length portrait of an unidentified, young African American woman facing forward. She wears her hair parted to the left and pulled back over her ears and tied behind her head in a bun. She is attired in spectacles, a dark-colored, long-sleeved, satin dress with a lace collar and cuffs, and a locket. She sits on a wooden chair with her left arm draped over the arm rest and her right hand on her lap., Photographer's imprint stamped on mount., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 2001., 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: Withers, William C., photographer
Date: [ca. 1910]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *portrait photographs - unidentified sitter [P.9957.9]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Bust-length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and looped behind the ears. She is attired in hoop earrings, a white collared chemisette, a dress with polka dots, and a dark-colored shawl. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Pad: Dark purple velvet. No design., Mat: Oval., Case: Leather. Surrounded by scrolls, a spray of lillies is in the center. Geometric design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.4]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, crimped, and looped behind the ears. She is attired in a striped, long-sleeved dress with a wide lace collar, a brooch, black laced fingerless gloves, and a ribbon around her neck attached to a pair of spectacles. She rests her left arm on a table covered with a patterned tablecloth on which a book sits. Her right hand rests at her side below her waist. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Pad: Faded golden colored velvet. Geometric design in center surrounded by swirls., Mat: Double elliptical., Case: Leather. Geometric design: striated lines in the center within interlocking circles. Shell-like designs at the four corners. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [Philadelphia]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.5]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Half-length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman seated on a chair. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and tied behind her head. She is attired in a dark-colored, diagonally striped, long-sleeved dress with a lace collar, a brooch, and a long necklace. She rests her left arm on a table covered with a patterned tablecloth, and her right hand rests on her lap. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Pad: Cinnamon colored velvet with one large leaf., Mat: Octogonal., Case: Leather. Design is curved octagon within scroll and is Plate 219 in Floyd and Marion Rinhart's American miniature case art (Cranbury, NJ: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969). Case made by William Shew who was active in Boston in the 1840s. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993 p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [Philadelphia]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.10]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Half-length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle with ringlet curls on either side of her face, and tied behind her head. She is attired in a long-sleeved dress with a lace collar, a brooch, and a ring. She rests her right arm on a table covered with a patterned tablecloth, and she clutches a purse in her right hand. Her left hand rests on her lap. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred by sitter's attire., Pad: Faded red silk., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. Geometric design: A striated circle in the center within a striated oval. Nonpareil border. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.6]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, front facing portrait of a seated African American woman. Sitter has dark hair, parted in the middle, crimped, and looped behind her ears. She is attired in a dark-colored, silk dress with long, bell-shaped sleeves with trim details and ruching below the shoulder. She also wears a lace collar and cuffs. A pin adorns the front of her collar. She rests her left forearm on a book which sits atop a table covered in a patterned cloth in the right of the image. A ribbon adorns her left wrist and she wears a ring on her left forefinger. Her right hand rests in her lap. Her lips and upper cheeks are tinted pink. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Tinting on sitter's lips and upper cheeks., Pad: Deep purple velvet without a design., Mat: Oval., Case: Leather. Case design showing small vase of flowers in the center surrounded by ornate decorations is called "Flower Vase Motif" and is Plate 146 in Floyd and Marion Rinhart's American miniature case art (Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969.) Geometric design on verso., Die-engraver's name on case design reads A[nthony] C. Paquet., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Library Company. Annual Report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.15]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman seated on a chair with an ornate, wooden back. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, crimped, and looped behind her ears. She wears hoop earrings and a dark-colored, long-sleeve button-down, silk dress with a lace collar and cuffs. A broach adorns her collar. She also rests her right forearm and hand on a book which sits atop a table covered in a patterned cloth in the left of the image. She wears a ring on her right hand and her left hand, in a slight fist, rests in her lap. Her cheeks are tinted pink. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic format and attire of sitter., Tinting on cheeks., Pad: Dark red velvet with a scroll design., Mat: Oval., Case: Leather. A large floral spray with a lily and leaves, surrounded by an ornate scrolled border. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Library Company. Annual Report, 1993, p. 17-24., Reproduced on cover and on page 45 of Julie Winch's The Elite of our people (University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000)
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.12]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Half-length, forward facing portrait of an African American woman seated on a chair. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and looped behind her ears. She is attired in a dark-colored, long-sleeved dress with a white chemisette with a collar and under sleeves, a brooch, and a ring. She rests her left arm on a table covered with a patterned tablecloth, and her right hand rests on her lap. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Pad: Faded red velvet with small floral spray in center surrounded by scrolls., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. Case design of a bouquet of flowers in an urn within a nonpareil border is called "The Romanesque Urn" and is Plate 141 in Floyd and Marion Rinhart's American miniature case art (Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969.) Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993 p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.14]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Half-length, forward facing portrait of a woman seated on a chair. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and looped behind her ears. She is attired in a dark-colored, long-sleeved, silk dress with a high lace collar, a brooch, hoop earrings, a ring, and a long necklace. She rests her right arm on a table covered with a patterned tablecloth, and her left hand rests on her lap. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from sitter's attire., Pad: Red velvet embossed Van Loan & Co's Gallery 118 Chesnut St. Philada. Geometric border., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. Spray of flowers in a nonpareil like border. Scroll work all around. A different floral spray within a modified double elliptical border is on the back. Design called "Lily and Rose" and is Plate 114 in Floyd and Marion Rinhart's American miniature case art (Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969.), Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993 p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Van Loan operated from 118 Chestnut Street circa 1849-circa 1851.
Creator: Van Loan & Co., photographer
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.3]

Title: Julia Anderson Grannie's cook at 6610 Germantown Avenue
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of Julia Anderson, an African American woman cook, seated in a large, wooden chair. Anderson, wearing her hair tied back and attired in hoop earrings and a long-sleeved, dark-colored, satin dress, sits with her right arm on the chair’s armrest and her left hand resting on her lap., Title from manuscript note on verso., Date inferred from dates of operation of the photographer and attire of the sitter., Photographer's blindstamp on recto., Mount contains embossed border., Gift of Mrs. E. Perot Walker, 1980., 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: New Richmond Studio, photographer
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department misc. portrait photographs - identified - Anderson [P.8514.87]

Title: [Unidentified African American woman]
Description: Near full-length portrait showing an African American woman attired in a narrow-brimmed, high-domed, ornamented bonnet; dark-colored, button-down shirt waist; and white skirt with ruching at the hips. A broach with a four-leaf clover detail adorns her collar. She stands between a post to her right and a stringy, hay bale-like prop to her left. She rests her left hand on the prop and holds a parasol perpendicular to the floor in her right. A photographer's head clamp is positioned to the left of the post and a backdrop illustrated with an outdoor setting is visible in the background. The studio is partially visible in the left of the image., Title supplied by cataloger., Accompanied by detached photographer's label (P.2017.14.4b)., Date inferred from "N.B." on photographer's label., Description and access points reviewed 2022.
Creator: Fenton, J., photographer
Date: [ca. 1867]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department tintypes - photographer - Fenton [P.2017.14.4a&b]

Title: I sell the shadow to support the substance. Sojourner Truth
Description: Three-quarter length portrait of the African American itinerant preacher, abolitionist, and women's rights advocate born into slavery and originally known as Isabella Baumfree. Shows Truth, seated, and attired in a dark-colored, long sleeved dress with white collar, white shawl with fringe, and a white cap. She wears wire-rimmed glasses and faces front and is turned slightly to her left. She holds knitting in her left hand which rests on a small table that has a decorative table cloth. A notebook and vase of flowers adorn the table. A string of yarn runs across her lap. Truth escaped to freedom in 1826. During the period of the Civil War, Truth captioned, marketed, copyrighted, and sold at least eleven different carte-de-visite portraits of herself at her lectures and through the mail to earn personal funds and advocate for the abolition of slavery. Her knitting probably alludes to her promotion of the handcraft as an industry for advancement for former enslaved persons., Title from item., Publication information from copyright statement on verso: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864, by Sojourner Truth, in the Clerk's Office, of the U. S. District Court, for the Eastern District of Mich., Lib. Company. Annual report, 2016, p. 66-67., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: 1864
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Truth [P.2017.27]

Title: [Sarah E. Showell]
Description: Cameo portrait showing Showell from the bust up. She wears a shirtwaist and possibly a tie. Family lore suggests Showell died from the flu during the 1917-1918 pandemic following World War I. Showell, younger sister of Arthur Showell (1894-1943), was born and resided in Maryland as a child and young adult., Title supplied by cataloguer., Gift of Brice C. Showell., Very worn condition.
Date: [ca. 1917]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait photographs - misc. - sitter - Showell [P.2015.1.3]

Title: The laundress
Description: Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black laundress. She is neatly dressed in a long, flowing skirt; and her head is covered with an untied bonnet. "This woman," as the accompanying text explains, "is engaged by rich people to wash and iron clothes, which have been soiled by wearing." The text continues, "The woman in the picture looks as though she had just finished a hard day's work and was taking clothes home to the owners; she what a large basket she carries. It is full of articles of clothing neatly folded up; and this shows how much the woman has done in one day.", Illustration in City Characters, or, Familiar Scenes in Town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 32., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Date: [1851]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 32, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2783

Title: The desperation of a mother
Description: With an axe in one hand and a candle in the other, a slave woman kneels in the cramped attic space where her two young sons sleep on the floor. Hovering above the boys, she shines her light upon them before killing them. According to an accompanying text, she then kills herself., Caption title vignette in the Anti-Slavery Record (New York: Published by R.G. Williams, for the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1835-1837), vol. I, no. 9, p. 97., Small caption underneath the image reads: "Why do you narrate the extraordinary cases of cruelty? These stories will not convert the cruel, and the wound the feelings of masters who are not son." REPLY. Cruelty is the fruit of the system., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Anti-Slavery Movement Imagery.
Date: [September 1835]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per A 245 16998.D v 1 n 9 cover page, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2858

Title: The cook
Description: As the title suggests, the engraving is a portrait of a Virginia cook, whom Crayon described as "not merely a black woman, . . . but one bearing a patent stamp by the broad seal of Nature; the type of a class whose skill is not of books or training, but a gift both rich and rare -- who flourishes her spit as Amphitrite does her trident (or her husband's, which is all the same), whose ladle is as a royal sceptre in her hands, who has grown sleek and fat on the steam of her own genius, whose children have the first dip in all gravies, the exclusive right to all livers and gizzards, not to mention breasts of fried chickens -- who brazens her mistress, boxes her scullions, and scalds the dogs . . . ." (p. 176) Shown in her kitchen, the stout cook wears an apron and a kerchief, and is surrounded by bowls, buckets, a grill, and cooking utensils., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 68 (January 1856), p. 177., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Srother's] "Virginia Illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his Cousins," which was published in book form in 1857. See David Hunter Strother, Virginia Illustrated (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Date: [January 1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 68 January 1856 p 177, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2870

Title: [Women posed at Glendinning Rock Gardens, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia]
Description: Scene showing well-dressed women, including an African American woman, posed in the Glendinning Rock Gardens in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Shows nine women, attired in dresses, sitting and standing on the rocks around the pond and on the incline leading up to the stone wall. The garden, built in 1936 at the bequest of Fairmount Park Commission board member Colonel Robert Glendinning and his wife Elizabeth, is one of the most unusual in the country containing an atypical variety of species of shrubs, herbs, and trees., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the people., Manuscript note on verso: Glend[i]nning Rock Gardens, Fairmount Park., Gift of Joseph Kelly, 1982., 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: Photo Illustrators (Firm), photographer
Date: [ca. 1957]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Photo-Illustrators [P.8809.1]

Title: A mark of friendship's pleasing power
Description: Album page with embossed border and containing a drawing depicting a bunch of flowers above a four-line sentimental poem about friendship and rememberance. Flowers include a rose. Other flowers are depicted in the colors of orange, red, and violet. Image also includes a stem and leaves., Title from manuscript verse., Probably by civil rights activist and educator Ada Howell Hinton who founded a school in 1849. Hinton was daughter of Philadelphia African American elite community member, barber, perfumer, and abolitionist Frederick Augustus Hinton., Contains four lines of verse: A mark of friendship pleasing power,/In this small trifle see/And sometimes in a lonely hour,/View it and think of me., RVCDC, Description revised 2022.
Date: ca. 1840
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Martina Dickerson album [13859.Q.73]

Title: [Vase of flowers]
Description: Album page with embossed border and containing a drawing of a vase of flowers. Shows an arrangement of flowers including roses, camellias, pansies and forget-me-nots, in an urn-shaped vase. Border is composed of a leaf design., Title supplied by cataloguer., Date from album page., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, educator, and anti-slavery activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: 1843
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Martina Dickerson album [13859.Q.78]

Title: [Assorted flowers]
Description: Album page containing a pencil drawing of an arrangement of assorted flowers of different varieties drawn when the album was in a horizontal position. Arrangment also includes leaves and flower buds., Title supplied by cataloguer., Date from item., Probably by Lydia A. Bustill., Lydia A. Bustill, was an anti-slavery activist and cousin of educator, artist, and anti-slavery activist Sarah Mapps Douglass., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [October, 1841]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.52]

Title: [Rose with open scroll]
Description: Album page containing an incomplete drawing of a spray of red rose and three rose buds behind a blank open scroll. The stems of the flowers are depicted with thorns. Image possibly corresponds to an 1849 entry written by African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne (1811-1893) about the death of his wife and daughter that began, “Just by the side of this Rose, there grew a Rose-bud perfectly formed and softly tinged with the brightest carmine ….” (verso of p.64-66)., Title supplied by cataloguer., Date estimated from span of dates of dated entries within album., Possibly by Amy Matilda Cassey., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1845]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.62]

Title: [Floral watercolor]
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a rose bud. The rose bud is depicted on a stem with a number of leaves and thorns., Probably by educator and anti-slavery activist Ada Howell Hinton, daughter of Frederick Augustus Hinton, barber, perfumer, abolitionist, and prominent member of the Philadelphia African American elite community., RVCDC, Description revised in 2022., Access points revised in 2022.
Date: [ca. 1840]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Mary Anne Dickerson album [13860.Q.69]

Title: Fuchsia
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a stem of fuchsia with four flowers copied after a figure in a plate from James Andrews' Lessons in Flower Painting. A Series...(London: Charles Tilt, Fleet Street; John Menzies, Edinburgh; Thomas Wardle, Philadelphia [1836]), pl. 11. (LCP Am 1836 And, 13878.Q). The fuchsia is depicted with the blue petals, red sepals, and pink stamens of the flowers facing down. Image is also composed with the bud of a flower at the end of the stem that has multiple green leaves., Title and date from item., LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p.45., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, educator, community activist, and prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community. Mary Anne Dickerson was her pupil.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [July 15, 1846]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Mary Anne Dickerson album [13860.Q.75]

Title: "A token of love from me, to thee"
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a black butterfly on a twig with pink flowers. Shows the butterfly with a black head, thorax, and abdomen and black wings with specks of green and red. The twig also contains several green leaves that fold up, fold down, and/or droop. The stem and branches of the twig are outlined with pink lines., Title from manuscript note., Date inferred from complementary entries in album., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, educator, and anti-slavery activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [ca. 1833]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.2]

Title: "I love a flower!"
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a wild pink rose above eight lines of allegorical verse about the beauty of flowers. Shows the rose with a stem, five green leaves surrounding the petals, and two buds., Title from manuscript verse., Date inferred from complementary entries in album., Contains eight lines of verse: I love a flower! it ever brings/ A warmth of feeling to my heart,/ Unlike those gay and gilded things/ That flatter coldly, coldly part./ But flowers! – Oh they are eloquent/ They speak when lips would still be dumb/ When by the hand of friendship sent,/ Her price interpreters they come., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, educator, and anti-slavery activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [ca. 1833]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.9]

Title: "Forget me not!"
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a stem of blue forget-me-nots above a poem about remembrance. Shows the stem with mutiple flowers and leaves., Title from manuscript verse., Date from item., Probably by Margaretta or Mary Forten, civil rights activists and members of the multiracial Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery Society. The women were the daughters of Philadelphia African American entrepreneur and abolitionist James Forten and abolitionist Charlotte Vandine Forten, Contains lines of verse: Forget me not”!—how sweet the token,/ When early hours have faded long,/ And hopes as well as hearts are broken,/ To know they still exist in song!/ Thus, may the exile fondly dream of/ Many a dear and transie[n]t ray/ And watchful memory catch a gleam/ Each colouring of a by-gone day. What tho the wave with ceaseless motion/ Protracts the union of o’er lot:—/ Our Hope’s the rock, which stems Time’s ocean,/ Our Love’s the flower, “Forget Me Not.” Excerpt adapted from poem by William G. Simms Jr., “The ‘Forget Me Not,’” in Early Lays (Charleston, South Carolina: A. E. Miller, 1827)., Manuscript of "Philadelphia" outlined with dots., Manuscript numbers for year "1834" formed with dots., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [1834]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.14]

Title: "Long long be thy heart with your memory fill'd..."
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a white vase of flowers on a square-shaped base and above a poem about memory and remembrance. Flowers depicted are of various kinds and include roses. They are long-stemmed, have leaves, and are in colors of pink, red, yellow, white and blue., Title from manuscript verse., Date inferred from complementary entries in album., Contains four lines of verse: Long, long be my heart with your memory fill’d!—/Like the vase in which roses have once been distill’d—/ You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will;/ But the scent of the roses will hang round it still., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Forten, was a civil rights activist, founding member of the multiracial Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery Society, and educator. She was the daughter of Philadelphia African American entrepreneur and abolitionist James Forten and abolitionist Charlotte Vandine Forten.
Creator: Forten, Margaretta, 1806-1875, artist
Date: [ca. 1834]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.16]

Title: [Vase of flowers]
Description: Album page containing a drawing of a white, urn-shaped vase of flowers. A variety of flowers are depicted including a pink rose and white lilies. Leaves also comprise the depicted floral display., Title supplied by cataloguer., Possibly by Amy Matilda Cassey., Date estimated from span of dates of dated entries within album., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1845]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.21]

Title: No marvel woman should love flowers
Description: Album page containing a drawing of coupled red and blue flowers above six lines of allegorical verse about unappreciated beauty. Shows the red camellia with fluffy stamens below three, five-petal blue flowers, possibly forget-me-nots. The flowers are also depicted with buds, leaves, and stems. The stem of the red flower contains thorns., Title from manuscript verse., Date inferred from complementary entries in album., Contains six lines of verse: No marvel woman should love flowers, they bear/ So much of fanciful similitude/ To her own history; like herself repaying/ With such sweet interest all the cherishing/ That calls their beauty or their sweetness forth;/ And like her too—dying beneath neglect. Verse from a poem by English writer Letitia Elizabeth Landon that was frequently published, including in the Ladies’ Miscellany (Salem, Mass., April 7, 1830)., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Douglass, was an artist, prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite community, educator, and anti-slavery activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [ca. 1833]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Amy Matilda Cassey album [P.9764.24]

Title: [Honeysuckle]
Description: Depicts a stem of honeysuckle., Title supplied by cataloger., Name of artist from manuscript note on verso., Gift of William Woys Weaver, 1995., 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., Douglass, an artist and prominent Quaker member of the Philadelphia African American elite, was best known as an educator and community activist.
Creator: Douglass, S. M. (Sarah Mapps), 1806-1882, artist
Date: [ca. 1845]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Drawings & Watercolors-Douglass [P.9493]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Bust-length, forward facing portrait of a seated, African American woman whose eyes look to the right. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, crimped, and looped behind her ears. She wears hoop earrings and a dark-colored, long-sleeved, silk dress with a white collar and cravat. A small, decorative button or brooch is pinned in the center of the collar. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Pad: Faded red velvet with a single swirled feather design., Mat: Oval., Leather. Geometric design with a crosshatched oval surrounded by ovals, each of which has a flower in the center. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1855-ca. 1860]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.8]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of a seated, African American woman. Sitter has dark hair that is parted in the middle and combed close to and tied back behind her head. She is attired in a long-sleeved, button down, plaid dress with ruffles at the cuffs and wears a matching, round, brooch necklace and earrings. She rests her right forearm on a table and her hands, forming slight fists, rest in her lap. Her cheeks and lips are tinted pink. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Pad: Faded red velvet. Fleur de lis in center surrounded by scrolls., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. Geometric design featuring a six-pointed star within a shield flanked by banners. Same design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1855-ca. 1860]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.7]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of a seated, African American woman. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and looped behind her ears. She is attired in a dark-colored, long-sleeved, silk dress with a white lace collar, and black lace, fingerless gloves. A broach adorns her collar. She rests her left forearm on a table covered in a patterned cloth. A book lies on the table. The sitter’s left hand rests on her lap. Her lips are tinted pink. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Pad: Dark purple velvet with a scroll design in the center., Mat: Oval., Case: Square thermoplastic. On recto is a leaf design surrounded by scrolls. This design is #3-128 reproduced in Paul K. Berg's nineteenth century photographic cases and wall frames (Huntington Beach, Ca. 92647: Huntington Valley Press, 1995.) The design on the verso is a bunch of grapes, #2-25 in Berg's book., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24.
Date: [ca. 1850-ca. 1860]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos -Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.16]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified African American woman]
Description: Half-length, forward facing portrait of a seated African American woman posed behind a prop window frame. Sitter rests her left elbow and right hand on the bottom edge of the frame. Her left hand rests on her shoulder, near the side of her face. She has dark, crimped hair, parted in the middle and that is pulled back into a braided crown at the back of her head. She is attired in a dark-colored, satiny dress with a plunging V-neck and that is adorned with a frilled ribbon and long sleeves with ruching below the shoulder. She also wears a white V-neck collar adorned with a broach, frilled white cuffs, hoop earrings, and a ring on her right hand. Her cheeks and lips are tinted pink. Image also includes a creeping grape vine in the right of the image. Sitter probably from or related to the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic format and attire of sitter., Sitter's cheeks tinted pink., Name of daguerreotypist inferred from studio prop (window and trailing vine) visible in image., Pad: Bright red velvet with a scroll design., Mat: Oval., Case: Leather. A large floral spray with a lily and leaves, surrounded by an ornate scrolled border. Geometric design on verso., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Library Company. Annual Report, 1993, p. 17-24., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Broadbent, Samuel, 1810-1880, photographer
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cased photos [P.9427.13]

Title: [Portrait of an unidentified woman]
Description: Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of a seated, African American woman. Sitter has long, dark hair, parted in the middle, and looped behind her ears. She is attired in a dark-colored, long-sleeved, silk dress with a white lace collar, and black lace fingerless gloves. A broach adorns her collar. She rests her left forearm on a table covered in a patterned cloth. A book lies on the table. The sitter’s left hand rests on her lap. Her lips are tinted pink. Sitter is probably a member or acquaintance of the Dickerson Family of Philadelphia., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred by sitter's attire., Pink tinting on lips., Pad: Deep purple velvet without a design., Mat: Oval., Case: Leather. Small vase of flowers in the center surrounded by ornate decorations. The"Flower Vase" design is reproduced as Plate 146 in Floyd and Marion Rinhart's American miniature case art (Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1969.) Geometric design on verso., The die-engraver's name is below the design in reverse, and properly reads A[nthony] C. Paquet., Gift of Mary P. Dunn, 1993., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1993, p. 17-24., Reproduced on page 45 of Julie Winch's The Elite of our people (University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000), Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Cased photos - Dickerson Family Collection [P.9427.11]

Title: [Unidentified young African American woman]
Description: Full-length portrait of a young African American woman standing and resting her left hand on the balustrade behind her. She wears her hair tied behind her head and is attired in a fur cap and a long-sleeved dress which has large, decorative buttons that are placed in the middle and run the length of the dress flanked on either side with pleated ruffles with two rows of ruffles around the base of the skirt. In the right is a table covered in a tablecloth and a drape which hangs down., Title supplied by cataloger., Photographer's imprint including vignette and business advertisement stamped on verso., Purchase 2001., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Parlor Galleries operated at 523 South 9th Street from 1876 to 1885.
Creator: Parlor Gallery (Firm), photographer
Date: [ca. 1881]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits – photographer – Parlor [P.9900.12]

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