Centennial
Title
Centennial Westward the course of empire takes its way
Description
Print commemorating the 100th anniversary of the nation, celebrated at the Centennial Exhibition through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art in Philadelphia. Contains the text of the Declaration of Independence and the Proclamation Emancipation bordered by several historical and allegorical vignettes, scenes, and views that symbolize the social, political, and technological progress of the country. Oval frames surround the texts, which encircle bust-length portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The frames are adorned with banners labeled with the names of the original 13 colonies and the 38 states recognized as of 1876. Two bird's eye views showing the development of a cityscape, possibly New York City, from 1776 to 1876 are visible between the framed texts. Other images show the "Battle of Bunker Hill"; "Battle of Gettysburg"; "Surrender of Cornwallis"; "Columbus - 1492"; colonists landing at "Plymouth Rock"; "[Lafayette's] Visit to U.S. in 1824"; "A Home of 1776" with a white woman at a loom; "Franklin's Printing Press"; "Hoe's Ten Cylinder Press"; "A Home of 1876" with a white woman at a sewing machine; the marine battles of the "Constitution and Guerriere" and "Merrimac and Monitor"; Independence Hall, and the U.S. Capitol., Uncaptioned vignettes show an auction of enslaved African American people, African American children in a classroom, farmers harvesting a field by hand, a farmer harvesting a field with a horse-drawn reaper, a man traveling by horseback, a speeding train, a hand-pump fire engine of "1776" and a steam engine of "1876." Other pictorial elements include an American eagle, flags, and a view of the Main Building of the Centennial Exhibition incorporated into the title design in addition to floral vinery interweaved between the vignettes, scenes, and views., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1876, by D.T. Ames in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington., Letters of title illustrated with state seals., Title based on quote by Bishop George Berkley., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 96, Gift of David Doret, 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator
Ames, Daniel T., artist
Date
1876
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***BW - Centennial [P.9974.2]
From the plantation to the senate
Title
From the plantation to the Senate
Description
Commemorative print containing portraits of eminent 19th-century African American men above a central cotton plantation scene. In front of the plantation residence by a river, enslaved African American men and women pick and transport baskets of cotton as a well-dressed African American foreman on horseback confers with a man on the dirt road. Flanking the central portrait of "Hon. Frederick Douglass, Champion of Freedom" on a background of tropical flowers, vines, and fruits are: "Hon. Benj. S. Turner of Alabama"; "Rt. Rev. Richard Allen" of Philadelphia, "1st Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church"; "Hon. H.R. Revels of Mississippi"; "Hon. Joseph H. Rainy [sic] of South Carolina"; "Hon. Josiah T. Walls of Florida"; and "Wm. Wells Brown, M.D., Author of the Rising Sun [sic]". Also contains vignettes of romanticized images of African American home life by a river showing African Americans playing instruments and dancing, transporting watermelon by barge, and relaxing outside their home., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1883 by Gaylord Watson., Watson was a New York lithographer who specialized in maps., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1974, p. 61., Purchase 1974., 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
1883
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [8091.F.275]
Distinguished colored men
Title
Distinguished colored men
Description
Commemorative print containing a montage of portraits of eminent African American men centered around a portrait of Frederick Douglass and bordered by vignettes. Portraiture depicts: "Robert Brown Elliott, Ex-member of Congress" from South Carolina; "Blanche K. Bruce, Ex-Senator, U.S." from Mississippi; "Prof. R.T. Greener, Dean, Howard University"; "Wm. Wells Brown, M.D., author of the Rising Son"; "Henry Highland Garnett [sic], Late Minister of Liberia"; "Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, 1st Bishop of the African M.E. Church" in Philadelphia; first African American governor, "P.B.S. Pinchback, Ex-Governor of Louisiana"; "J.H. Rainey, Ex-Member of Congress"; "E.D. Bassett, Ex-Minister to Hayti"; "John Mercer Langston, Minister to Hayti". Vignettes depict a cornstalk, a twig of cotton, and scenes of romanticized images of African American home life by a waterway showing African Americans playing instruments, dancing, transporting watermelon by barge, and relaxing., Title from item., Inscribed lower right corner: Agents Wanted., Lower left corner inexpertly hand painted., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1975, p. 61., Accessioned 1975., 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
1883
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [8139.F]