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Title: Merrick Thread Co. "If this was not Merrick's thread I'd get that coon."
Description: Racist trade card promoting Merrick thread and depicting a scene of a dog confronting an African American boy stealing a chicken. Shows the smiling African American boy kneeling on the ground and lifting a triangular-shaped wooden cage off a chicken as a large, grey pit-bull like dog lunges at him from the right. The boy is dressed in a blue and white plaid vest, a red shirt, blue pants rolled at the cuffs, and black shoes. The dog is tugged back by a white thread tied around its red collar and pulled from a large spool marked with the "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8" logo. Behind the dog is a wooden dog house. Two African African boys watch from above and behind a fence with missing wooden panels. All figures are portrayed with exaggerated features. Print also contains an image on verso depicting a partially opened box of several spools of thread, on which the thread company's tagline "Merrick Thread Co's Ready Wound Bobbins for Sewing Machines Warranted 200 Yards" is printed.Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company. John Wanamaker opened his dry goods store the Grand Depot in former Pennsylvania Railroad sheds in 1876., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Buy Merrick Thread Co.'s Best Six Cord Soft Finish Spool Cotton For Machine & Hand Sewing, Warranted 200 Yds. Also. Be Progressive. Try the ready-wound Bobbins and save both time and labor. Use them once and be convinced. Made for all Sewing-Machines. Same price as six cord., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: John Wanamaker, Thirteenth, Chestnut & Market Sts., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Merrick [P.2017.95.121]

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

Title: Frank Miller's crown dressing Yes missus dat am de Crown of Dressing shua!
Description: Racist trade card depicting an African American maid shining a white woman's boots. The African American woman is depicted in profile and holds a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in her left hand. The white woman holds up the skirt of her dress to reveal her left boot. The maid is attired in a head wrap, a dress with the sleeves rolled, an apron, and flat shoes. The white woman is attired in a ruffled, dark-colored dress, flowers in her hair, and leather boots. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing sits atop an ornamented table. A tassel is visible above the bottle and a curtain is visible behind it. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Several lines of advertising text printed on verso; text is not visible., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.128]

Title: Frank Miller's crown dressing Yes missus dat am de Crown of Dressing shua!
Description: Racist trade card depicting an African American maid shining a white woman's boots. The African American woman is depicted in profile and holds a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in her left hand. The white woman holds up the skirt of her dress to reveal her left boot. The maid is attired in a head wrap, a dress with the sleeves rolled, an apron, and flat shoes. The white woman is attired in a ruffled, dark-colored dress, flowers in her hair, and leather boots. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing sits atop an ornamented table. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown dressing is also printed on the verso. A tassel is visible above the bottle and a curtain is visible behind it. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Printed in red ink., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in 4-oz. bottles, with wire, sponge, and cork. Gives a rich gloss, with a deep and durable color. While most dressings crack the leather, the Crown does not injure it in the least, and for ladies' and children's boots and shoes is rapidly displacing all others., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.127]

Title: We never fade!! J. & P. Coats best six cord 200 yds 50
Description: Racist trade card promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting a caricature of an African American boy 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 labeled, "J&P Coats best six cord 200 yds 50." 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 from item., Advertising text printed on verso: Fast Black Spool Cotton. Does it wear? Does it wash? When a textile fabric must be dyed a pure, rich, deep black, the question that presents itself to the dyer is: “Will these goods be washed in ordinary soap and water, or will they be dipped in some powerful acid, like aquafortis, sulphuric, or muriatic acid?” It they must withstand every-day wear and tear; he will not be so foolish as to fix his black by aid of powerful acids, but will treat the goods mildly, and thus secure superior strength and endurance. In like manner, a druggist will not put a rubber stopper in a bottle filled with sugar and water; he will naturally use an ordinary cork, and save the rubber for resisting violent acids. It is well to look with suspicion on all Acid Tests applied to Spool Cotton. To resist acids, the dyer must use acids at peril of rotting the thread. Intelligent people do not wash their clothes in acid baths. J. & P. Coats’ Black will hold its color as long as any fabric on which it can be used., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - J. & P. Coats [P.2017.95.89]

Title: "Sweet home soap." J.D. Larkin & Co
Description: Racist trade card promoting J.D. Larkin & Co.’s soap and depicting caricatures of four African American boys standing in a line blowing brass horns. Shows the boys attired in straw hats, white shirts with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and yellow shoes. The boy in the left is attired in a pink waistcoat and blue striped pants; the second boy in a purple waistcoat and blue pants; the third boy in a pink waistcoat and blue pants with a floral print; and the fourth boy in a purple waistcoat, blue pants, and gold hoop earrings. They all carry in their right hand a long, brass horn. In the background is a house with a chimney surrounded by a stone wall with a gate. John D. Larkin (1845-1926) began a soap manufactory in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1875. He created a yellow bar of laundry soap called, “Sweet Home Soap.” In 1878, Larkin admitted his brother-in-law Elbert G. Hubbard (1856-1915) and established the firm, J.D. Larkin & Co. The firm grew into a mail-order business. The Company was sold in 1941, liquidated in 1942, and the new owners continued the mail-order business until 1962., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - J.D. Larkin [P.2017.95.90]

Title: J.C. Hand & Co. Fine furniture, no. 1205 Market Street, Philadelphia
Description: Racist trade card promoting the J.C. Hand & Co. and depicting a caricature of an older African American man reading a notice on a country grocery store. Shows the man with a white beard and attired in a yellow brimmed hat, a long-sleeved red shirt, red and yellow pants with patches and held up by suspenders, and black shoes. He bends forward to read the sign on the boarded up, dilapidated store. It states in the vernacular that the Johnsing & Skinner Grocery is out of business and that, “Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me--dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing." The African American man is labeled as a creditor who says in the vernacular, “I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.” In the right, the man’s donkey is tied to an orange post behind him. In the background, fenced in fields and trees are visible. J. C. Hand & Co. operated circa 1882-circa 1884 and the failure of the business., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from the dates of operation of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: Johnsing & Skinner Grocery. Notis—De firm of Johnsing & Skinner am resolved. Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me—dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing. Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner—“I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.”, Text and illustrations printed on verso. Illustrations depict a closed sofa bed that looks like a chair with the caption "closed," and the open sofa bed resembling a cot, captioned, "open." Text reads: J.C. Hand & Co. 1205 Market Street. Manufacturers of Patent Sofa Beds. These beds can be made up as low as $25. In Raw Silk. We have a large stock of well made Furniture at moderate Low Prices. Size of Bed, 4ft. 6x6 ft. 2. Can be made any length or width. Estimates Given. J. C. Hand & Co., 1205 Market Street., Gift of Dr. Milton and Joan Wohl., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1883]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Hand [P.2011.64.34]

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

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

Title: A joyous Christmas and a happy New Year Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co., Stationers & engravers, 815 Arch St. Phila
Description: Trade card promoting engraver and stationer Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co. and depicting racist caricatures of a Chinese woman and two Chinese men. In the right, a Chinese woman, wearing her hair up with decorative pins and a flower and attired in a blue, off-the-shoulder dress, sits in a red chair and holds a bouquet of pink flowers. In the center, the Chinese man, wearing a beard and a queue hairstyle and attired in a purple tunic and green pants, stands with his arms folded. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a goatee and queue hairstyle and attired in a red tunic, pink-and-white striped pants, and black cloth slip-on shoes, stands in front of the woman with his hands out. Also in the scene are a small dog and a red dragon., Title from item., Date inferred from calendar printed on verso., Text printed on verso: "Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co., Stationers & engravers, 815 Arch St., Philadelphia" with a monthly calendar for 1880., RVCDC.
Date: [1879]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co. [P.2015.56.299]

Title: With compliments, Israel Zinser, dealer in drugs, books, stationery, paints, oils, glass, brushes, perfumery, violin strings, and fancy articles, Washington, Illinois
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Israel Zinser and depicting three boys, possibly meant to be Asian, constructing an oversized paper lantern decorated with an image of a flowering branch. In the foreground is a bamboo scaffold on which is a jar full of paintbrushes. In the right, the boy, attired in a green and gold tunic, sits on the scaffold and holds a hammer working on the base of the lantern. In the left, the boy, attired in a hat, yellow shirt with red cuffs, and yellow pants, stands on the scaffold and paints. In the top right, the boy, attired in a green shirt and yellow pants, sits on a swing, holds a paintbrush, and paints the upper part of the lantern. The lantern hangs from a flowering branch., Title from advertising text printed on verso., Date inferred from content., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Z [P.9828.7194]

Title: [P. Madeira trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards promoting Pugh Madeira's cutlery and surgical instrument establishment at 115 South Tenth Street, Philadelphia. lllustrations represent world countries by depicting boys attired in styles of clothing native to China, France, Germany, South America, Hungary, United States, Turkey, Spain, Italy, England, Russia, and Mexico. Also shows two boys riding horses. The card labeled, “China,” shows a Chinese boy with a carrying pole across his shoulders, which holds cards on each side. He wears a queue hairstyle and is attired in a red hat with a black brim; a colorful, long-sleeved tunic; yellow pants; and yellow boots. He holds an orange card in his left hand. A piece of wood is yoked across his shoulders and wire or string hangs down on both sides, which balance the weight of the load. The border has decorative Chinese-stylized decorative motifs., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from dates of operation of the advertised business., 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 - Madeira [1975.F.594; 1975.F.599-608; 1975.F.647; P.2002.9.3]

Title: [Morgan & Headly trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards promoting jewelers Morgan & Headly in the Mutual Life Building at the northwest corner of Tenth and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Trade card depicts a large diamond jewel [1975.F.579]. Illustrated trade card depicts a caricaturized Japanese woman and boy playing a horn. The woman, wearing her hair tied up and decorated with kanzashi (decorative hair ornaments) and attired in a floral patterned kimono, stands before a Japanese-style building. She leans her left arm over a wall and looks down at a boy, wearing a shaved head with a small ponytail and attired in a tunic, a belt, pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes, playing a horn next to a bird with its beak open [1975.F.592]. Trade card depicting a Japanese-stylized scene of a crane bending over and cleaning its feathers with its beak. Also includes flowering tree branches [1975.F.593]., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content and history of the advertised business., One print [1975.F.579] contains vignette printed on verso depicting a hand-held fan superimposed onto a ribbon., RVCDC, 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 - Morgan [1975.F.579; 1975.F.592 & 593]

Title: Darlington, Runk & Co. Importers and retailers of dry goods
Description: Trade card promoting dry goods store Darlington, Runk & Co. and depicting a white man walking with an Asian, Spanish, and Arab man. Shows a white man, attired in a black top hat, a white collared shirt, black bowtie, black jacket, and white pants, walking and leading three men with his arms out. The three men are in cultural attire, including an Asian man, wearing a conical hat and a pink robe with buttons down the front and a white and gold collar and gold trim; a Spanish man, wearing a green and gold matador Traje de luces; and probably an Arab man, wearing a red and gold turban, gold shawl, and and red pants. In the background are large buildings lining a city street and heavy pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. Joseph G. Darlington (1842-1908) and William M. Runk founded Darlington, Runk & Co. in 1874. After Runk's death in 1893, the firm changed to Joseph G. Darlington & Co., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the business advertised., Text printed on recto: 1126 and 1128 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia., Purchased 2015., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Darlington, Runk & Co. [P.2015.56.193]

Title: Wanamaker’s ladies’ & gents’ dining rooms, 42 N. 8th St., bel. Arch, Geo. W. Wanamaker
Description: Trade card promoting Wanamaker's restaurant and depicting a Chinese man serving tea to a Chinese man and woman on a balcony. In the left, the man, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a cap, long-sleeved tunic, pants, and black, slip-on shoes, hands a steaming cup and saucer of tea to a seated man. The man, wearing a mustache and attired in a cap and long-sleeved robe, sits holding a paper in his left hand and rests his feet on a footrest. In the right, the Chinese woman, wearing her hair up in a bun and with decorative pins and attired in a long-sleeved dress with a collar, sits and holds a fan in her left hand. A building is visible in the background., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the lithographer and advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Wanamaker’s ladies’ and gents’ dining rooms, 823 Market St., & 42 S. Second St., Philadelphia. Geo. W. Wanamaker, Prop’r. [Over.], RVCDC
Creator: Craig, Finley & Co.
Date: [1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Wanamaker's [P.2015.56.919]

Title: Use the agate iron ware, as it never rusts or leaks, and loudly are its praises sung by every tongue that speaks
Description: Trade card promoting Weber & Bro. and depicting a caricaturized Chinese man sailing in a pot and a duck sailing in a kettle. In the left, the man, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a red cap and long-sleeved, yellow tunic with red polka dots, holds an oar as he sails in an oversized handled pot with a shirt as the sail. The pot reads, "For China." In the right, a yellow duck, attired in a red cap and shirt, looks through a telescope as it sails in a kettle that reads, "For Europe, Asia, Africa." A ship is visible in the left background. George and William Weber founded Weber & Bro. in 1881. They sold hardware, cutlery, and tools at their store located at 2230 North Front Street., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Weber & Bro., 2230 North Front Street, Philadelphia, PA., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Weber & Bro. [P.2015.56.928]

Title: Compliments of John Westney, agt. Manufacturer and dealer in baby carriages, velocipedes, bicycles &c, 226 Dock St Phila. Repairing promptly attended to
Description: Trade card promoting carriage manufacturer John Westney and showing a fairy depicted as a caricature of an Asian girl. The barefooted girl, with wings, is attired in a hat; a short-sleeved white dress with red trim, a black bow on the bodice, and blue and gold decoration on the skirt; and a multi-colored, patterned sash around the waist. She juts her left foot forward, holds a fan in her right hand, and grasps a flowering branch in her left hand., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Text printed on verso illustrated with image of a boy, attired in a sailor suit and cap, driving a skulky with a toy horse: The Tally Ho Sulky. (Patented) The Tally Ho Sulky is suitable for either boy or girl. The small size from 4 to 10 years, and the large from 8 to 18 years of age. It is the most pleasing, healthful, and practical toy of the motor kind. It has the rowing motion, being driven by the arms and steered by the feet; moves easily and is capable of great speed. It can be used in the street or in an ordinary sized room. It is strongly made and durable. For sale by John Westney, agt. 226 Dock Street, Philadelphia., Purchased 2015.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Westney [P.2015.56.937]

Title: H.A. Weymann, dealer in watches, clocks and jewelry, 156 North Second St., Philadelphia
Description: Trade card promoting clock and jewelry dealer H.A. Weymann and showing two boys pulling the hair of a Chinese man depicted in racist caricature. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing an exaggeratedly long queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and black shoes, grabs his hair with his hands and pulls back sitting on top a wooden box. In the left, a white boy, attired in a yellow hat with an orange ribbon, a white shirt, yellow pants, and black shoes, stands on the corner of the box, holds the Chinese man's hair and pulls back. The boy, attired in a pink-striped shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, stands below the other boy, holds onto the man's hair, and pulls. His white hat with a blue ribbon falls off of his head. Broadsides pasted on the fence in the background read,"How beautiful are the ways of South" and "Do unto others what others [do un]to you" A building is visible in the right background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., See related: Berman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2015.56.591]., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Weymann [P.2015.56.939]

Title: Nanki-Poo
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Nanki-Poo. He stands holding an open fan with his hands up. He wears a blue decoration in his hair and is attired in a blue-striped coat, red shirt, blue and white obi, red tunic, and sandals. A branch of pink flowers is overhead. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the left. 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la. breathe promise of merry sunshine, as we merrily dance and we sing, tra la, we welcome the hope that they bring, tra la, of a summer of roses and wine. And so, Coats' spool cotton is always a thing as welcome as flowers that bloom in the spring., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.2]

Title: Pooh-Bah
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Pooh-Bah. He stands holding a closed fan and frowns. He wears his hair in a chonmage hairstyle and is attired in a blue and white patterned kimono with birds with a red obi and has a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: I'am so proud, if I allowed, my family pride, to be my guide, you'd never hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stand at the head, but family pride, must be denied, and set aside, and mortified, and so you hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stands at the head., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread., Stamped on verso: W. Otis Hall, Retail Fancy Goods, Washington Street. Boston, Mass.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.3]

Title: Yum-Yum
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white woman actress in character as Yum-Yum. She sits on an oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," and holds a white spool of thread in her left hand. She wears her hair up and decorated with small red, blue, and yellow fans and is attired in a blue, yellow, and white patterned kimono. A building and some palm trees by the water are in the background. The moon reads, " J & P. Coats best six cord." 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: "We've Coats' spool cotton, that's the reason why we're very wide awake, the moon and I.", Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.4]

Title: The last of the chevaliers. (End of the play.) Jeff. "I thought your government was more magnanimous than to hunt down women and children."
Description: Comic collecting card satirizing the unusual circumstances of the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, detained by Union cavalry troops on May 10, 1865, while wearing his wife's overcoat and shawl as a disguise. Depicts a full-length view of Davis, attired in a shawl, a hoop skirt with a patch, and boots with spurs. A bonnet is tied around his neck, the edge of his skirt cage is visible, and he holds up a dagger in his right hand. A disembodied hand with a gun is pointed at him from the left., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by L. Prang & Co., in the Clerk’s Office, of the district court of Mass.
Date: 1865
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Civil War - Davis [P.2017.22.3]

Title: Scrapbook with periodical illustrations, comic valentines, and patent medicine advertisements
Description: Eccentrically-arranged scrapbook predominantly containing newspaper clippings, patent medicine almanac advertisements, and comic valentines. Also contains scraps, trade cards, and labels. Clippings, many published in the sensational periodicals “National Police Gazette” and “Days' Doings” primarily depict illustrations of murders and violence, crimes and punishments, human curiosities, animal attacks, human peril, women in distress, evocative theatrical performances, acts of daring, cross dressing and comic scenes in silhouette.

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?"
Description: Racist caricature of an African American woman shopping for a pair of "flesh coloured silk stockings" in a hosiery store with a white male sales clerk speaking with a French dialect. Depicts, in the center right, the woman standing at the counter in front of the clerk who holds up a pair of gray-colored stockings from out of a rectangular box. She is attired in a pink floral patterned dress, as well as tall, wide-brimmed pink hat adorned with several flowers, greenery, and a veil and long yellow ribbon, and yellow gloves, earrings, and blue button-up boots. She rests her yellow, flower-patterned purse on the counter and holds up a monocle from the end of her neck fob to inspect the stockings that the clerk declares are of "de first qualite!" Her red parasol rests against the counter. Rows of red, blue, and yellow stockings hang on the wall behind the clerk. The clerk is attired in a blue waistcoat with tails, a yellow vest, red cravat, and white pants. In the right, an African American woman attired in a yellow polka dot dress and tall, wide brimmed yellow hat adorned with ribbons is seen in the doorway of the shop in which multi-colored curtains hang and are pushed to the side. The wheel of a carriage is seen behind the woman. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. The women’s skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring. The man is depicted with rosy cheeks and brown, curled hair., Title from print., Date from print., Inscribed: Plate XI., Inscribed: Copy Right Secured., Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings, young man? Oui Madame! here is von pair of de first qualité!, RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: May 1829
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.2004.39.1]

Title: Illustrations of Philadelphia. Vol. IX
Description: Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, prints, and ephemera predominately dated 1857 and pertaining to the built environment, and social, cultural, and economic climate of Philadelphia. Majority of the contents are articles about city businesses and industries; public interest stories; editorials relating to public concerns and social mores; reports, lists, and statistics; and caricatures and cartoons. Several articles concern the new house numbering system; the chartering of Fairmount and Sedgeley parks; the Academy of Music (New Opera House), including the inaugural ball and first opera season; the temporary relocation of the Post Office; progress of Camden; volunteer fire companies, including the debate over the oldest instituted, new fire houses, and parades; fires on the 300 and 600 blocks of Chestnut (i.e., Peterson/Goodyear building and Melodion); transportation, including omnibus lines and the Camden and Atlantic, and Philadelphia and Baltimore Central railroads; and the new coinage of cents issued from the mint. Also contains numerous columns about building dedications, laying of cornerstones, and improvements and new construction to the city’s infrastructure, including Drown’s Umbrella Manufactory (86 Market); the silver plated ware establishment of John O. Mead (Ninth and Chestnut); the Butler house lot (800 block Chestnut); the hall of the "Colored Masons"; the Spring Garden district and Northwestern section of the city (Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fifteenth wards); the Pennsylvania Bank building; First Welsh Presbyterian Church (1500 Lombard); the Penn Widow’s Asylum; Washington building (000 block S. Third); and the restaurant of John Campbell (500 block Chestnut)., Other articles describe the Library Company’s receipt of the ca. 1720 Peter Cooper painting of Philadelphia; culture, politics, and economy of the year 1856; local medical schools and hospitals, including Penn Medical University, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia small-pox hospital, and Eclectic Medical College; local industries and trades, including Wood & Perot's ornamental iron work establishment, Newell & Knight barrel making machinery and the oyster trade; and Moyamensing Prison. Anecdotal columns and editorials provide commentaries about Philadelphia Insurance companies; Aprils Fools Day; servants; tramps; the city’s “noisy spot” of Third and Chestnut; the lore of stage coaches; popular catch phrases, including those from the theater; the Molly Maquires; the public expense of public lamps and paupers; the importance of newspapers, including as a more perfect venue for advertising than storefront signage; the poor use of the language in classified advertisements; storefront and tavern signages (p.41-42); and the cricket mania. Also contains historical pieces about the University of Pennsylvania; Independence Square; Chew’s Mansion; Zion Lutheran Church; and the Chinese Museum; reports, lists and statistics detailing the crime and mortality rate, sales of stocks and real estate; the retail, cattle and produce markets, meteorology and weather, telegraph use for the year, the comparative health of manufacturing cities, and architectural improvements in progress; a column about how the 1785 city directories represented the population of the city from the series "Philadelphia As It Was"; and an illustrated article about shawls., Graphics, predominately caricatures and cartoons, include lithographs, engravings, and wood engravings. Majority of cartoons satirize the hoop skirt, including the Clara and Charles series. Other cartoons satirize German beer culture, patent medicine, P.T. Barnum, and the social mores of the upper classes. Caricatures, often racist, depict African Americans while at work, including a sweeper, cook, and painter. Prints also include advertisements, vignettes, and views. Advertisements depict the Union hotel (300 block Arch); Thornley & Chism, importers, jobbers and retailers of fancy & staple dry goods (N.E. cor. Spring Garden and Eighth); Lincoln, Wood & Nichols, manufacturers and importers of straw goods; and Fairbank’s patent platform scales. Vignettes depict a knife cleaning apparatus, Olmstead stove, and a piano. Views show a genre scene titled by Poulson "An ‘omnibus’ sleigh and a 'rung' "; the Academy of Music; Jefferson Medical college, Presbyterian Church; Central Presbyterian Church; and "The Performing Elephants" at the National Circus accompanied by the classified for the performance. Scrapbook also contains ephemera, including the "Deaf and Dumb Alphabet" chart inscribed "In use at Phila Institution 1857 as per report Jany 1858" ; a "Premium medal, Franklin Institute"; and two elaborately illustrated tickets to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society., Majority of contents annotated by Poulson with dates and explicative manuscript notes., Title page trimmed and illustrated with a ca. 1856 lithographer's advertisement issued by Wagner & McGuigan after the work of lithographer Maurice Traubel and artist William Croome. Depicts an allegorical, patriotic scene with the figure of Columbia, attired in a toga, American flag, and laurel wreath, and with a broken shackle under her foot as she stands on a pedestal., Chart "Length of Squares East and West" pasted on verso of title page., Label inscribed "The "Articles" in the book are taken from fugitive sources only; and the dates affixed to each are those of the newspapers &c from which they were procured CAP" pasted on verso of front free end paper., "Index to set in back part of vol. XI.", Insert: “Report of the President of the Girard College to the committee on Instruction September 3, 1850, Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator: Poulson, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1789-1866, compiler
Date: 1857-1858
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Poulson scrapbooks - vol. 9 [(9)2526.F]

Title: Southern chivalry - argument versus club's
Description: Cartoon critically addressing the Brooks-Sumner Affair in which Southern Congressman Preston S. Brooks caned antislavery Senator Charles Sumner in the Senate on May 26, 1856. Brook's "chivalrous" attack on Sumner was a reprisal for Sumner's two-day speech, "The Crime against Kansas," which attacked the violence occurring in Kansas over the issue of slavery; the South; and Brook's uncle, Andrew Butler. Depicts Sumner, head bloodied, quill in his raised hand and clutching a paper symbolically inscribed "Kansas.," He is held to the ground by Butler whose face is obscured by his raised arm and hand that holds his cane above his head. Butler is posed in mid-strike. Members of Congress observe in the background, some laughing, some scowling, with one member raising his hands in surrender from another who has his fist and cane raised., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., 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., Magee was a Philadelphia lithographer who established his own lithographic firm in Philadelphia in 1850.
Creator: Magee, John L., artist
Date: [1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-3W [5760.F.105]

Title: A proslavery incantation scene or Shakespeare improved
Description: Antislavery print using an allegory of the cauldron scene from Macbeth to depict James Buchanan and the Democrats' contempt for the freesoilers following the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Depicts Buchanan, Stephen Douglas, and several animated Democrats, speaking in Shakespearian rhyme, gathered around a boiling cauldron labeled, "Double double, Free State trouble, Till Fremont men are straw & stubble." In the foreground, a white man kneels and blows on the fire, with a pistol labeled "Laws of Kansas" in his back pocket. The fire is fueled with anti-slavery literature, including "Beecher Sermons," "N.Y. Tribune," "Quincy’s Letters," "N.Y. Post," and "Boston Atlas." Buchanan, standing on a platform, states he endorses the laws of Kansas now in force and holds a paper labeled "Ostend Conference," (an attempt by the United States to negate an agreement with France and Great Britain to not annex enslaved-holding Cuba), over the cauldron. Beside him Douglas, holding a whip and shackles, calls for the blood of freemen and revels in the woe caused by his Kansas-Nebraska bill. Shackles, including one marked “Chattel Stock,” also rest at his feet. Many of the Democrats gathered around the kettle are depicted as pro-slavery, white men Southerners and refer favorably to Preston Brook's caning of Charles Sumner while others call out items to be thrown into the pot, such as "fillet of a Free Soil Frog" and the "Ostend conference plot.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., 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., 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: [1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-5W [5760.F.91]

Title: The great Republican reform party, calling on their candidate
Description: Cartoon lampooning the Republican Party's constituency of radicals and reformers who supported the first Republican presidential candidate, John C. Frémont, in 1856. In the right, Frémont receives his eclectic array of supporters and promises "You shall all have what you desire--and be sure that the glorious principles of popery, Fourier, ism, free love, womans rights, the Maine law, and above all the equality of our colored brethren, shall be maintained, if I get into the Presidential chair." In the left is a white man puritanical reformer calling for the prohibition of tobacco, meat, and alcohol; a white woman suffragist attired in bloomers, smoking a cigarette, and carrying a riding whip; a white man socialist, attired in worn and torn clothing and wanting “an equal division of property”; an older, white woman libertarian espousing free-love as a "Freemounter"; a white, Catholic priest promoting the Pope; and a racist caricature of an African American man, attired in a white collared, ruffled shirt, a black jacket with tails, black pants, and black shoes, carrying a cane who comments in the vernacular, "De poppylation ob color comes in first--arter dat, you may do wot you pleases.", Title from item., Artist and publication information supplied by Weitenkampf., 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., Maurer was a French-born painter and lithographer who worked for several years with the New York lithographic firm, Currier & Ives.
Creator: Maurer, Louis, 1832-1932, artist
Date: [1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1856-22 [5760.F.100]

Title: The nigger emperor of Nicuragua [sic] on his throne Attended by Chatfield & his Black guards witnessing the detention of the steamer Prometheus, by the English brig of war Express, at San Juan
Description: Racist political cartoon satirizing the fictitious "Nigger Emperor" of Nicaragua during the "Prometheus-Express" incident of November 1851, which threatened the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 between the United States and Britain to abstain from attempting dominion of Central America. Depicts the Emperor as a Black man, partially undressed, attired in a military uniform with epaulettes, a black plumed hat, a sword on his waistband, and black boots. He sits atop a barrel labeled “Jamaica Rum.” He has one boot off that exposes his sock. His trousers are off and draped over his right arm. He smiles with a cigar in his mouth and carries a bottle labeled “Brandy” in his left hand. He looks towards Frederick Chatfield, the United Kingdom’s consul in Central America from 1834 to 1852, standing in the right. Chatfield holds his hands up and says, “They shall pay the money or be blow to attoms for their temerity, let me again entreat your Majesty to condesend (sic) to draw your breeches over your imperial shins.” The Emperor gestures with his right hand to the two ships in the harbor and replies in the vernacular, “Nebber mine, Massa Chatfield, wedder to warm for wear beechum, Yankee hab to cum back and pay money to dis nigger, ya, ya, ya.” Behind the Emperor, several Black guards, attired in tall hats, smile and stand in formation. Also in the print is a small black dog sniffing the Emperor’s sock., The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 made Greytown, Nicaragua a free port, denying the British revenue. To circumvent this, the British charged harbor fees. On November 21, 1851, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s ship Prometheus refused to pay the British harbor fees. The British brig o’war Express fired three shots across the bow of the Prometheus. Vanderbilt then paid. However, when the ship arrived in New York he took his case to the U.S. government with the U.S. wanting Britain to withdraw from Central America. In early 1852, the Nicaraguan government sought to assert its authority over the Miskito kingdom. On April 30, 1852, Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British minister John Crampton negotiated a settlement that made Greytown a free city, protected the rights of the Miskito Indians, and established the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua along the San Juan River., Title from item., Erroneously dated 1839 by Weitenkampf., Appears in The old soldier, New York, February, 1852., Likely drawn by John L. Magee, who worked at 69 Nassau Street at this time., 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Magee, John L., artist
Date: [1852]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1851-28 [5760.F.107]

Title: Jim Crow, the American mountebank performing at the Grand Theatre
Description: Full-length, caricatured portrait depicting Thomas D. Rice, known as the "father of American minstrelsy." Depicts Rice in Blackface as his African American racist shyster character of "Jim Crow" during his first performance in London. He is portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. He dances and sings a version of the minstrel standard, "Jim Crow," in front of an audience of white British men, including the King. The song, which pokes fun at Americans, refers to William Blackstone and William Pitt Chatham, two influential English jurists, who wrote about early American law and politics. 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., Date inferred from content., Text printed on the recto: I come from America a long time ago, Since which I larn to wheel about & jump Jim Crow, Him used to study Blackstone ebry morn & arter noon, Me charm de House where Chatham died & dance inde saloon. Wheel about & turn about & do jis so. Ebry time I wheel about I jumpt Jim Crow., Description of Blackface minstrelsy and minstrel characters from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Accessioned 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [1836]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1836 Jim [P.8738]

Title: The abolition Garrison in danger & the narrow escape of the Scotch Ambassador
Description: Anti-abolition print celebrating the 1835 attack on William Lloyd Garrison in Boston by "gentleman of property and standing" preceding his scheduled speaking engagement before the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. Depicts Garrison at the center of an angry mob of white men. He has a noose around his neck and his newspaper "The Liberator" in his pocket and yells, "Help Children of Africer - help brothers." Scottish abolitionist George Thompson, who was rumored to be the Society's speaker, flees the scene attired in a women's clothes. He states with a Scottish burr that he will not be a "Martyr in sie black cause." As the mob screams, "Down with the incendiary abolitionists," and calls for Garrison's lynching and arrest, Garrison is being pulled by the noose by several of the rioters and steps upon editions of the "Evening Post" and "Human Rights," serials sympathetic to the abolitionist cause., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text on recto: Boston Oct. 21st, 1835., Purchase 1958., 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: [1835]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1835-10W [6259.F]

Title: Republican platform, or the political montebank
Description: Cartoon critical of the inequity of the 1868 Republican platform's post-war monetary policy. Depicts pensioners and bond holders witnessing Republican presidential nominee General Ulysses S. Grant, attired in his military uniform and spurs, balancing himself on a plank using a baton inscribed "U.S. Treasury" from which gold pieces shoot out from the one end as greenbacks (paper money without gold backing) shoot out from the other. The gold falls in the direction of the smug, well-dressed, white men bond holders who gladly accept such reimbursement for their government bonds. The greenbacks land on the pensioners, which include a white disabled veteran with an amputated arm and leg and a white, widowed mother with a baby who bitterly question such a form of payment for their war services. The plank is supported by a kneeling Horace Greeley, the New York Tribune editor, and a kneeling African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular, "you as got to carry dis chile on dat platform, Massa Grant, too." Greeley warns that "we must not let this Election go by default, so hurry up you stump speakers.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress by John McDermott in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York., Purchase 1958., 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 - 1868-13W [6270.F]

Title: The precarious situation
Description: Cartoon addressing the tenuous position of Republican presidential nominee General Ulysses S. Grant as the candidate of a party whose radicals support African American civil rights and Reconstruction under military rule. Depicts Grant holding up a knife inscribed "military despotism" as he straddles the "radical platform" rope that is stretched across the "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster). One end of the rope is tied to a rifle labeled "military reconstruction." The other end is held by "Negro supremacy" depicted as an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, barefooted, and attired in torn and worn clothes, who sits upon the tombstone of "Southern Confederacy." He asks in the vernacular, "Whar you be Massa Grant if I lef' go, yah! yah!!" Grant replies, "I'll fight it out if it takes all summer.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Accessioned 1979., 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 - 1868-19aW [P.2275.3a]

Title: The precarious situation
Description: Cartoon addressing the tenuous position of Republican presidential nominee General Ulysses S. Grant as the candidate of a party whose radicals support African American civil rights and Reconstruction under military rule. Depicts Grant holding up a knife inscribed "military despotism" as he straddles the "radical platform" rope that is stretched across the "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster). One end of the rope is tied to a rifle labeled "military reconstruction." The other end is held by "Negro supremacy" depicted as an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, barefooted, and attired in torn and worn clothes, who sits upon the tombstone of "Southern Confederacy." He asks in the vernacular, "Whar you be Massa Grant if I lef' go, yah! yah!!" Grant replies, "I'll fight it out if it takes all summer.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [1868]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868-19bW [P.2275.3b]

Title: [Scraps no. 3 for 1832]
Description: Plate three from the 1832 edition of, "Scraps" Johnston's popular satirical series of societal caricatures published between 1828 and 1840, and in 1849. Depicts a montage of nine scenes lampooning contemporary social issues and everyday life such as fashion, gender relationships, bed bugs, the theater, modesty, materialism, parental relationships, and drunkenness. Includes "A Rain Bow" depicting a white man dandy offering to assist a white woman with her parasol under the judging eye of a fellow unwilling to "wear out" his umbrella in the rain; "Great Cry and Little Wool" depicting white chambermaids mocking the fearfulness of a white man being attacked by gigantic, near sated bed bugs and a mosquito; "Pressure of the Times" depicting a crowd of white men fighting with each other for "Boston Theater" box tickets; "Ne Plus Ultra of Delicacy" depicting white men discussing "decently clothed tables and chairs" while tending to an unconscious white woman driven to faint after viewing a sculpture of barely-clad "Chanting Cherubs"; "Sport of His Satanic Majesty" depicting Satan and his minion fishing for white drunkards to be eaten and used as firewood; "Mother's Hope and Father's Joy" depicting a little, white "gentleman" being bid upon by his mother and a little girl; "The Test of Friendship" depicting a white man drunkard showing true friendship by lying in the gutter with his equally inebriated white man friend; "Steamboat Scene" depicting white individuals and a family reacting to a "man overboard" with gawking looks, a cry for a rope, a criticism of drunkenness, anger at his non-removal of expensive shoes, and a desire to exchange places to forgo seasickness; "Going Off Half Cocked" depicting and an intoxicated white man stuttering "good evening" in front of his snickering African American maid, portrayed in racist caricature., Title supplied by cataloger., Printed in upper left corner: Plate 3., Published in D.C. Johnston's Scraps No. 3 1832 (Boston: D.C. Johnston, 1832), pl. 3., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Accessioned 1979., 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.
Creator: Johnston, David Claypoole, 1799-1865
Date: 1832
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1832-Scr (c) [P.2275.27]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Is Miss Dinah at home?"
Description: Racist caricature depicting a well-dressed, middle-class African American dandy, his right side toward the viewer, calling upon "Miss Dinah" on the outside of her basement apartment. He wears a black top hat, bright green waistcoat, tan pants, yellow gloves, and black slipper shoes adorned with bows. He holds a walking stick perpendicular to his thigh and a fob hangs away from his coat. An African American woman servant, wearing short-cropped hair and earrings, and attired in a red, short-sleeved dress and blue apron, stands at the open cellar doors and informs the suitor that Miss Dinah "is bery pertickly engaged in washing de dishes." She holds out a silver tray to collect the dandy's calling card. The dandy states that he is sorry that he "cant have the honour to pay [his] devours to her" and slightly crouches to place his card on the tray. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Scene also shows an adjacent basement cellar with open doors and views of shuttered windows on the first floor to "Dinah's" residence and those adjoining, Title from item., Date inferred from content., Inscribed: No. 5., After the work of Edward W. Clay., Probably printed and published by Anthony Imbert of New York., Contains three lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect below the image: "Is Miss Dinah at home?""Yes sir but she bery pertickly engaged in washing de dishes.""Ah! I'm sorry I can't have the honour to pay my devours to her. Give her my card.", Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American Expressive Culture (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 108. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era (PhD. diss., the University of Michigan, 1980), p. 88. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O), Purchase 1968., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (New York Set) [7770.F.2]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Well brudder what 'fect you tink Morgan's deduction...?"
Description: Racist caricature depicting two African American masons in regalia, shaking hands, and discussing the abduction of William Morgan, a white New York mason who threatened to expose the organization's secrets. In the right, the one mason, a short, rotund man is attired in a long, blue waistcoat, black pants, a masonic apron, a red sash, yellow gloves and black slip on shoes. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. In the left, the other mason, a tall, thin man is attired in a long, brown waistcoat, a red cravat, brown stirrup pants over black shoes, and a masonic apron. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Their skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring. The men are shown standing on a patch of ground with greenery delineated by brown and green hand-coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Plate 6 of the original series published in Philadelphia., After the work of Edward W. Clay., Probably published by Anthony Imbert., Contains four lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect below the image: “Well brudder what ‘fect you tink Morgan’s deduction gwang to hab on our siety of free masons?” “Pon honour I tink he look radder black, fraid we lose de ‘lection in New York!”, Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era. (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 97. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O)., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Acquired in 1968.
Date: [ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (New York Set) [7770.F.4]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?"
Description: Racist caricature of an African American woman shopping for a pair of "flesh coloured silk stockings" in a hosiery store with a white male sales clerk speaking with a French dialect. Depicts, in the center right, the woman standing at the blue and pink counter in front of the clerk who holds up a pair of gray-colored stockings from out of a rectangular box. She is attired in a pink floral patterned dress, as well as tall, wide-brimmed blue hat adorned with several flowers, greenery, and a veil and long yellow ribbon, yellow gloves, earrings, and blue button-up boots. She rests her blue, flower-patterned purse on the counter and holds up a monocle from the end of her neck fob to inspect the stockings that the clerk declares are of "de first qualite!" Her brown parasol rests against the counter. Rows of stockings, including in the color of blue, hang on the wall behind the clerk. The clerk is attired in a green waistcoat with tails, a yellow vest, red cravat, and white pants. In the right, an African American woman attired in a yellow polka dot dress and tall, wide brimmed hat adorned with blue ribbons is seen in the doorway of the shop in which blue curtains hang and are pushed to the side. The wheel of a carriage is seen behind the woman. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. The women’s skin tone is depicted with black hand coloring. The man is depicted with rosy cheeks and brown, curled hair., Title from print., Date inferred from content., Inscribed: Plate XI., Inscribed: Copy Right Secured., Probably published by Sarah Hart of Philadelphia., Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings, young man? Oui Madame! here is von pair of de first qualité!, RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: [ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.9701.9]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?"
Description: Racist caricature of an African American woman shopping for a pair of "flesh coloured silk stockings" in a hosiery store with a white male sales clerk speaking with a French dialect. Depicts, in the center right, the woman standing at the blue and white counter in front of the clerk who holds up a pair of brown-colored stockings from out of a rectangular box. She is attired in a pink floral patterned dress, as well as tall, wide-brimmed pink hat adorned with several flowers, greenery, and a veil and long yellow ribbon, white gloves, earrings, and tan button-up boots. She rests her white, flower-patterned purse on the counter and holds up a monocle from the end of her neck fob to inspect the stockings that the clerk declares are of "de first qualite!" Her green parasol rests against the counter. Rows of stockings, including in the color of blue and pink, hang on the wall behind the clerk. The clerk is attired in a tan waistcoat with tails, a white vest, purple cravat, and purple pants. In the right, an African American woman attired in a blue polka dot dress and tall, wide brimmed hat adorned with ribbons is seen in the doorway of the shop in which purple and white curtains hang and are pushed to the side. The wheel of a carriage is seen behind the woman. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. The women’s skin tone is depicted with black hand coloring. The man is depicted with dark brown, curled hair., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Plate 11 of the original series published in Philadelphia., After the work of Edward W. Clay., Possibly by New York lithographer Curtis Burr Graham (1814-1890)., Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings, young man? Oui Madame! here is von pair of de first qualité!, RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (New York Set) [P.9701.10]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Well brudder what 'fect you tink Morgan's deduction...?"
Description: Racist caricature depicting two African American masons in regalia, shaking hands, and discussing the abduction of William Morgan, a white New York mason who threatened to expose the organization's secrets. In the right, the one mason, a short, rotund man is attired in a long, green waistcoat, blue pants, a masonic apron, a red sash, yellow gloves and black slip on shoes. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. In the left, the other mason, a tall, thin man is attired in a long, green waistcoat with a blue collar, a tan cravat, blue stirrup pants over black shoes, and a masonic apron. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Their skin tone is depicted with black hand coloring. The men are shown standing on a patch of ground hand-colored in blue watercolor., Inscribed: Plate 6., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains four lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect below the image: “Well brudder what ‘fect you tink Morgan’s deduction gwang to hab on our siety of free masons?” “Pon honour I tink he look radder black, fraid we lose de ‘lection in New York!”, Sarah Hart was a Jewish Philadelphia stationer who with her son, Abraham Hart, a future eminent Philadelphia publisher, assumed publication of the "Life in Philadelphia" series in 1829. She alone reissued the entire series of 14 prints in 1830., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 97. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O)., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: [1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.9700]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Is Miss Dinah at home?"
Description: Racist caricature depicting a well-dressed, middle-class African American dandy, his right side toward the viewer, calling upon "Miss Dinah" on the outside of her basement apartment. He wears a tan top hat, bright green waistcoat, a yellow cravat with polka dots, tan pants, yellow gloves, and black slipper shoes adorned with bows. He holds a walking stick perpendicular to his thigh and a fob hangs away from his coat. An African American woman servant, wearing short-cropped hair and earrings, and attired in a red, short-sleeved dress and blue apron, stands at the open cellar doors and informs the suitor that Miss Dinah "is bery pertickly engaged in washing de dishes." She holds out a silver tray to collect the dandy's calling card. The dandy states that he is sorry that he "cant have the honour to pay [his] devours to her" and slightly crouches to place his card on the tray. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Scene also shows an adjacent basement cellar with open doors and views of shuttered windows on the first floor to "Dinah's" residence and those adjoining., Inscribed: Plate 3., Title and date from item., William Simpson was a Philadelphia "fancy store" proprietor who published the first 11 prints of the "Life in Philadelphia" series. He also marketed the series as part of his "Artists' Repository" and possibly helped finance the cost of production., Shane White and Graham White's Stylin': African American expressive culture ... (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 108. (LCP Ii 4, A2880.O)., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American political caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era. (Phd. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p.88. (Print Room Uz, A423.O)., Accessioned 1999., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: 1828
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.9689]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Well brudder what 'fect you tink Morgan's deduction...?"
Description: Racist caricature depicting two African American masons in regalia, shaking hands, and discussing the abduction of William Morgan, a white New York mason who threatened to expose the organization's secrets. In the right, the one mason, a short, rotund man is attired in a long, blue waistcoat, blue pants, a masonic apron, a red sash, yellow gloves and black slip on shoes. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. In the left, the other mason, a tall, thin man is attired in a long, brown waistcoat, a tan cravat, brown stirrup pants over black shoes, and a masonic apron. He holds a top hat in his left hand and shakes with his right. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Their skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring. The men are shown standing on a patch of ground and blue sky delineated in blue watercolor is visible behind them., Title from item., Date from item., Inscribed: Plate 6., Contains four lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect below the image: “Well brudder what ‘fect you tink Morgan’s deduction gwang to hab on our siety of free masons?” “Pon honour I tink he look radder black, fraid we lose de ‘lection in New York!”, William Simpson was a Philadelphia "fancy store" proprietor who published the first 11 prints of the "Life in Philadelphia" series. He also marketed the series as part of his "Artists' Repository.", Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era (Ph.D diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 97. (LCP Print Room Uz A423.O)., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: 1828
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.9691]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. The lub letter
Description: Racist caricature depicting an African American woman reading a love letter. Depicts "Angelica” seated on a couch across from an end table on which a stationery box, ribbon, and a jar of ink rest as she reads her "billet-doux" addressed to “Miss Lillywhite, Snow Blackfriars." The couch has a wood frame and blue cushions. “Angelica” is attired in a pink cap-sleeved dress with lace details at the bust-line, blue, ankle-laced, slip-on shoes, and jewelry, including a heart-shaped pendant choker necklace, gold drop earrings, and rings. She wears her hair in a top knot and with a hair adornment. In the letter, “Augustus Octavio Whiteman” proclaims he cannot think of anything but her "classic features" and he would be "de Blackest ob villains" if he could see such "lubliness without feeling its influence." Figure of “Angelica” is portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and her skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in the vernacular in the image: Ah! A billet-doux from my Charming Augustus/ My Fairest Angelica/Dy Slender form and Classic Features hab made sich an impression on my poor heart dat I cannot tink ob anything else. Indeed I must be de Blackest of Villains if I could see sich lubliness widout feeling its Influence as de Song says_”Eye ob fire lips ob Dew” “Cheeks dat shame the roses hue”/Tremain your Adorable Lubber Augustus Octavio Whiteman., Inscribed: No. 4., Charles Hunt was a respected 19th century London engraver and etcher known mostly for his prints of sporting subjects., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Summers, William, artist
Date: [ca. 1833]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) [P.9710.4]

Title: Tregears black jokes. The Lady Patroness of Alblacks
Description: Racist caricature depicting a middle-class African American woman looking at herself in a full-length mirror in her well- decorated bedroom. Shows the woman, attired in a white, low décolleté underdress with puffed, cap sleeves, slightly lifting up the skirt of her dress in her left hand and her raised right hand holding a comb near her hair that is styled in a top knot. She looks at her reflection. She is portrayed with a wrinkled brow and bags under her eyes. Her reflection does not have these features. In the right, a bed with a canopy on which a wide-brimmed hat rests on a post; a table on which a pin pad, hair comb, pearl necklace, and earrings rest; and a black cat with its back raised are visible. In the left, on either side of the mirror, a pink dress rests on a clothing rack and white ankle-lace shoes lie on the carpeted floor. Scene also includes three framed picture on the wall in the background. Two are partially visible and the one fully visible shows a genre scene outside of a stone dwelling where an African American man is on his knee and holding the hand of an African American woman who stands in front of him. Figure is portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and her skin tone is depicted in black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Inscribed: No. 2., This caricature is similar in content to the prints from the series, "Life in Philadelphia" (London Set), and has been catalogued as a part of the series., Charles Hunt was a respected 19th century London engraver and etcher known mostly for his prints of sporting subjects., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Summers, William, delineator
Date: [ca. 1834]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia PRINT | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) [P.9719]

Title: The Philadelphia dandies. A group of fashionables. "Shoot folly as it flies."
Description: Caricature lampooning "fashionable" middle-class Philadelphians depicting two scenes of “belles” being greeted. The first scene portrays a white belle, in the right, being greeted by a white dandy, in the left, who holds up a monocle in his left hand and asks, "How do you do?" They are each bent over and face each other. The dandy is attired in a white ruffled shirt, blue waistcoat, tan pants, and grey boots with spurs. He holds down a black top hat from which a cane hangs in his right hand. The belle is attired in a large green bonnet that curves at the back of her head and that is adorned with feathers and a ribbon, a pink, long-sleeved, knee-length, belle-shaped dress, and boots. She holds a green umbrella up in her right hand toward the raised arm of the dandy and the back of her dress has risen up. A pug-like jumps up and barks at her from behind. She responds that she is “rather cold.” The second scene depicts a white belle being greeted by a "fashionable" white woman and girl whose hand she holds. The women and girl are all similarly attired in large bonnets adorned with flowers, long-sleeved, high waisted, calf-length dresses in pink or green, and boots or ankle-laced shoes. They are also portrayed with stooped postures and accentuated posteriors. The woman with the child also holds a pink purse in the same hand as that of the girl who also wears pantalettes and holds a green parasol in her left hand. A third woman wearing a mortarboard style hat adorned with feathers, a long-sleeved, calf-length, high-waisted dress with under skirt, and boots, holds a spear-shaped umbrella over her shoulder and "marches" passed them in the right. Also, shows a pug-like dog standing in the left by the women who greet each other., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Contains two bubbles of dialogue within image of first scene: How do you do? How do you do? Madam! How is it with you today? It is rather Cold, sir!-, This caricature is similar in content to the prints from the series, "Life in Philadelphia" (London Set), and has been catalogued as part of the series., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Kensett, Thomas, 1786-1829, engraver
Date: [ca. 1820-ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) [P.9720]

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]

Title: U. S. B. M. Dockstaders. US BM black mail. Charles and Lewis Dockstader, Carncross' Minstrels, Eleventh St. Opera House, Philadelphia, Pa
Description: Racist advertisement designed as a postcard to promote Carncross' Minstrels performers the Dockstaders, and the A. Vogeler & Co. patent medicine St. Jacobs Oil. Includes graphic details and vignettes depicting caricatured African Americans in a cancellation mark, stamp, and as postal workers. The cancellation mark (upper left) depicts the right, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. The stamp (upper right) depicts the left, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. In the lower left corner, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag around his shoulder, empties a "U.S.B.M." mailbox attached to a post. His back is to the viewer. In the lower right, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag filled with mail around his shoulder, and holding letters in his hand is depicted in mid stride. The unrelated Charles Dockstader and Lewis, i.e., Lew Dockstader (George Alfred Clapp) partnered in 1878. They joined John L Carncross' Minstrels in Philadelphia in 1880. The Dockstaders continued to perform with Carncross' until 1883 and the illness of Charles ending the partnership. In 1882, the men also performed with George Thatcher's Minstrel's (Philadelphia)and Haverly's Minstrels (St. Louis, Mo.). Lew remained with Carncross until 1886 and the creation of Dockstader's Minstrels., 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 content., Printed on verso: Miss Information:-- Most worthy of estimation: After long and serious consideration on the reputation that you have in the nation. I have taken a serious inclination to remove my habitation, to a close situation, in order that I may pay a visitation for the sake of conversation. If this should meet with your approbation, I remain ever yours, without simulation. Ado Ration. P. S.---I thus give affirmation without qualifications that St. Jacobs Oil is the best application in the wide creation., Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Housed with the Ellen Phillips Advertising Card Collection., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., RVCDC, Access points revised 2022., Description revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Dockstader [P.2017.6]

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

Title: The triumph
Description: Print predicting the Union's triumph over the Confederacy using an allegory of "Humanitas" (i.e., Humanity) depicted as a white woman holding a child astride an eagle, reaching to save a shackled African American held on the ground by the evil "King Cotton." From a break in the clouds an apparition appears behind "Humanitas," including "Freedom" depicted as a woman wearing a crown of feathers holding a large American flag and a Liberty cap; "Christianity" depicted as a white woman holding a bible; "Justitia" depicted as a white woman holding scales; George Washington; Thomas Jefferson; and Benjamin Franklin. The oppressed enslaved person reaches up as "King Cotton," portrayed with an alligator head with a body composed of a bale of cotton with a holster of pistols, raises his hands in horror as the eagle clutches his cloak and shoots lightning bolts at his throne. To his right a column labeled "Lecompton", "Fugitive Slave," and "Missouri Compromise" is set aflame from the lightning. In the left, the "Hydra of Discord" accompanied by a hound "Fugitive Slave Law," a group of white men enslavers, and a Spaniard, who drops a package marked "Cuba $50,000,000," flee from the vision to the sea where a boat of enslaved African American men are docked. Contains eighteen lines of verse from Lord Byron's 1813 poem "The Giaour" below the image., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Reilly., Per Reilly, published key to print exists., Copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1861 by M. H. Traubel, in the Clerks Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Penna., Accessioned 1999., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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: 1861
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *political cartoons - 1862-15 [P.9654]

Title: Oh! Massa Jeff. dis sesesh fever will kill de nigger
Description: Cartoon depicting the ill effect of secession on enslaved people. In the dwelling of the enslaved African American men, Jefferson Davis, attired in a broad-brim hat and with the Union flag hanging from his pocket, checks the pulse of an emaciated, bedridden African American man with "Bond Plasters" on his chest. An angst-ridden enslaved African American man stands behind the bed and weeps as he holds a bottle of medicine. On the wall behind him are three posters advertising various medicines: "Dr. Jeffy's Celebrated Bond Plasters ...," "The Great Southern Remedies," "Dr. Jeffy's Celebrated Lettres du Marque A Radical Remedy for all Constitutional Afflictions.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861 in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of Ohio., Purchase 1961., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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: 1861
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1861-22W [6449.F]

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