Bust-length portrait of the Southern abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and diplomat. Clay, attired in his Union uniform, faces slightly left. Clay, appointed to the Union Army in 1862 and concurrently to a diplomatic appointment to Russia, refused military service until the Union abolished slavery in the Confederacy. He actively served in 1863., Title from item., Date based on the presented age of the sitter., Printed signature of sitter below image., Accessioned 1982., 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., Buttre, a prolific New York portrait painter and engraver, published later in his career, a three volume set of celebrity portraiture, "American Portrait Gallery," in 1877, which was reissued from 1880-1881.
Creator
Buttre, John Chester, 1821-1893, engraver
Date
[ca. 1865]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait prints - Clay [P.8911.304]
Full-length, forward-facing portrait of Ulysses S. Grant and Li Hongzhang, also known as Li Hung Chang, in Tianjin, China in 1879. In the left, Grant, wearing a beard and attired in a white collared shirt, a white bowtie, a black waistcoat with a pocket watch chain, a black jacket, and pants, sits on a chair with his hands curled on his lap and his feet on a footrest. In the right, Li Hongzhang, wearing a beard and attired in a conical hat, a traditional Chinese robe with buttons down the front, and cloth slip-on shoes, sits with his left hand on his lap, his right arm resting on a side table, and his feet on a footrest. On the table between the two men is a vase filled with flowers and two teacups. Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia embarked on a diplomatic tour of 19 countries from May 1877 to September 1879. Grant visited China in April to May, 1879 and met with Governor General Li Hongzhang. They discussed China's dispute with Japan over the Ryukyu Islands., Title from item., Date from manuscript note written above the image: 2-10-90., Text printed beneath image: From the original photograph taken in Pekin (1879) and loaned to the Exhibition by Mr. Geo. W. Childs., The original photograph was taken by photographer Liang Shitai also known as See Tay., Part of a collection of disbound scrapbook pages re-housed in folders in three boxes., Brothers Louis Edward Levy (1846-1919) and Max Levy (1857-1926) founded a photoengraving business in Baltimore in 1875. In 1877, they moved to Philadelphia and reorganized the firm as the Levytype Company. In 1900, the firm was renamed the Graphic Arts Company.
Date
[ [ca. 1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | PRINT portrait prints - Civil War scrapbook of portraits [(1)5775.F.32]
Bust-length portrait of the eminent African American civil rights activist, poet, writer, and educator. Johnson, wearing a beard and attired in a white collared shirt, a patterned bowtie, and a dark-colored jacket, looks slightly left. Johnson was a prominent member of the NAACP, serving as an organizer and field secretary from 1920 to 1931, a lawyer, lyricist of the "Negro National Anthem," a U.S. Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, and author of several works including, "The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man.", Photographer's imprint stamped on mount., Accessioned 1992., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1910]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cabinet card portraits - sitter - Johnson [P.9398]
Commemorative print containing a montage of portraits of eminent African American men centered around a portrait of Frederick Douglass and bordered by vignettes. Portraiture depicts: "Robert Brown Elliott, Ex-member of Congress" from South Carolina; "Blanche K. Bruce, Ex-Senator, U.S." from Mississippi; "Prof. R.T. Greener, Dean, Howard University"; "Wm. Wells Brown, M.D., author of the Rising Son"; "Henry Highland Garnett [sic], Late Minister of Liberia"; "Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, 1st Bishop of the African M.E. Church" in Philadelphia; first African American governor, "P.B.S. Pinchback, Ex-Governor of Louisiana"; "J.H. Rainey, Ex-Member of Congress"; "E.D. Bassett, Ex-Minister to Hayti"; "John Mercer Langston, Minister to Hayti". Vignettes depict a cornstalk, a twig of cotton, and scenes of romanticized images of African American home life by a waterway showing African Americans playing instruments, dancing, transporting watermelon by barge, and relaxing., Title from item., Inscribed lower right corner: Agents Wanted., Lower left corner inexpertly hand painted., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1975, p. 61., Accessioned 1975., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1883
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [8139.F]
