© Copyright 2020 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181 FAX (215) 546-5167
For inquiries, please contact our IT Department
- Title
- A native of New Holland taken from the life
- Description
- Ethnographic-style full-length portrait depicting an Aboriginal Australian man. He stands naked and holds a shield and spears. His chest and upper arms are adorned with body modifications in the form of scars., Title from manuscript note on verso., 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., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., RVCDC, Accessioned 1892.
- Date
- ca. 1820?
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department drawings & watercolors - unidentified - Native [5653.F.43b]
- Title
- L' Amerique
- Description
- Allegorical print depicting the Americas as a Black woman and boy. The woman dressed in a bejeweled feather head piece, pearls, and shawl has a black parrot perched on her hand and overlooks the shoulder of a reclining boy. The boy, draped in a blue cloth and holding a bow, his cache of arrows beneath him, wears a feather armband and gold collar. He returns the glance of the woman. A palm tree stands behind them., Title from item., Date inferred from content., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Purchase 1971., 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., Haid was a Bavarian engraver, portraitist, and book illustrator.
- Creator
- Haid, Johann Jacob, 1704-1767, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1755]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC-Allegories [7993.F.3]
- Title
- The darktown fire brigade - saved!
- Description
- Comic print using racist imagery to satirize African American men firefighters. Shows a brigade of eight African American firefighters during a rescue of an African American family from a burning wooden house. Flames and smoke extend from the right side of the roof of a two-story residence. In the center foreground, two firefighters, one not wearing a helmet, hold open a striped blanket. A woman attired in a white nightgown and holding her gown down with one hand and a fan with the other is midair and about to drop, feet first, into it. In the left, another firefighter runs out of the doorway of the building and with a woman over his shoulder. She wears a white cap and night gown. In the right, a fourth firefighter sprays water from a hose into the body of a man in a white nightshirt stuck in a hole in the roof. His head and chest poke through the hole and his legs project out through an upper floor window. The firefighter uses a hose that extends from a fire engine marked "Niagara."It is being pumped by four other firefighters in the right background. The firefighters stand on barrels and push the lever of the water pump on the engine. In the far right distance, another firefighter attends to a donkey. The firefighters are attired in red shirts, blue pants, and black boots. Four men wear helmets, one man wears a top hat, and two men are bare-headed. The men and women figures are portrayed with wide eyes and lips, and large feet. The rescued family members are bare foot. The Darktown series of over 100 prints was originally issued mid 1870s-1890s. Thomas Worth was the artist of several of the prints in the reported popular and profitable series. Joseph Koehler reissued the prints in the early 1900s., Title from item., Reprint of number from "Darktown" comics series originally published in 1884. Joseph Koehler purchased over 200 lithographic stones, including the "Darktown" series, from the Currier & Ives firm following its dissolution in 1907., Contains copyright statement: Copyright 1884, By Currier & Ives, N. Y.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- [ca. 1907]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Genre - Darktown [P.2019.55.4]
- Title
- Columbia trading with all the world
- Description
- Allegorical print depicting "Columbia" (i.e., the United States) as a white woman with brown hair, on the deck of a ship. She holds a caduceus and disperses treasures from a horn of plenty held by "Wisdom," who is portrayed as a white woman attired in a helmet, armor, a skirt, and sandals. Wisdom holds a spear in her left hand and gives the treasures to three male figures representing the country's international trade partners. Figures depicted are: Africa as a Black man attired in a headpiece shaped like an elephant's head and leaning on a tusk of ivory; Asia as a bearded man with a light-brown color skin tone attired in a turban; and South America as a man in a feathered headpiece carrying a bow., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Possibly published in London and not the United States., Revised state. Previous title and imprint faintly visible and illegible below image., Gift of Dr. Mary DeWitt Pettit, 1965., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1789-ca. 1800]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Allegories [7737.F]
- Title
- A bran new coon in town
- Description
- Racist, satiric postcard depicting an African American family (portrayed as racist stereotypes) welcoming a “new” member, a baby. Shows the grandfather standing and weighing the infant on a hand held scale, as the grandmother, attired in a head kerchief, a floral shirt, a skirt, and an apron, cradles the baby’s head. In the right, the father smiles as he stands leaning down with both hands clutching a small table. In the center, a young boy sits at the table eating as he looks up at the baby. In the left, the mother sits smiling beside a stove as she pours water from a kettle into a cup., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright, 1898, and published by Knaffl & Bro., Knoxville, Tenn., Originally published in an 1898 edition of Leslie's Weekly as part of "The Blackville Gallery" series under the title "Weighing the Christmas Baby.", RVCDC, Accessioned 1999., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- 1898
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Genre [P.9725.1]
- Title
- New transfer picture-album offering a collection of fine transfer pictures and the direction how to fix them
- Description
- Pocket-size volume of decals of vignette maps of French cities, territories, colonies, and provinces during the antebellum period. Decals also include illustrations symbolic of the environment, culture, and economy of the depicted regions. Maps include (Afrique) Ile Bourbon, i.e., Réunion; Department de la Course, i.e., Corsica; Department de la Seine, i.e., Paris; Amerique Guadeloupe; Nle Caledonie/Iles de la Societe, i.e., New Caledonia/Society Islands; Algerie; (Amerique) La Martinique; (Afrique) Mayotte, Nossi-Be, St. Marie/Senegal; and Algerie (Afrique) Prov. De. D’Oran, i.e., Oran Province. Illustrations depict ethnic stereotypes and racist caricatures showing Africans, including an enslaved man from Ile Bourbon and Algerians; a Guadeloupean white plantation owner; a Corsican woman; sacks, crates, and barrels of foods and spices, including cacao, coffee, canella, cotton, sugar, indigo, and nutmeg; and native flora and fauna, including trees, grasses, a turtle, bird, elephant, and alligator. Vignettes also show a portrait of Napoleon; Paris architecture; ships and boats; and huts and a tent., Title from item., Date inferred from era of production of miniature decals and cover design., Front cover illustrated with a clown figure holding a trumpet to his mouth in one hand and tugging his hat with the other., Printed on back cover: Directions for fixing transfers. Take the picture, put it into luke-warm water for a quarter of a minute, pres the picture-side firmly on the object you wish to decorate, and draw gently the paper away. the fixed picture can be varnished, which makas [sic] it finer and secure against water and dust., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ephemera - Misc. [P.2014.17.3]
- Title
- Beadle's half dime singer's library. Selected favorites. Comic and sentimental songs of all nations and ages "An encyclopedia of song." For sale here. Price five cents
- Description
- Poster-size advertisement containing a montage of the cover illustrations for Beadle & Adams songbooks No. 1- No. 17 published May 18, 1878 - September 14, 1878. Montage laid out as a grid. Illustrations often depict gender, ethnic, and racial stereotypes. Includes No. 1. "Whoa Emma and 59 other songs" depicting the profile of a woman attired in a horse costume composed of a horse head-shaped head piece and red dress with an immense bustle and a horse tail; No. 2. "Captain Cuff and 57 other songs" depicting a blonde male effete wearing a monocle, checkered suit, blue overcoat with red lapels, and holding a top hat in one hand and twirling the tip of his mustache with his other; No. 3. "The Gainsboro' Hat and 60 other songs" depicting a profile portrait of a fashionable brunette woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, red long-sleeved dress with yellow and blue bodice and holding a parasol stick in one hand and a flower to her mouth in the other; No. 4. "Johnny Morgan and 60 other songs" depicting a dark-haired, mustached male organ grinder singing and playing his street organ; its strap hung over his shoulder; No. 5. "I'll Strike You with a Feather and 60 other songs" depicting a fashionable blonde woman in a coy pose and holding a feather in one hand and her gathered skirt edge in the other; No. 6. "George the Charmer, O! And 60 other songs" depicting an African American male dandy, with a mischievous glint in his eye and attired in a top hat, ruffled white shirt, yellow vest adorned with a watch fob, blue waist coat with tails, red checkered pants, and gloves;, No. 7. "The Belle of Rockaway and 52 other songs" depicting a brunette woman in swim attire (kepi, long-sleeved blue blouse, yellow and green two-tiered, ruffle edged knee length bustled skirt); No. 8."Young Fellah, You're too Fresh and 60 other songs" depicting a blonde male bon vivant attired in an orange bowler, white collared shirt, red bow tie, blue jacket, fob, and light blue pants, standing, leaning back and with his hands, one holding an upturned cane, in his pockets; No. 9. "I'm a Shy Young Girl and 65 other songs" showing a young blonde woman attired in a long-sleeved green dress with red and yellow details and multi-tiered, ruffled skirt, and standing in a demure pose, her head slightly tilted, as she slightly leans over, with her hands clasped over each other and placed near her knees; No. 10. "I'm the Governor's only Son and 59 other songs" depicting a dark-haired, mustached, confident-looking man, attired in a bowler, tan coat with collar, and light blue pants, as he stands, one leg crossed over the other, and with one hand in a coat pocket and the other resting on a walking stick; No. 11. "Comin' Thro the Rye and 55 other songs" depicting a Scottish lad, attired in a cap and kilt, and blonde-haired lass, embracing each other about the waist, and on a stroll in a rye field; No. 12. "Wave my fan just so! And 60 other songs" showing a light-haired woman, attired in a red evening gown with gold trim, and holding a blue shawl over her arm and a large green fan to her face;, No. 13 "The Rollicking Irishman" depicting a hod carrier, attired in a yellow broad-rimmed hat, an open-collared red shirt, and blue pants, and standing with a hod over his shoulder near a ladder and a pile of bricks; No. 14 "Old Dog Tray and 62 other songs" depicting a fair-headed woman, her eyes closed, attired in a blue Elizabethan-style dress with red details, and holding a black long-furred dog by his collar; No. 15. "Whoa, Charlie! And 59 other songs" depicting a fashionably-attired couple with a dark-haired, mustached man on his knee, hands clasped, and behind a fair-haired woman who stands and looks over her shoulder at him; No. 16. "In this Wheat by and by and 62 other songs" depicting anthropomorphized grasshoppers, with valises, and at rest from travel, including playing sticks, on and near a fence post; No. 17. Nancy Lee" depicting a light-haired woman, attired in green shirt, yellow kerchief at her neck, and a red skirt, standing on a pier, and waving goodbye with a red-striped handkerchief to a ship at sea., Date inferred from date of publication (September 14, 1878) of last songbook advertised: No. 17. Nancy Lee., Advertisement reverses the titles of No. 11 and 12 from their listings in Albert Johannsen's "House of Beadle and Adams" (1950)., Gift of Robert Staples and Barbara Fahs Charles., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Orr, Nathaniel, engraver
- Date
- [1878]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Advertisements - B [P.2013.86]
- Title
- [Road to Philadelphy]
- Description
- Racist caricature simultaneously mocking and condoning the pretentiousness and bigotry of early 19th century Philadelphia Quakers toward their "social inferiors." Shows a Philadelphia road in front of a small home with an open picket fence and a visitor arriving on horseback. In front of the fence, a dark skinned traveler, possibly an Irishman or African American, with buck teeth and carrying a knapsack and a walking stick, asks a rotund white Quaker man and his attractive prim and proper daughter, "I say, this isn't the road to Philadelphy, honey, is it?" The father responds indignantly to the "Friend," that he is not only asking a question, but also telling a lie, and of course it is the road., Attributed to E.W. Clay., Title and publication information supplied by Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, Clay, born in Philadelphia, was the most prolific caricaturist of the Jacksonian era. He became well known for his popular racist series, "Life in Philadelphia," published from 1828 until around 1830, which mocked upwardly mobile African American Philadelphians as ineptly attempting to imitate the white middle class., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American political caricaturist of the Jacksonian era. (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 76, 358. (LCP Print Room, Uz A423.O), LCP holds duplicate untrimmed print: *Wainwright 315., Accessioned 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
- Date
- [1830 or 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department W315 [P.2179]
- Title
- Missionary Society of the Evangelical Association of North America [certificate]
- Description
- Life membership certificate containing a vignette contrasting scenes of apocalyptic doom and religious salvation. Shows to the right an angel trumpeting salvation and wielding the Bible; a white man missionary preaching to a large group of Native Americans; and a converted African family of a man, woman, and child, kneels and reaches toward the winged messenger of God. On the ground are broken chains and swords, and a hut and palm trees are in the background. Opposite the scenes of salvation, a cross rises from the ground, bringing forth a river of redemption too late for the lost souls of a bejeweled "heathen" woman and a skull-headed man entangled by serpents. Behind them a temple, probably the Vatican, collapses to the ground. The Evangelical Association, a Methodist ministry, worked first to convert Native Americans and enslaved people before extending their missions to the Black inhabitants of Liberia in the 1820s., Issued to Peter H. Cage of Catasauqua, Pa. on February 24, 1870. Signed by Thomas Bowman, Secretary; Francis Hoffman, President; and Isaac Hess, Treasurer., Gift of David Doret, 2004., 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
- Sartain, John, 1808-1897, engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1850]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Organizations - M [P.2004.46.1]
- Title
- [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]
- Title
- [Geo. S. Harris & Sons print specimens]
- Description
- Series of specimens, primarily for trade cards and labels, printed by the prominent Philadelphia lithographic firm. Subjects include fanciful, allegorical, and sentimental scenes and portraiture with women, children, and flowers; hunting and recreational scenes; international iconography; animals (dogs, horses, and an alligator clutching a Black baby in its jaws); political and military imagery, including President James Garfield; land and marinescapes; and mythological and fairy tale views. Collection also includes specimen without an imprint and probably printed by Harris showing a plantation scene with a white man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, white pants, and a sword on his waistband, placing his right hand on the shoulder of a barefooted Black man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and white pants that are torn at the bottom, who carries a hoe. They stand before a body of water surrounded by flowers and trees with the plantation in the background. Racist scene shows a white female angel with wings pouring packages of tobacco from a cornucopia to a group of men and women from various ethnic groups and nationalities, including Native Americans, Chinese, Spanish, and Middle Eastern people, many of which smoke cigars, hookahs, and pipes. Specimen depicting a man, attired in a turban with a dagger in his waistband, kneeling with a rifle beside him. Surrounding him are palms and desert plants. In the right background, a lions stands and looks on., Title supplied by cataloger., Publication date inferred from content of one print depicting President James Garfield., Originally part of Specimens Album [P.9349]., Gift of Margaret Robinson, 1991., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- [ca. 1881]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Specimen Album Loose Prints Collection - Geo. S. Harris [P.9349.279, 283-284, 292, 298-307, 309, 317-318, 321, 328-329, 332, 436-437, 439, 441-442, 447, 451-453 & 455-456]
- Title
- The International Exposition 1876 at Philadelphia, PA. U.S.A View from George's Hill
- Description
- Allegorical commemorative print celebrating the internationalism and historic significance of the Centennial Exhibition. Depicts a bird's-eye view of the active exhibition grounds including the Agricultural Building, Horticultural Building, Main Building, and Machinery Hall. In the foreground, figures representing various races, ethnicities, and cultures convene and interact with one another. An African American woman and man sit on a bench. An African American man, attired in a black suit, tips his top hat and greets a white woman sitting on a bench. Groups of people stand in clusters to converse and walk including Native Americans, attired in feather headdresses, and Chinese women and men. Middle Eastern and Russian men ride on horseback. Contains ghost-like imagery visible in the sky depicting significant historic American moments, figures, and buildings, including William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, George Washington, and the White House. Contains the names of the prominent exhibition halls below the image., Copyrighted by George H. Ellsbury & J. Hayward., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 390, Accessioned 1983., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Ellsbury, George H., lithographer
- Date
- 1876
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **BW - Centennial [P.8966]
- Title
- This certifies that [blank] having paid to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church the sum of twenty dollars, is hereby constituted a member during life conformably to the seventh article of the constitution. New York, [blank]. [Blank] chairman. [Blank] clerk
- Description
- Life membership certificate containing a vignette contrasting scenes of apocalyptic doom and religious salvation. From the celestial heavens, the hand of God points to an angel trumpeting salvation and wielding the Bible; a white man missionary preaches to a large group of Native Americans; and a converted African family of a man, woman, and child, kneels and reaches toward the winged messenger of God. On the ground are broken chains and swords, and a hut and palm trees are in the background. Opposite the scenes of salvation, a cross rises from the ground, bringing forth a river of redemption too late for the lost souls of a bejeweled white woman and a skull-headed man entangled by serpents. Behind them a temple, probably the Vatican, collapses to the ground crushing a white man. The Missionary Society, officially organized in New York in 1820, worked first to convert Native Americans and enslaved people before extending their missions to the Black inhabitants of Liberia in 1823., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Issued to Reverend Thomas Lumption on April 9th, 1844. Signed by Joshua Soule, Chairman, and Francis Hale, Clerk., Purchase 1971., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1835]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Certificates [7971.F]
- Title
- [Incomplete set of racist playing card game Game of In Dixieland. No. 1118]
- Description
- Incomplete collection of playing cards from the racist card game "Game of In Dixieland. No. 1118" issued by the Fireside Game Co. of Cincinnati, the subsidiary company established in 1896 by executives of the U.S. Playing Card Company. Advertised by the publisher as "life-like reproductions of characteristic sketches from the Sunny South," the captioned and lettered cards depict stereotyped and caricatured portraits and scenes of African American men, women, and children and African American southern life. The object of the game was to compile all the cards with the same letter into a book, with the winner holding the most books. Cards include: "A1. The Crossing Sweeper." Scene depicts an African American boy street sweeper on a street corner. He is attired in oversize jacket and pants. He also wears a cap and holds a broom. "A3. In Clover." Scene shows three young African American boys, attired in worn long-sleeve shirts and pants, seated on a log and eating quarters of a watermelon. The boy in the middle wears a bucket hat. Stacks of watermelon, including the remaining quarter of the one being eaten by the children rest at their feet. "A4. Picking Cotton." Scene shows an African American boy in a field of cotton, bent over, and picking a cotton boll. He wears a cap, long-sleeved shirt, and loose ankle-length pants. He is barefoot. Men picking cotton and a cart are visible in the background. "B2. Picking Up a Living." Portrait shows an African American girl holding a large satchel over her left shoulder. She wears a checkered, long-sleeved dress, and floppy hat. "B3 '"Jest A Restin’."' Portrait shows a young African American man seated on a crate next to a barrel and a second crate. He wears a domed cap; loose, long-sleeved jacket; cropped pants; and rolled-down boots., "D4. Heavily Laden." View shows two young African American girls, attired in ankle-length shift dresses, and aprons, and carrying buckets on their heads. Girl in left, balances the bucket on her head, and her apron contains a hole at the chest. The girl in the right holds the bucket on her head with her hands. They are bare foot and stand near the brick wall of a mill. "E1.A Georgia Charmer." Bust-length portrait shows an African American woman, slightly smiling, and her right hand resting on the side of her chin. She wears a light-colored blouse with slightly puff sleeves; a short-brimmed, straw hat; and bracelet. "F2. The Coquette." Full-length portrait shows a young African American woman, her hand on her hip, bare foot, and standing in front of the door to a log cabin. She wears a kerchief on her head, a shirtwaist, belt, and calf-length skirt. "F3 '"Look pleasant, please."' Reproduction of a drawn view shows an African American man taking a photograph of an African American woman, three African American children, and a dog on a beach. The women and children, attired in summer dresses and jumpers, sit and stand on a log and the photographer stands by a makeshift camera and removes the lens cap. The photographer wears a hat, overalls, and a long-sleeved shirt., "G2. A Genuine Brunette." Full-length portrait shows a very young African American girl, bare foot, attired in a shift dress, and seated on a step. She frowns slightly and she clasps her hands in her lap. "G4. Learning to Walk." View shows two, very young, African American girls, in blousy dresses, standing side by side on a sidewalk and in front of the brick wall of a building. "H3. The Virginia Pine Chopper." Full-length portrait shows an older African American man, with a white beard, seated on a stump, holding an ax over his left shoulder. He also has the handle of a tin pail over his left wrist and holds a walking stick in his right hand. He is posed in a dirt yard laden with sticks. Stacks of logs and a wooden fence are visible in the background."I2. A Mississippi Beauty." Half-length portrait shows a young African American woman, her left hand resting on the side of her chin. She looks slightly to the right and has a slight smile. Her hair is pulled back and somewhat teased at the crown. She wears a shirtwaist and checkered, apron dress., "J2. A Hidden Nest in the Bushes." View shows two African American boys seated on their knees in a field and eating slices of watermelon. They wear wide-brimmed caps, long sleeved shirts, and pants. Boy in right also wears a jacket. “J3. On the Wharf.” View shows an African American man and woman seated on the edge of a wharf. The man attired in a long-sleeved shirt, vest, pants, and cap, sits with his feet dangling over the edge. The woman attired in a shirtwaist, skirt, and cap sits with her feet on the wharf landing. Sailing vessels are visible in the background. "K3.'"Mos’ to de end ob de road."' Full-length portrait shows an older African American man, with a beard, seated on a chair, in front of a crumbling brick wall. He wears a worn jacket, vest, shirt, and pants. A hat with kindling rests at his bare feet. He holds a walking stick that he rests between his legs. "L3. Among the Virginia Pines." View shows a log cabin, in the distance, along a dirt road lined with dry underbrush and a few trees, some barren. A woman stands in the yard of the cabin. Fireside Card Co. was dissolved in 1908 and U.S. Playing Card Co. began to issue educational card games., Publication information from copies included in the World Web Playing Card Museum. Publication date inferred from copyright date included on box covers., Card letter printed in upper left corner., Copyright statement printed on 8 of the cards: Copyright ’96 by L.D. Baldwin., Gift of Jennifer Woods Rosner., Housed in phase box., Many stained and in poor condition., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Fireside Game Co.
- Date
- [1897]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.2019.47]
- Title
- [View of the Centennial Machinery Hall with people from all nations]
- Description
- Block-printed wallpaper depicting an exterior view of Machinery Hall designed by Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Horse-drawn carriages bring visitors to and from the Hall. A large crowd of spectators walk on the grounds. In the foreground, people from various nationalities and ethnicities are represented including Native Americans attired in feather headdresses; two men, including a Black man, attired in fez hats; two Chinese men, one carrying a fan, attired in conical hats and robes; two Arab men in white headdresses and robes; and a Scottish man attired in a kilt. Other spectators include a man attired in a sailor’s uniform, men and women couples, and young boys., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Gift of David Doret., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1876]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***Doret and Mitchell Collection – Prints [P.2022.62.3.49]
- Title
- Civil War stationery collection
- Description
- Collection of stationery containing patriotic designs often used on patriotic envelopes, with a majority including a title, slogan, and/or verse. Designs predominately include views of regiment camps; images of soldiers, including battle and camp life scenes; patriotic symbols including flags, eagles, bells, shields, stars and the figure of liberty; portraiture of historic and military figures; and basic designs including stripes, colored edges, and lined borders. Unique designs with assigned LCP numbers include an untitled regiment view showing the soldiers playing baseball, possibly at Abner Doubleday's camp (RE-LCP 35); a view of Poughkeepsie from 1854 (SC-NW-LCP-3); the New York funeral procession for Abraham Lincoln on April 25, 1865 (SC-NW-LCP-4); two designs published by J.W. Barber of New Haven showing bars of music from "My Country Tis of Thee" (O-M-LCP-8) and an allegorical scene of Liberty fighting treason, rebellion, tyranny, and oppression (F-P-LCP-1). Collection also contains a series of seven Charles Magnus hand-colored designs containing birds-eye views and military maps. Views show Fortress Monroe, Old Point Comfort and Hygeia Hotel, Va. and the Capitol. Military maps shows Maryland and Virginia; Virginia between Washington and Manassas Junction; Richmond and Alexandria; Fortress Monroe and Richmond; and the southern coast between Fortress Monroe and New Orleans. Collection also includes a small number of Confederate stationery. Confederates designs include a view of enslaved African American people driving a wagon of supplies to a battlefield and a satire of Abraham Lincoln as an Native American chief. Portraits include George Washington, George McClellan, and Elmer Ellsworth. Three uncut printed proof sheets of patriotic stationery used as ream wrappers and the first style of U.S. postcard (circa 1872) also included as part of the collection., Some copyrighted., Some contain manuscript notes., Various publishers including Philadelphia publishers James Magee and L. N. Rosenthal as well as New York publisher Charles Magnus., Title supplied by cataloger., See William R. Weiss, Jr.'s The catalog of Union Civil War patriotic covers (Bethleham, Pa.: William R. Weiss, 1995). LCP copy annotated to show collection holdings., See the George Walcott collection of used Civil War patriotic covers (New York: Robert Laurence, 1934)., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of materials related to the Civil War. McAlliser Collection, gift, 1886., Reproduced in Erika Piola, "For the millions: Civil War stationery for women and children in the McAllister Collection at The Library Company of Philadelphia," The Ephemera journal 13 (2010), [32]., 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
- 1861-1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War Stationery [various], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Civil War - Ream Wrappers [P.2006.1.30a-c]
- Title
- The United States Centennial International Exhibition
- Description
- Share certificate issued by the Centennial Board of Finance containing a series of historical and allegorical vignettes, scenes, and figures. Vignettes depict a view on a coastline showing a white man, attired in colonial dress, reaping with a sickle beside a white man driving a plow in front of a steer-drawn conestoga wagon, a moving train, and sailing ships; the signing of the Declaration of Independence; and a scene depicting a Native American man, attired in pants and moccasins with a feather in his hair and a quiver of arrows on his back, covering his face from the sight of a dilapidated windmill near rows of industrial buildings spewing smoke. Along the sides figures include: tradesmen; laborers; soldiers; frontiersmen; inventors, including Benjamin Franklin; Native Americans; and an African American man reading. In the top center, allegorical figures of Liberty, Art, and Peace, portrayed as white women, accept offerings from representations of people from across the world, including African women; a woman attired in a turban, a person with a parrot on their shoulder, and an Asian man with a queue. Also contains: busts of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant; an eagle holding an American flag; views of the State House and Capitol; and the printed seal of the Centennial Board of Finance. The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Title from item., P.2002.67.77 issued to Margaret R. Bringhurst for one share on October 20, 1875. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., 5788.F.10 issued to Mary Norris Logan for one share on November 10, 1876. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., Printed on recto: Shares $10. Each. Capital $10,000,000., P.2002.67.66 poor condition., Gift of Helen Beitler, 2002 [P.2002.67.66]., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Centennial and Columbian Exposition views [5758.F.10. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Creator
- United States, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- Date
- [ca. 1872]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [P.2002.67.77], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [5758.F.10]