© 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
- The Mechanics Insurance Company's Building, Philadelphia
- Description
- Exterior view of front and east facades looking south. Fire insurance company incorporated in 1854., Undivided back. Post marked 1907. Text on verso., Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- ca. 1907
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Business - [P.9048.317]
- Title
- United States Plate Glass Insurance Co. of Philadelphia [certificate]
- Description
- Stock certificate for the company "chartered by the legislature of Pennsylvania 1867" containing an allegorical vignette depicting the seal of Pennsylvania as a scenic view. View includes horses, the American eagle, and cityscape and a steam boat in the background. Certificate also contains pictorial details, including filigree and scrolls, and a decorative border. The company, later renamed the United States Liability Insurance Company of Philadelphia, was in operation until 1941 before remaining dormant until 1951., Printed in border: Shares $100 Each., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- [ca. 1867]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Specimens Album [P.9349.236a]
- Title
- [Thos. Carstairs' trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards depicting exterior views of exhibition buildings and grounds constructed for the Centennial Fair in West Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, including Machinery Hall, Main Exhibition Building, Horticultural Hall, Agricultural Hall, and Memorial Hall. Buildings designed by Henry Pettit, Joseph M. Wilson, Henry J. Schwarzmann and James H. Windrim. The Cenntenial, held in 1876, celebrated America’s one-hundredth anniversary of independence and showcased the strengths of the country’s industry, manufactures, agriculture, and art., Title supplied by cataloger., Advertising text printed on versos: Thos. Carstairs, fire and marine insurance broker, Harper's Agency, No. 329 Walnut Street., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1876]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Carstairs [1975.F.121; 1975.F.138; 1975.F.142; 1975.F.148; 1975.F.184]
- Title
- Mutual Life Insurance, Philadelphia
- Description
- View from the corner of Tenth and Chestnut streets showing the Philadelphia headquarters of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (incorporated 1841). Built from 1874-1875 after the designs of New York architect Henry Fernbach, the building at 1001-1013 Chestnut Street, also known as the Victory Building, served as the insurance company's regional headquarters from 1875 to 1920. View also shows adjacent businesses on Tenth Street., Title annotated on negative., Buff mount with rounded corners., Gift of Robert M. Vogel., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- ca. 1875
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Business [P.9047.5]
- Title
- American Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia. S.E. corner Fourth and Walnut Street
- Description
- Exterior view showing the company's central office building, known as the American Building. A large clock hangs from the corner of the building. Incorporated in 1850, the company was formed in part to further the cause of temperance by offering considerable discounts on life insurance products to signers of the total abstinence pledge. Company occupied this building from 1854 to 1888., Pale green mount with square corners., Title from advertising text printed on verso., Text on verso lists Alexander Whillden as president and John S. Wilson as secretary of the company. These men served together from 1862 to 1872., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- [ca. 1868]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - business - American [P.9058.165]
- Title
- American Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia. S.E. corner Fourth and Walnut Street
- Description
- View from the northwest showing the south side of the 300 block of Walnut Street including the company's central office building, known as the American Building. A large clock hangs from the corner of the building. Incorporated in 1850, the company was formed in part to further the cause of temperance by offering considerable discounts on life insurance products to signers of the total abstinence pledge. Company occupied this building from 1854 to 1888., Pale green mount with square corners., Title from advertising text printed on verso., Text on verso lists Alexander Whillden as president and John S. Wilson as secretary of the company. These men served together from 1862 to 1872., Gift of Robert M. Vogel., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- [ca. 1868]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - business - American [P.9047.55]
- Title
- [Philadelphia Trust Company, 413-417 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia]
- Description
- Exterior view of the Trust building built 1873-4. Designed by Philadelphia architect James Windrim. Includes partial view of the Philadelphia National Bank at 419-423 Chestnut., Inscribed in negative: Phila. Trust Co., Buff mount with rounded corners., Gift of Robert M. Vogel., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Creator
- Hemple, A. H., photographer
- Date
- [1876]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Hemple - business [P.9047.58]
- Title
- Farmers & Mechanics Bank, Chestnut Street
- Description
- Exterior view of bank located at 425-429 Chestnut Street, built 1854-5, designed by John M. Gries. Also depicts the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives & Granting Annuities at 431 Chestnut, built 1871-3, designed by Addison Hutton. Buildings form part of Bank Row., Title printed on mount., Yellow mount with rounded corners., Reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 93., Arcadia caption text: This photograph focuses on two of the extant banks located on Bank Row shown above. When John Gries’ design for the building was completed in 1855, the Farmers’ & Mechanics’ Bank, on the right, was the largest bank in the city. Its smaller neighbor to the left, the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives & Granting Annuities was completed in 1873 after designs by Addison Hutton. The building complemented the architectural style of the Farmers’ & Mechanics’ Bank while using contrasting gray granite rather than white marble for its façade., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- [1873]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - banks [P.9079.3]
- Title
- [Third Street, east side, north of Chestnut Street, Philadelphia]
- Description
- View showing the east side of Third Street between Market and Chestnut streets. Depicts the speculative office building built by Borie Brothers after the designs of Fraser, Furness & Hewitt at the northeast corner of Third and Chestnut. The building adorned wtih signage for the tenanting businesses of Franklin Telegraph Office, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and a banker's office, also housed the office of Frank Furness on the top story from 1871 to 1875. Also shows a flags, awnings, and stencil cuttings store adorned with an awning illustrated with a female figure and a partial view of the building at the northwest corner of Third and Chestnut tenanted by bankers, B.K. Jamison & Co., and L. Pelouze & Son's Philadelphia Type Foundry., Title supplied by cataloguer., Orange mount with rounded corners., Manuscript note on verso: 3 St. north of Chestnut., Gift of Robert M. Vogel., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Creator
- Cremer, James, 1821-1893
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Cremer - Streets [P.9047.19]
- Title
- East from Independence Hall
- Description
- Panoramic view showing Banker's Row on the north side of the 400 block of Chestnut Street. Includes the Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit & Insurance Company, completed in 1874 after the designs of James Hamilton Windrim (413-417 Chestnut); the Philadelphia National Bank built 1857-1859 after the designs of John M. Gries (419-423 Chestnut); the Farmers and Mechanics Bank built 1854-1855 after the designs of Gries (425-429 Chestnut); the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives & Granting Annuities built 1871-1873 after the designs of Addison Hutton (431 Chestnut); and the Girard Building built circa 1871 after the designs of Windrim (435 Chestnut)., Curved orange mount with rounded corners., Title from label on negative., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- ca. 1885
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Views [P.9567.14]
- Title
- Custom house and post office - Chestnut above 4th
- Description
- View showing the U.S. Customhouse (1845 to 1935) at 420 Chestnut Street and the U.S. Post Office (1863 to 1884) at 426-428 Chestnut Street. Customhouse building built in 1824 after the designs of Philadelphia architect William Strickland. View includes the adjacent Philadelphia Bank Building also designed by Strickland in 1836 at 400-408 Chestnut. Building tenanted by Aetna Life Insurance Company; Commonwealth Bank; Wood and Garrett, cotton good manufacturers; Edward Borhek, optician (storefront adorned with large spectacles); and Alfred J. Reach, cigar dealer. Also shows vendor stands near the customhouse and a partial view of advertisements for businesses on the north side of the street. Advertisements include a large showpiece rifle promoting gun dealers, Phillip, Wilson & Co. and a billboard promoting "Wright's Tar Syrup" adorning Kromer's Patent Medicine Depot., Orange mount with rounded corners., Title printed on mount., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Creator
- Simons, M. P. (Montgomery P.), photographer
- Date
- ca. 1868
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Simons - Government Buildings [P.8497.4]
- Title
- Chestnut St. west from Fourth
- Description
- View showing the north side of the 400 block of Chestnut Street, including Banker's Row. Banker's Row includes three buildings after the designs of John M. Gries: Girard Building (435 Chestnut, built 1857-1859); the Farmers and Mechanics Bank (425-429 Chestnut, built 1854-1855); and the Philadelphia National Bank (419-423 Chestnut, built 1857-1859). Also shows the Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit & Insurance Company (413-417 Chestnut, completed 1874, James Hamilton Windrim, archt.) and the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives & Granting Annuities (431 Chestnut, built 1871-1873, Addison Hutton, archt.). Adjacent businesses include: William E. Harpur, watchmaker (407 Chestnut); Jacob Langsdorf, cigar importer, and Thomas W. Bovell, lithographer (409 Chestnut); McCully & Co., printers (411 Chestnut); and R. Penistan, wine dealer (439 Chestnut). Horse-drawn vehicles line the street, including an ice delivery wagon., Curved orange mount with rounded corners., Title annotated on negative., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- ca. 1877, ca. 1885
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Streets [P.9208.5]
- Title
- Press Building, Seventh and Chesnut [sic] Sts
- Description
- View of the south side of the 700 block of Chestnut Street looking west toward Eighth Street, with the multi-storied office building of the the Philadelphia Press newspaper established in 1857 by John W. Forney in the foreground. Signs on the Seventh Street side of the building include "J. Restein & Sons plain & fancy paper coloring & card printing establishment," "Engraver on wood," and "Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company." A sign for Wheeler & Wilson's sewing machines at 704 Chestnut is also visible, but signage beyond this shop is illegible. One man stands at the southwest corner in front of the Press building reading a broadside, while another crosses the street at the northeast corner. Gas street lamps are spaced at intervals along the block, with the largest situated in front of the Press Building. Two horse-drawn carriages travel in the street in the distance. Newspaper merged with the Public Ledger in 1920., Title from photographer's label pasted on verso., Yellow mount with rounded corners., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Bartlett & French was a partnership between Philadelphia photographers George O. Bartlett and William French circa 1867-1868.
- Creator
- Bartlett & French
- Date
- [ca. 1868]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Bartlett & French - Business [P.9260.10]
- Title
- Bird's eye view of Philadelphia, east from State House steeple
- Description
- Cityscape view looking northeast from State House (520 Chestnut) showing the north side of the 400 block of Chestnut Street before construction began on the Provident Life & Trust Company building (401-411 Chestnut) in 1876. Includes Peoples Bank (433-437 Chestnut, i.e., Girard Building, built ca. 1874); Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives & Granting Annuities (431 Chestnut, built 1871-73, Addison Hutton, architect); Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank (425-429 Chestnut, built 1854-55, John M. Gries, architect); Philadelphia National Bank (419-423 Chestnut, built 1857-59, John M. Gries, architect); and the Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit & Insurance Co. (413-417 Chestnut, built 1873-74, James H. Windrim, architect). Also shows surrounding buildings including the steeple of Christ Church (22-34 North Second Street)., Title printed on mount and in manuscript note on verso of P.2010.6.2., Alternate title on negative of P.9168.17: "East from Sixth and Chestnut"., Photographer's imprint on mounts; in black text on P.2010.6.2 and red text on P.9168.17., Explicative paragraph of text providing brief history of the city entitled, "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," printed on verso of P.2010.6.2. Text surmounted by vignette of state seal of Pennsylvania and surrounded by decorative border., Yellow mounts with rounded corners., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., One of the images gift of David Doret (P.2010.6.2).
- Creator
- Cremer, James, 1821-1893
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Cremer - Streets [P.2010.6.2 and P.9168.17]
- Title
- [Plate 6 and advertisements from Rae's Philadelphia pictorial directory & panoramic advertiser. Chestnut Street, from Second to Tenth Streets]
- Description
- Plate depicts section of the 400 block of Chestnut Street (132-149 pre-consolidation). South side includes Philada. Bank, Western Bank, Girard Life Insurance Comp., and H. S. Ogden, Tailor (132); and U.S. Custom House (unnumbered). North side includes U.S. Hotel (145-149); M. J. & C. Croll, Tailors (147); Philadelphia General Insurance Agency (145); the offices of [Andrew] M’Makin’s Model American Courier and tailor J. Smith Harris (141); J. Hufty, Stationer, Engraver & Card Printer (139); Chas. Martel, Wig Maker (137); clothier S. Heywood, Importer and Furnisher. Fire insurance, life insurance, and Ogden signage (116) included on plate as pasted-on details., Advertisements promote six of the businesses depicted (Girard Life Insurance, Heywood, Hufty, M’Makin, Philadelphia General Insurance Agency, and United Sates Hotel) and H.S. Tarr’s Marble Yard, No. 274 Green Street, above Seventh, which comprises an entire page. Tarr advertisement contains several lines of text, “Opinions of the Press,” and “References,” including Thomas U. Walter and Isaac Collins. Other advertisements include lines of promotional text and ornamented type. M'Makin advertisement contains subscription rates., Title supplied by cataloger., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Folder 7.
- Creator
- Rae, Julio H.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Rae - Folder 7 [*Am 1851 Rae, 2975.Q]
- Title
- [Plate 7 and advertisements from Rae's Philadelphia pictorial directory & panoramic advertiser. Chestnut Street, from Fourth to Fifth Streets]
- Description
- Plate depicts section of the 400 block of Chestnut Street (134-169 pre-consolidation). South side includes the offices of Graham’s Magazine and the fancy dry goods store of L.J. Levy & Co. (134); jewelers Baily & Kitchen, Wm. E. Harpur, Chronometer & Watch manufacturer, and daguerreotypists Broadbent & Co. (136); [William F.] Warburton, Late W. H. Beebe & Co., Hats, Caps, Furs and Umbrellas (138); and Crittenden’s Commercial Institute (later Crittenden's Philadelphia Commercial College), M. A. Root’s Daguerreotypes Rooms, jeweler James E. Caldwell & Co. (140); and (Charles) Fawcett’s Hair Cutting Rooms, Wig, Scalp, & Hair Dye Manufacturer, and A. B. Warden, Jeweler (142). North side includes F. Brown, Druggist (169); H. J. Pepper & Son, Jewelers (167); Blanchard & Rock, Paper Hangings Manufacturers (165); Franklin Fire Insurance Co. (163 1/2-161); Blackwood & Smith, Carpeting and Van Loan & Co., daguerreotypists (159); and Farmer & Mechanic’s Bank (155). Plate also shows some of the businesses adorned with flags and other adornments, including a model of an eagle and statuary., Advertisements promote thirteen of the businesses depicted, including Fawcett; Warden; Caldwell & Co.; Root; Warburton; Crittenden; Baily & Co. (late Bailey & Kitchen); Van Loan & Co.; Franklin Fire Insurance Company; Blanchard & Rock; Pepper & Son; and Brown. Most include several lines of promotional text and ornamented type. Fawcett’s advertisement also includes endorsements from the local press and Root promotes "Out Door Views and Miniatures of deceased person taken at short notice," in addition to "The Crayon Style (Proues's Patent)" only taken by himself., Title supplied by cataloger., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Folder 8.
- Creator
- Rae, Julio H.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Rae - Folder 8 [*Am 1851 Rae, 2975.Q]