The old houses and stores with memorabilia relating to them and my father and grandfather
Title
The old houses and stores with memorabilia relating to them and my father and grandfather
Description
Memory album compiled by Lewis containing written narratives, photographs, watercolors, textiles, drawings, prints and ephemera documenting his childhood and his lineage and family businesses and residences from the late 18th century to mid 19th century. Specific narrative topics include the provenance of the "Pictures" included in the album; "Memorabilia"; the "Marriage of our Ancestor, 1786. Johann Andreas Philipp Ludwig (i.e., J. A. P. Lewis) and Anna Maria Klingemann"; 'In Memoriam: Johann Andreas Philipp Ludwig' "; the "Memorials of the old Houses, Stores &c.," including deed, plot, architectural, and decor information pertaining to Lewis family residences at 121, i.e., 311 North Fifth Street (1791-1797), 60, i.e., 128 North Fourth Street (1797-1805), 82, i.e., 132 North Second Street (1814-1818), 124, i.e., 264 South Third Street (1818-1824), 148, i.e., 264 South Second Street (1824-1840) and rear storehouse on Laurel Street, and Sixteenth and Walnut streets (1840-1858), and the stores at Walnut and Front streets (1829-1856)., Other narratives describe the yellow fever epidemic of 1793; J. A. P. Lewis's service in the volunteer militia; G. Albert's siblings S. Weir, John A., and Theodore C.; John F. Lewis's successful management of the financial panic of 1828 and his entertaining, including fireworks and "ample supplies of groceries, provisions, wine and liquors" on store; the business practices of the import trade; the conversion of Second Street residences into storefronts; the regrettable disposal of family possessions from the China trade, including card receivers, satins, pearl and ivory seals, artificial flowers, tortoiseshell combs, and silk covered boxes; the childhood of Eliza Mower along the Schuylkill River, her clandestine marriage to Lewis, and her death; John F. Lewis's lucky Mexican dollar; and the childhood and young adult years of G. Albert Lewis, including his "spying" at family parties, Christmas memories, sailing excurisons on the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, and work for the Lewis firm., Album also contains numerous captioned and dated graphic and ephemeral materials, including watercolors and drawings by G. Albert Lewis, photographic views of family churches, family portraiture, newspaper clippings, certificates, bills of lading, and business and calling cards. Lewis's works depict family crests and coats of arms; sentimentalized genre scenes representing family lore, including J. A. P. Lewis's immigration to America for love; his childhood haunts, Christmas presents, and play areas; exteriors, interiors, grounds and gardens of the family residences and storefronts, including parlors, front rooms, gates, a weather vane designed as a cavalryman on the Walnut Street stable, dormer window (Second Street residence), store house on Laurel Street, and stores on Front and Walnut street; ground plans of Lewis residences (264 S. Second and Walnut Street); the "Great Tree" (South Second Street property); and Chinese exports and china patterns. Photographs depict family portraits of Johann Andreas Philipp and Anna Maria Lewis, John F. and Eliza Lewis, and G. Albert and Anne C. Lewis; the Lewis cargo ship "Globe," family churches and residences, including the altar of St. John's Lutheran Church, Crailsheim (J.A.P. Lewis's baptismal font) and St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Swedes Church, (Gloria Dei), and St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church (Philadelphia), and the final residence of Eliza Lewis at 1927 Spruce Street; and family artifacts, furniture, and mementoes, including Ludwig's sword and secretary and John F. Lewis's lucky Mexican dollar. Also contains engraved portraits of Frederick the Great and pictorial details by Lewis incorporated at the end of narratives and as frames around portraits., Ephemera includes certificates, bills of lading, and calling cards (including in Chinese) related to the Lewis firms; G. Albert's share certificate in the Philadelphia Museum Company; photomechanical and chromolithographed genre prints; an engraving sample possibly by James Otto Lewis; newspaper clippings, including advertisements and announcement for the Lewis firms, family obituaries, and poems; manuscript "endorsements on notes received, but protested for non-payment" by Weir, Lewis & Co. and family signatures, including that of Eliza Lewis; and textile swatches from Chinese curios, wall paper, and upholstery. Family trees and a chronology of the Lewis firm (until 1828) also form the content., Floral border in watercolor on title page. Border also includes pictorial details showing a sailing ship and Chinese character., Wm. F. Murphy's Sons, Co. Makers stamped on spine., Red leather binding with gold lettering., Dedication: "Dedicated to the Memory of my dear Mother who made the homes of my childhood most lovely and so beautiful!" Surrounded by watercolor frame reading "Haec Olim Meminisse Juvabit Virgo," i.e., "This will help you remember once upon a time.", Gift of Oliver Allen., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Transcription and inventory available at repository., See Sarah Weatherwax, "The Lewis Albums," The Magazine Antiques (August 2006), 116-121., See Oliver H. Allen, "The Lewis Albums," American Heritage 14 (December 1962), 65-80., One of six Lewis Family albums held in the Print Department., Housed in clamshell box., George Albert Lewis, son of Philadelphia China trade merchant John F. Lewis (1791-1858) of John A. Lewis & Co. and Eliza Mower (1788-1885), was a banker, genealogist, and artist descended from Hessian solder and Philadelphia Prothonotary Johann A. P. Lewis [formerly Ludewig]. Lewis studied art with G. W. Holmes, frequently exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Artist's Fund Society, and was a member of several organizations, including the Numismatic & Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, Genealogical Society of Philadelphia, and the Library Company. He married Anne C. Larcombe on July 1, 1851 and with her had two children Alberta (1854-1934) and Hermann (b. 1863) and grandchildren Hildegarde Allen (b. 1885), editor and publisher Frederick Lewis Allen (1890-1954), Barbara Lewis [Shepperd] (b. 1885), Margaret Lewis [Browne] (b. 1886), and George Draper Lewis (b. 1888).
Creator
Lewis, G. Albert, 1829-1915
Date
1900
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.9829.2]
Memories of the home of Grandma Lewis
Title
Memories of the home of Grandma Lewis
Description
Memory album compiled by Lewis containing written narratives, photographs, watercolors, textiles, drawings, prints and ephemera documenting her marriage, early married life, households and residences, and family events and excursions between 1851 and the 1890s. Specific narrative topics include the Lewis's honeymoon to Niagara; the death of their parents the Larcombes and John F. and Eliza Lewis; the birth of grandchildren; the method and style of interior decoration of their residences at Sixteenth and Walnut streets (1851-1855), 325 South Eighteenth Street (1855-1874), and 1834 DeLancey Place (1874-1915); the Civil War, Sanitary Fair, and Centennial Exhibition (1876); their religious life in the First Baptist Church; club meetings of the Lewis children when older and parlor "teas"; recreational activities, including sailing and skating on the Schuylkill River, carriage and horse back rides, excursions to Broad Top Mountain House (Pa.), and visits to their summer residences in Wallingford and the Bryn Mawr Hotel; boarding near Bryn Mawr ("Eachus Place") and the Delaware Water Gap ("Mr. Croasdale"); Anne and G. Albert's European trip (1891); and family pets., Album also contains several captioned and dated graphic and ephemeral materials, including family portraiture, views of residences and summer lodgings, clothing and upholstery scraps, tickets, invitations, calling cards, and watercolors and drawings by G. Albert Lewis. Lewis's works depict sailing trips; interiors and exteriors of their residences, including during the Civil War; home furnishings, including a pier table (Eliza Lewis's); lodgings, sites, and flora from family excursions; family souvenirs, memorabilia, and crests, including a Chinese pipe, John F. Lewis's "Little Chair" as a child, Anne's life membership badge in the Philadelphia Skating club, a family clock (Mrs. John F. Lewis estate), and "Indoor amusements of G.A.L." Other imagery includes photographs of Broad Top Mountain House, Bryn Mawr Hotel, Devon Inn, Eastwick Park, St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church, First Baptist Church, views of European churches, including St. Michael Church of Schwabisch., and the interior (parlor, dining room, library, front rooms) and exterior of the Delancey Street residence. Portraits, predominantly photographs and photographic reproductions, depict G. Albert and Anne C. Lewis (including in the second story front room on Delancey); Alberta and Hermann Lewis and their spouses Frederick B. Allen and Sally Draper Lewis; grandchildren Hidegard, Frederick ("Fritz"), Barbara, George, and Margaret; John F. and Eliza Lewis; Thomas and Anna Larcombe; and family pets. Also contains pictorial details by Lewis incorporated at the end of narratives and as frames around portraits, as well as a memento "To our dear Papa, July 3, 1863" adorned with two, small circular works of handcrafted art, possibly with flower petals (p.80a)., Ephemera includes mementoes from trips, including pressed flowers; tickets to the Sanitary Fair (1864) and Eastwick Park; scraps of ribbons, collars, and clothing worn by Anne as a child, at her wedding, and during her honeymoon; upholstery and fabrics from the China trade and home furnishings; newspaper clippings of marriage announcements, obituaries, and poetry; wedding invitations and after cards; and a University of Pennsylvania graduation program for Hermann Lewis. Manuscript material contained in the scrapbook includes a letter by Anne to her mother during her honeymoon captioned "First 'Lewis' signature of A.C.L" and a letter of introduction from the Department of State for the Lewises., Vignette photograph after a daguerreotype portrait of Anne Lewis as a young woman pasted and set within a watercolor frame on title page, Wm. F. Murphy's Sons, Co. Makers stamped on spine., Red leather binding with gold lettering., Inscribed on front free end paper: Tender regards, old memories, blossom in pages such as these, Voices that speak from heart to heart, When hands and lives lie far apart. The thought of our past years, in me, Doth breed perpetual benediction., Dedication: "These memories I dedicate to my dear husband G. Albert Lewis whose thought inspired the writing of this simple story. Indeed, it would be of little interest without his numerous and varied illustrations, many of which are his own design and handiwork. A number of the photographs are copied of absolutely correct watercolor sketches, made by him; the whole being a mutual work of love, for our dear grand-children.", Photographers include the Langenheims and William H. Rau., Gift of Oliver Allen., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Transcription and inventory available at repository., One of six Lewis Family albums held in the Print Department., See Sarah Weatherwax, "The Lewis Albums," The Magazine Antiques (August 2006), 116-121., See Oliver H. Allen, "The Lewis Albums," American Heritage 14 (December 1962), 65-80., Housed in clamshell box., Anne Cornelia Larcombe Lewis, born in Connecticut, was daughter of Rev. Thomas Larcombe (1791-1861) and Anna S. Larcombe (1794-1872), president of the board of the Baptist Home. She relocated with her family to Philadelphia in 1835 and married George Albert Lewis, a Philadelphia banker, artist, and genealogist descended from a family involved with the China trade on July 1, 1851. During her married life, Lewis resided in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, was active in genealogy, and a member of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society. She and Lewis had two children Alberta (1854-1934) and Hermann (b. 1863) and grandchildren Hildegarde Allen (b. 1885), editor and publisher Frederick Lewis Allen (1890-1954), Barbara Lewis [Shepperd] (b. 1885), Margaret Lewis [Browne] (b. 1886), and George Draper Lewis (b. 1888).
Creator
Lewis, Anne C., 1831-1898
Date
1896
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.9829.1]