Collection documenting the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of American Independence. The Centennial Photographic Company was granted exclusive rights to photograph the World's Fair.
Viewbook containing a folded leave of six titled photographs and a folded leave of titled, narrative texts about the images. Photographs depict "The House in which Gen'l Agnew Died Germantown" showing an exterior view of Grumblethorpe, the house built in 1744 in which British General James Agnew died in 1777; "Swedes Church. Front View" showing the Episcopalian, former Lutheran, church known as Gloria Dei Church, built 1700-1703 at 929 South Water Street; "Old Log Cabin, Richmond & Vienna Sts." showing an 18th-century style dwelling in Fishtown; "The Old Market House, Callowhill & New Market Sts." showing one of the four old market houses, known as Norwich Market, established in 1783 on the 100 block of Callowhill Street; Robert Morris Hotel Phila. Park showing the four-story hotel opposite the race bridge of the Fairmount Water Works that was razed in 1868; and "Ancient Building, First Fish House, Arch St. bel. 4th Sts." showing the 18th-century attached, brick buildings in Loxley Court that purportedly housed fishing implements for the Penn family. Images include grave stones; broadsides; signage; neighborhood dwellers; and partial views of horse-drawn carriages.
Collection of primarily racist social caricatures lampooning the etiquette and conventions of early 19th-century, middle-class Philadelphians, particularly the growing community of free African American persons. Eliciting the heightened racism in the antebellum North, the African American men, women, and children characters are depicted with exaggerated features, wearing boldly-patterned and colored clothes, and speaking in a vernacular to be portrayed and denigrated as illegitimate elite society. Caricatures address courtship, consumerism, society balls, fashion, freemasonry, and the election of Andrew Jackson. Some caricatures also represent the sexism of the era.
Originally published in Philadelphia as a set of fourteen prints; the first eleven were issued in 1828 and 1829 by William Simpson, a proprietor of a "fancy store." Sarah Hart and Son, stationers, published plates 12 and 13 in 1829. The last plate was issued by Sarah Hart alone in 1830. Probably in 1830 Sarah Hart reprinted the entire series. Additional African American caricatures by Clay, "Sketches of Character. At Home. Abroad," "The Dead Cut," "Back to Back," and "Philadelphia Fashions" published between 1829 and 1837 have generally been accepted and are identified as a part of the series., LCP holds entire series. Ten of the fourteen are first editions and four are reprints.
LCP AR [Annual Report] 1967 p. 51-53; 1968 p. 18-20.
Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era. (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 85-100.
Nancy R. Davison, ‘E.W Clay’s Life in Philadelphia: A Moment in Time,’ Imprint: Journal of the American Historical Print Collector’s Society (Autumn 2018), p. 2-29.
Jean Fagen Yellin and John Van Horne, eds. The Abolitionist Sisterhood (Ithaca: Cornell University Press in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1994), p. 218-222.
Jasmine Cobb, Picture freedom: Remaking Black visuality in the 19th century (New York: New York University Press, 2015), p. 148-220.
Bulk of collection was accessioned in 1999. One print (5656.F.39) accessioned in 1893. Several of the prints were acquired and/or accessioned between 1968 and 1971.
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.
Souvenir viewbook containing 12 prints connected by accordion folds and depicting Centennial Exhibition buildings. Titles include U.S. Government Building; Delaware Building; Connecticut Building; Indiana Building; Ohio Building; Pennsylvania Building; New Jersey Building; Arkansas Building; Colorado and Kansas Building; Spanish Building; English Commission Building; and Japanese Dwelling. Majority of the Centennial buildings were built after the designs of Herman Schwartzmann, Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson. The Centennial Exhibition celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art.
Album of photographs, predominately half stereographs, of landscape views of Philadelphia and Bucks County. Images include views of Frankford Creek, Tohickon Creek, Wissahickon Creek, Tacony Creek, Pleasantville, Crescentville, Germantown, Fairmount Park near the water works, and winter scenery. Also contains photographs of Stenton, Woodlands Cemetery, the Desilverwood Estate (Holmesburg), the Burd family monuments at St. Stephen's Church (Philadelphia), the city garden of Joseph R. Evans (329 Pine Street), Atlantic City, and Richmond, Va. Images include trees, creek banks, rocks, waterfalls, dams, bridges, mills, and farm land. Many also include posed figures, including a man, probably one of Moran's artist brothers Edward or Thomas, painting in a ravine and scenes titled "Student at Work"; "Autumn in the Woods - burning leaves"; and "Sit up Sir" showing a man with a dog.
Souvenir viewbook, probably issued during the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, containing fifteen captioned views of prominent sites and landmarks in the city.
Photomechanical reproduction of a mechanical drawing of a cross section of the pumping machinery for the waterworks, including the boiler and reservoirs, which when full were able to hold 17,660 gallons of water. Also includes smaller vignettes in the upper left and right corners showing the elevation and plan of the waterworks. The neo-classical style marble pump house was completed in 1800 after the designs of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, in the tree-lined public square at High (Market) and Broad streets. The city's first waterworks delivered water from the Schuylkill River to subscribers and city hydrants until 1815, when superseded by the Fairmount Waterworks. The pump house was razed in 1827.
Folio volume of panoramic views of businesses on the 200-900 blocks of Chestnut Street and corresponding pages of advertisements. Also contains a preface, which details that inclusion in the directory required subscription to or purchase of the volume; the intention to "issue the Panoramic View annually"; and the publisher's endeavor to correct all lettering errors "upon the publication of the second edition." Volume also includes interspersed full-, half- and, one-third-page advertisements for business subscribers tenanting, as well as not located on Chestnut Street. Publisher issued only the 1851 directory.
Viewbook containing six titled photographs and a folded leave of titled, narrative texts about the images. Photographs depict "Independence Hall" showing the front facade of the building built 1732-1748, including the front courtyard with the Joseph A. Baily statue of George Washington; "Whitby Hall" showing the country dwelling built in 1754 on land in Kingsessing acquired by Philadelphia merchant James Coultas in 1741;" "Friends Alms House, Walnut Bel. Fourth" showing the benevolent institution erected in 1729 and razed in 1841; "Acadamy [sic] of Fine Arts, Chestnut St. Bet. 10th & 11th Sts. Phila." showing the arched entry way to the building erected in 1806 and shortly before it was "torn down in 1870, to make way for Fox's American Theatre; "Rittenhouse Mansion, Arch & Seventh Sts." showing the former residence of astronomer David Rittenhouse built 1786-1787 by master builder Joseph Ogilby; and "St. Peters Church, Fourth & Pine" showing the Episcopal church built 1758-1761 "in the midst of a graveyard." Images also include residents; street lamps; signage; partial views of storefront awnings; and trees and greenery.
Albums of progress photographs of the early construction of City Hall built 1871-1901 on Penn Square after the designs of John McArthur, Jr. Photographs show different stages of the construction of the foundation and lower floor of the building between 1873 and 1875. Includes images of the dirt sub basement; construction materials, equipment, and workers; aerial views of the built foundation; partially completed walls and abutments; and studio views of columns and architectural ornaments. Several of the views include scaffolding; horse-drawn carts; pulleys; piles of construction debris; Pennsylvania Railroad cars on Market Street; and workers and well-dressed men, probably the commissioners, reviewing and posed on or near constructed parts of the building and construction materials. Views also show surrounding cityscape, including the Masonic Temple (Broad and Filbert); United States Mint (1331-1337 Chestnut Street); the Seventh Presbyterian Church (Broad Street above Chestnut Street); Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Depot (13th and Market); La Salle College High School (Filbert and Juniper); Sharpless & Watts, flooring tile (1325 Market Street); the spires of Arch Street Methodist Episcopal Church (s.w. cor. Broad & Arch) and First Baptist Church (n.w. cor. Broad and Arch); and other surrounding businesses (beer hall, wall paper, and furniture) and residences.
Scrapbook containing primarily engraved periodical illustrations issued between circa 1820 and 1852 from American publications, including "Wellman's Literary Miscellany" and "Sartain's Magazine." Illustrations predominantly depict sentimental, religious, and genre views, many after European paintings, and often including children and animals, predominantly dogs.
Album of photographs of aerial and landscape views taken in the park during the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art. Photographs predominately depict views from observation towers at George's Hill and Lemon Hill.
Scrapbook containing primarily engraved gift book and periodical illustrations issued between circa 1832 and 1868 from American and British publications, including "Columbian Lady’s and Gentlemen’s Magazine"; "Godey's Lady's Book"; "Ladies Companion"; "New Mirror"; and "Sartain's Magazine." Illustrations, several engraved by A. L. Dick, predominantly depict sentimental, romantic, religious, genre and allegorical views and often include children and animals. Titles include "The Draught Players"; "The Lovers"; "The Philosopher & His Kite" (showing Benjamin Franklin); "They sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites [sic] for twenty pieces of silver; "Lake See Hoo and Temple of the Thundering Winds from the Vale of Tombs"; "Schuylkill Water Works"; "Luther on Christmas Eve"; "Farmers Nooning," including an African American man farm hand (after 1843 W. S. Mount painting); "Cup-tossing" (reading of tea leaves); "The Opera Box"; and "The Village School." Portrait prints, including an image of Jenny Lind, and a few architectural design prints also encompass the illustrations., Also contains chromolithographs and the illustrated title page from Henry Harbaugh's "Birds of the Bible" (1854) and many tinted lithographs printed by Ackerman from "Reports of Explorations and surveys,...for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean (1855-1861); several photographic reproductions of original paintings showing genre views, landscapes, and marinescapes, including the work of J. S. Fenimore; George C. Lambdin; Edward and Thomas Moran, W. T. Richards, Samuel Sartain, Christian Schussele, N. H. Trotter, and S. B. Waugh; and photographs of a paddle boat near the Fairmount Water Works and views of the Wissahickon. Some pages also include embossed and color vignettes of birds, flower vases, and flowers. Other lithographs and chromolithographs depict sentimental and religious views, including a baby "hatching" from a flower and the T. Sinclair religious tableauxes "Pontius Pilatus" and "Manoah’s Sacrifice"., Probably compiled by Mrs. H. Godley., Title from stamp on the leather spine., Inserts: Envelope inscribed "Mrs. H. Godley, 1725 Vine St." and engraved portraits of "Robert Moffat" and "Girl in a Florentine Costume of A.D. 1500." "Girl" print includes amateur pencil alterations., Various artists, engravers, lithographers, and printers including Ackerman; W. Allan; T. Allom; W. H. Bartlett; W. Bennett; J. Burnet; J. G. Chapman; A. L. Dick; T. Doney; Durand & Co.; J. B. Forrest; A. W. Graham; Charles Heath; J. R. Herbert; J. B. Longacre; W. S. Mount; J. Neale; E. T. Parris; Nicolas Poussin: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Smillie; Rice & Buttre; H. S. Sadd; John Sartain; Eliza Sharp; Thomas Sinclair; and Benjamin Franklin Waitt., Various publishers, including American Sunday-School Union; Henry F. Annears; L.A. Godey; and Hurst, Chance & Co., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Purchase 1986.
Date
[ca. 1832-ca. 1868]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.9152]
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.
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).
Photograph album compiled by Philadelphia photographer Robert Newell containing views by the photographer and his peers, including F. De. B. Richards. Images depict major city landmarks and views of Fairmount Park, including benevolent, educational and financial institutions, historic sites, residences, churches and meetinghouses, bridges, and hotels and taverns. Sites documented include Broad Street (Civil War) Hospital; Foster Home (Twenty-Fourth and Poplar); Germantown Academy; the former bookstore and printing office of William Young (200-204 Chestnut); Landing Avenue during alterations (East bank of Schuylkill); Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (old and new); Carpenters Hall; Independence Hall; Academy of Music; Merchants' Exchange; Girard, Farmers', Mechanics', Pennsylvania, and Fourth National banks; Bartram's, Keene, and Rittenhouse mansions; Woodford residence (Fairmount Park); Washington's residence (Germantown); Womrath property, "where the first 4th of July" was celebrated" (4216 Frankford); Oldest house in Lansdown" (West Fairmount Park); Old Farm house (Broad and Oxford); St. Judes Episcopal church; Fairmount Water Works, and boat houses and ice houses along the Schuylkill; Cedar Hill, Laurel Hill and Woodlands cemeteries; Columbia, Old Callowhill Street, Girard Avenue, and New York Connecting Railroad bridges; Continental, Valley Green, Maple Spring, Markley's and Cole's hotels; and "Punch Bowl" (2100 Broad), "Abbey" (Hunting Park and Wissahickon Aves), Old Buck? (Lancaster Pike) and Old Grey's Ferry taverns.
Photograph album compiled by James B. Nicholson containing predominantly portrait photographs of prominent local and national members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and their families, including men, women, and children. Photographs depict full-length, bust-length, and vignette portraits; group portraiture; and collages. Several male sitters wear the regalia of the Odd Fellows and most sitters are fashionably attired. Group portraiture depicts employees of Pawson and Nicholson in front of the bookbinding shop (139 S. Seventh), and rosters and meetings and excursions of members of the fraternal organization (1870s-1880s), including Warrior Lodge, no. 873. Collages include portraits of the Rulafson family of San Francisco and examples of work from the respected photographic firm Bradley & Rulafson. Also includes images of the photography department and sculpture at the Centennial Exhibition (1876); photographic reproductions of a Sir Walter Scott manuscript donated to the Sanitary Fair (1864), and an Odd Fellow membership certificate and medal; and a John Sartain engraved portrait of "E. Grand Captain General of Pennsylvania" Varhan Smith.
