Search results

Title: Cotton pressing in Louisiana
Description: Engraving shows the pressing of cotton, which, according to the unnamed author of an accompanying article, represents "one of the most interesting of the various stages of preparation of cotton for the market." After being picked and harvested, the cotton was compressed into bales similar those shown in the left foreground. The press (center) was described as being "supported by a heavy frame of timber" and "about nine feet in depth." As the author explained, the work proceeded as follows: "Into this, the light, the fleecy substance is poured, and the capstan bar being set to work, it is gradually compressed to the required size, the cords are fastened round the bale, and it leaps out ready for transportation." Commenting on the slaves' labor, the author remarked, "In our sketch, a party is busily filling the press, and two stout hands are removing the bales under the direction of the overseer. But the life and soul of the party is at the capstan, in the person of the lively darky [third from right] engaged in extravagant imitations of the overseer, and jeers at the expense of the solemn figure next to him. This mercurial 'culled passion,' a fair specimen of his light-hearted race, by his jokes and high spirits, almost doubles the motive power at the bars. Though apparently solely occupied with attempts upon the facial muscles of his fellow-servants, yet at the exact moment, he will turn a somerset, kick the shins of his next neighbors, like a playful donkey, and run round with the bars, the loudest in singing the monotonous but not unmusical chant by which the black accompany their labor." (p. 236), Illustration in Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, vol. X, no. 15 (April 12, 1856), p. 236., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Creator: Pierce, William J., engraver
Date: [1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Per B 1 5919.F v X n 15 April 12 1856 p 236, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2862

Title: Tobacco plantation
Description: Engraving accompanies the lead article "The History and Mystery of Tobacco." It is set on a tobacco plantation, and shows a large field of tobacco plants, as well as two surrounding buildings. In the foreground, three black men use hoes to break up the soil and pull the grass around the growing plants., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 11, no. 61 (June 1855), p. 8., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Date: [June 1855]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 11 n 61 June 1855 p 8, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2867

Title: Emancipated slaves can take care of themselves
Description: At the left, the illustration depicts a free black man, or a "paid" laborer. He works vigorously with a hoe, and is dressed in a suit and top hat. At the right, a slave, or an "unpaid" laborer, is shown. He also works with a hoe, but unlike his counterpart, he is barely dressed, and looks weak and despondent., Illustration in the American Anti-Slavery Almanac, for 1839 (New York: Published for the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1838), p. 21., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Anti-Slavery Movement Imagery.
Date: [1838]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1838 Ame Ant 16996.D.3 p 21, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2765

Title: Picking cotton
Description: Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." It shows several black field hands picking cotton, and corresponds with the following passage: "The season of cotton picking commences in the latter part of July, and continues without intermission to the Christmas holidays. The work is not heavy, but becomes tedious from its sameness. The field hands are each supplied with a basket and a bag. The basket is left at the head of the 'cotton-rows;' the bag is suspended from the 'picker's' neck by a strap, and is used to hold the cotton as it is taken from the boll. When the bag is filled it is emptied into the basket, and this routine is continued through the day." (p. 455), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 456., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Creator: Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
Date: [January 1854]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 456, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2864

Title: Carrying cotton to the gin
Description: Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." It shows seven African American plantation hands walking with large baskets of cotton on their heads. The men and women walk in a perfect line, leaving three or four paces between them. The illustration corresponds with the following passage, "Among the most characteristic scenes of plantation life is the returning of the hands at nightfall from the field, with their well-filled baskets of cotton upon their heads. Falling unconsciously "into line," the stoutest leading the way, they move along in the dim twilight of a winter day with the quietness of spirits rather than human beings." (p. 455-56), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 457., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Creator: Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
Date: [January 1854]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 457, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2865

Title: Cotton gin -- Ginning cotton
Description: Engraving is one of several accompanying T.B. Thorpe's article "Cotton and its Cultivation." Set in a gin-house, it shows two plantation hands working at a cotton gin. While a man pushes cotton out of the "packing-room" (a loft space) and down a chute, a woman uses a rake-like tool to guide it through the gin. Standing nearby, a woman with a bucket on her head watches the process, and a man peeks into the gin-house through an open window. Two large baskets used for carrying cotton can be seen in the left foreground., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 8, no. 46 (March 1854), p. 459., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
Date: [January 1854]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 8 n 46 March 1854 p 459, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2866

Title: Digging potatoes with modern machinery
Description: Touched up newspaper photograph depicting a portrait of the back of an African American man riding his horse-drawn "Iron Age" potato machine as he harvests a field of potatoes. The man, attired in a brimmed hat, a long-sleeved shirt, overalls, and shoes, sits on the machine and holds the reins to the two horses. The machine is pulled down rows of potato plants. The newly harvested potatoes are visible on the ground., Title from typed note pasted on verso., Printed caption pasted on verso: "Digging Potatoes with Modern Machinery.", Manuscript note on verso: Bateman & Cos Inc., Grenloch, N.J., Gift of Jane Abrams Bender, 1997., 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: March 25, 1928
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - unidentified - Industry [P.9520.51]

Title: Down where the cotton blossoms grow
Description: Postcard depicting a group portrait of African American cotton pickers, predominantly women and children, in a cotton field. Show the workers stopped from their work and posed toward the viewer. One of the women holds a baby. A wooded area is seen in the background., Date inferred from postmark: New Orleans, May 13, 1911, 9AM., Addressed in manuscript to: Miss Ester Wilson, 318 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, Penna. Signed H.F.M., Contains cancelled one-cent stamp printed in green ink and depicting Benjamin Franklin in profile., Printed on verso: Made in U.S.A., Gift of George R. Allen., Divided back., Lipsher Specialty Co. operated 1909-1914 and published views of and around New Orleans.
Date: [ca. 1911]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Non-Pennsylvania [P.2013.65.20]

Title: Sugar cane plantation
Description: Postcard depicting a group portrait of male African American sugarcane workers, including several boys, posed in a sugarcane field. Most of the workers, stand and hold canes, while two boys sit on reaped cane in the foreground. A wooded area is seen in the background., Date inferred from postmark: New Orleans, May 13, 1911, 9AM., Addressed in manuscript to: Mr. John Wilson, 318 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, Penna. Signed H.F.M., Contains cancelled one-cent stamp printed in green ink and depicting Benjamin Franklin in profile., Gift of George R. Allen., Divided back.
Date: [ca. 1911]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Non-Pennsylvania [P.2013.65.19]

Title: Tobacco - Virginia
Description: View showing a tobacco field near a Virginia road. In the foreground, tobacco plants grow. An African American man and woman, possibly agricultural workers, walk near a large, wooden shed in the field. In the left, a car drives down the road towards the viewer., Title from manuscript note on verso., Date inferred from photographic medium and car in the photograph., Gift of Joseph Kelly, 1982., 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.
Creator: Photo Illustrators (Firm)
Date: [ca. 1935]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Photo-Illustrators - Non-Philadelphia - Afro-Americana

Title: Buy the Universal plow. Made at Canton, Ohio
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting two African American men operating a plow and struggling to control two agitated donkeys. One man is seated in the plow and holds reins in his left hand and a lever in his right. He is attired in a tan-colored hat and vest, a blue long-sleeved shirt, and blue and black striped pants. The other man stands in front of the donkeys and holds reins in both hands. He is attired in a white long-sleeved shirt and blue and black checkered pants. One of the donkeys kicks its hind legs up in the air and the other digs its hind legs into the ground. A person on a plow, trees, and a small house are visible in the field behind the scene. Universal Plow Company opreated throughout the 1880s and 1890s. The business was originally based in Canton, Ohio and eventually moved to Wooster, Ohio., Title from item., Series no. 468 printed in bottom right corner on recto., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: A.F. Newcomer, General Eastern and Southern Agent, Harrisburg, PA., Advertising text printed on verso: The Universal Plows, front and rear adjusting. The lightest, strongest and most perfect working plow made. The only practical rear-adjusting plow in the world. No wrench, no trouble, no lost time. All interchangeable in steel or chilled iron complete with all improved attachments. See catalogue., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Universal [P.2017.95.179]

Title: Cotton plantation scene
Description: View of African American men agricultural workers picking cotton. In the foreground, an African American boy, attired in a green hat, a blue shirt, and blue pants, stands in front of a large pile of cotton with cotton in his left hand. In the left is a basket full of cotton. In the right, a young white girl, attired in a pink dress, sits next to the pile of cotton with her right hand shielded over her eyes. In the background, African American men work in the field picking cotton., Title from item., Date inferred from attire of clothes and photographic medium., Purchase 1998., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Date: [ca. 1920]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - work [P.9600.13]

Title: Scenes on a cotton plantation
Description: According to the accompanying commentary (p. 69), these scenes show the Buena Vista plantation in Clarke County, Alabama. As the text suggests, "The four sketches in the centre [i.e., sowing, ploughing, hoeing, and picking] show the principal operations of the cotton culture; and around figure other scenes appropriate to a cotton plantation." Moving clockwise from the upper right, the outer scenes are titled: the cotton gin, the planter and his overseer, prayer meeting, Saturday evening dance, plantation graveyard, the call to labor, and the cotton press. The text describes these scenes as follows: "The cotton-gin; the picturesque cotton-press, to whose long lever the mules are harnessed to create the power which compresses the ginned staple into bales; the morning call, performed upon a cow-horn; the owner and his overseer, figure here; as well as the weekly distribution of rations; the dance which closes the week's labor, and the plantation burying-ground. Here the defunct negroes are buried, a rail-fence being raised above the graves to keep off marauding hogs, calves, etc.", Double-page illustration in Harper's Weekly, vol. XI, no. 527 (February 2, 1867), p. 72., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
Date: [February 1867]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare **Per H 1529.F v XI n 527 February 2 1867 p 72, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2879

Title: On a Virginia turnpike
Description: View of a rural turnpike where a man driving a horse-drawn cart pulls up near a man standing in front of a wooden shed. Two African American agricultural workers, a boy carrying hay and a man carrying a sack, stand on the dirt road with their backs to the viewer and look on at the cart. A church, pastures, and a mountain range are seen in the background., Title from mount., Inscribed: Presentation Picture, 1887, Photographic Society of Philad'a., Manuscript note on verso: Photographed July, 1886. Carbutt Special Plate. Ross 11 inch Rapid Symetrical Lens. F/22 2 Seconds Exposure., The Photographic Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1862, by Charles Guillou, was one of the earliest existing amateur photography clubs in the world. The Society held annual exhibitions where the members competed for best portrait and landscape., Purchase 1991., 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., Bullock was a respected Philadelphia pictorial photographer, a former president of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, and founding member of photography as art movement, Photo-Secession.
Creator: Bullock, John G., 1854-1939, photographer
Date: 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Bullock [P.9352]

Title: [Silas McMinn residence, Lake Idaho?]
Description: Portrait of an African American man on a horse-drawn sulky on a farm. The man, attired in a brimmed hat, a coat, pants, and shoes, holds the reins to the horse. In the background are two log cabins, grazing calves, and men with a hay wagon., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s, exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs often won prizes.
Creator: Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.179]

Title: Picking cotton
Description: Scene showing three African American men and an African American woman as they pick cotton in a large field. In the foreground, the workers, attired in hats, bend over at the waist as they harvest the cotton and place it in bags that they carry. A very young African American girl stands in front of the woman and looks at the viewer. A house is visible in the right background., Title from manuscript note on verso., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the people., Photographer's imprint stamped on verso., Gift of Joseph Kelly, 1982., 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.
Creator: Photo Illustrators (Firm), photographer
Date: [ca. 1935]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Photo-Illustrators-Non-Philadelphia-Afro-Americana

Title: [Men husking corn]
Description: Depicts men agricultural workers, including an African American man, sifting through and husking corn in the middle of a large mound of cobs. In the center, five men and two dogs sit and stand in a large amount of corn. In the left, an African American man, attired in a bowler hat, a white, long-sleeved shirt, a waistcoat, and pants, sits on a wooden crate as he husks corn into a wooden barrel. Another man stands and husks into the same barrel. Three other men bend and stand sorting the corn. Behind the mound of corn is a horse-drawn cart. In the background is a large barn with the doors removed., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibitions. His photographs won prizes.
Creator: Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date: [ca. 1888]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.180]

Title: Oliver Chilled Plow Works
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting a group of African American men and women observing an African American man posing while a cow and donkey pull an -Oliver Chilled Plow in a field. A white dog in the foreground walks into a hollow and fallen tree trunk. The women in the crowd are attired in yellow and blue dresses, a red coat, and white and red headwraps. The men in the crowd are attired in blue, red, green, and yellow vests, jackets, shirts and pants. A white-haired older man in the crowd kneels forward with his hands in his knees. His top hat is visible on the ground in front of him. The man near the plow stands with his right leg crossed in front of his left and his left arm bent toward his chest. He raises his hat with his right hand and bends his head back. He is attired in a white collared shirt, green checkered pants, and black shoes. Visible in the background are two men chasing a goat. Houses, trees, fences, and a steamboat on a body of water are also depicted in the background. On the verso of the trade card is an illustration of an aerial view of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works. The Oliver Chilled Plow Works was founded in Mishawaka, Indiana in 1836 by James Oliver. Shortly after, Oliver began operating from a foundry in South Bend, Indiana where he began manufacturing chilled plows. In 1929, the company merged with the American Seeding Machine Company, Hart-Parr Tractor Company, and Nichols and Shepard Company to form the Oliver Farm Equipment Company., Title from item., Advertising text printed on left panel of verso: Oliver Chilled Plow, 750.000 now in use and more than 90.000 sold for the trade of 1883, a record that cannot be equaled. The Casaday Sulky Plow in spite of the determined opposition of our competitors has taken the very front place in the list of labor saving implements. 20.000 sold for the season of 1883 being more than the combined sales of any three of our competitors. Send for circulars., Advertising text printed on right panel of verso: Oliver Chilled Plow Works. South Bend, Ind., Housed with *Trade cards [*Trade cards - Oliver (P.2017.95.142)], Gift of David Doret.
Date: [1883]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Oliver [P.2017.95.142]

Title: "Dat corn takes a might site a hoe'in"
Description: Depicts an older African American man, attired in torn and worn clothing, exiting through the doorway of his wooden house carrying a hoe. The man, wearing white hair and a white beard and attired in a top hat, a white shirt, a waistcoat, a torn coat, torn pants with patches, and shoes, steps down his front stairs of the dilapidated house. In front of the house is a stool with a basket on top, a broom, a small table with a wooden bushel and a bowl, and a cup rests on the windowsill., Title from manuscript note on verso., Variant of prize winner at the Philadelphia Photographic Society Exhibition 1886., Gift of Elsie Wood Harmon, 1982., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Frances Orlando's "George Bacon Wood, photographer of the 1880's: an introduction to the Wood Collection in the Library Company of Philadelphia." (Master's thesis, Philadelphia College of Art, 1985), p. 41., 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., Wood, a Philadelphia artist, turned to photography in the 1880s exhibiting his work, including genre studies of African Americans, at national and international photography exhibition. His photographs won prizes.
Creator: Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1909, photographer
Date: [ca. 1888]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Wood [P.8743.181]

Title: Henry Simons. Wagon & U.S. national coach works. Philadelphia [graphic] / W.H. Rease N.E. cor 4th. & Chestnut Sts.,i
Description: Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Select link below for a digital image., Lower left corner missing., Advertisement with ornate border containing a series of vignettes displaying several types of wagons, coaches, and carts produced by the manufactory. Vignettes are captioned with details of the products uses and surround a central view of the exterior of the busy "Simons, Coleman & Co. National Wagon Works" factory and office at No. 1109 North Front Street. Vignettes depict: African American plantation workers transporting sugar cane to a barge by a "cane cart"; laborers and settlers hauling materials out West by "road wagon" and "catamaran"; an ambush of U.S. Army soldiers, baggage wagon, and ambulance by Native Americans; and a busy Philadelphia port scene with a disinterested constable overseeing the wharf congested with carts and wagons as docked Henry Simons's factory ships ready for departure. Also contains an allegorical scene with a Northern factory worker and his Southern patron extending each other their hands before the shadowy figure of a factory agent; a large American eagle clutching the American flag; promotional text; and a listing of the factory's several business locations and names of agents. The city's high quality blacksmithship and large local lumber supply made Philadelphia the primary national and international manufacturer of wagons immediately following the Civil War.
Creator: Rease, W. H. lithographer., creator
Date: [ca. 1865]
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W174.htm

Title: North Carolina cotton plantation
Description: Collection depicting scenes on a cotton plantation, probably in North Carolina. Images include African American men and women at work picking cotton, often amongst large piles of cotton; wooden buildings on the plantation grounds; and portraits and candids of the African American agricultural laborers and resident children., Name of provenance from manuscript note on verso of P.8502.13: John H. Gibbons, Jr., b. North Carolina, in Phila. for medical school., Name of photographer from manuscript note on verso of P.8502.13: Dear Jno. -Sorry I did not get to see you before you left Phil. but Harvey came through & I went over to NY with him. So did not get around. Harry Sanders. I call this one of my best shots., Gift of Marjorie G. Battles, 1979., 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.
Creator: Sanders, Harry, photographer
Date: [ca. 1900]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - Sanders [P.8502.1-18]

Title: Frank & his darkies. A wagon load of beets just in from the field
Description: Group portrait depicting African American women agricultural laborers posed in front of a horse-drawn wagon loaded with beets. Three African American men agricultural laborers, including the foreman "Frank," stand beside them and on the cart. The women, most attired in hats, long-sleeved shirts, and full-length skirts, are covered in dirt from the day's work. In the left, another horse is visible., Title from manuscript note written on verso., Date inferred from attire of the sitters., Gift of Tom Nicely, 1990., RVCDC, 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 photos - 5 x 7- unidentified - Non-Philadelphia [P.9297]

Title: Golden Cottolene, N.K. Fairbanks & Co. Chicago
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting a short-haired African American girl picking cotton. Surrounding the image are cotton leaves, buds, and bolls. The girl carries a large, overflowing bale of cotton in the skirt of her apron and stands on her left leg while kicking her right leg outward. Visible in the right corner of the image is a tin bucket of Golden Cottolene. The girl is attired in a red and blue striped collared dress, a yellow striped apron, red socks, and black heeled boots. She is depicted with exaggerated features. Golden Cottolene shortening was was manufactured by N.K. Fairbank & Co., which was based in Chicago during the late 19th century and purchased by American Cotton Oil in 1875. The manufacturing plant in Chicago was closed in 1921., Title from item., Advertising text on verso: Directions for using Fairbank's Cottolene. Health! Purity! Economy! Cottolene, the new and popular health food, is rapidly superseding lard and butter as a cooking fat, being healthier, cleaner and more economical. Use in every place and in the same manner that lard and butter is used in cooking, taking only two-thirds (2/3) of the amount that would be required of the above mentioned articles. If more is used it is wasted. For cake making treat in the same manner as butter, i.e., creaming it with sugar, adding a little salt, for Cottolene contains none. For frying put the Cottolene in a cold pan or kettle allowing the fat to gradually come to a cooking point. This will prevent burning. Cottolene reaches a cooking point without any sputtering or smoking and quicker than lard with the same heat, and therefore care should be taken that it does not become too hot. Beware of imitations. The N.K. Fairbank Co. Chicago, St. Louis, New York, Boston, Philadelphia & Montreal. Recipe for New England Doughnuts. 1 cup sugar. 2 eggs beaten light and mixed with the sugar. 2 teaspoonfuls melted Cottolene. 1/2 cup milk. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1/2 teaspoonful salt. 1 salt-spoonful cinnamon. Flour enough to roll. Add the milk alternately with the flour. Have the kettle three-quarters (3/4) full of Cottolene, hot enough to brown a piece of bread in half a minute, or while you count sixty. Drop in the doughnuts and fry till brown., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - N.K. Fairbanks [P.2017.95.137]

Title: Cottolene
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting a three-quarter length portrait of a smiling African American girl. The girl holds an overflowing bale of cotton in her arms. A picturesque countryside and field of cotton is visible in the background. The girl is attired in a pink and blue striped short sleeved dress and her hair is tied into a braid with a yellow ribbon. She is depicted with exaggerated features. Cottolene shortening was was manufactured by N.K. Fairbank & Co., which was based in Chicago during the late 19th century and purchased by American Cotton Oil in 1875. The manufacturing plant in Chicago was closed in 1921., Title from item., Advertising text on verso: Directions for using Fairbank's Cottolene. Health! Purity! Economy!!! Cottolene, the new and popular Health Food is rapidly superseding lard and butter as a cooking fat being healthier, cleaner and more economical. Use in every place and in the same manner that lard and butter is used in cooking, taking only two-thirds (2/3) of the amount that would be required of the above mentioned articles. If more is used it is wasted. For cake making treat in the same manner as butter, i.e., creaming it with sugar, adding a little salt, for Cottolene contains none. For frying put the Cottolene in a cold pan or kettle allowing the fat to gradually come to a cooking point. This will prevent burning. Cottolene reaches a cooking point without any sputtering or smoking, and quicker than lard with the same heat, and therefore care should be taken that it does not become too hot. Beware of imitations. N.K. Fairbank & Co., Chicago. St. Louis. New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Montreal. Recipe for New England Doughnuts. 1 cup of sugar. 2 eggs beaten light and mixed with the sugar. 2 teaspoonfuls of melted Cottolene. 1/2 cup milk. 2 teaspoonfuls of baking bowder. 1/2 teaspoonful salt. 1 salt-spoonful cinnamon. Flour enough to roll. Add the milk alternately with the flour. Have the kettle three-quarters (3/4) full of Cottolene, hot enough to brown a piece of bread in half a minute, or while you count sixty. Drop in the doughnuts and fry till brown., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - N.K. Fairbanks [P.2017.95.138]

Title: Henry Simons. Wagon & U.S. national coach works. Philadelphia
Description: Advertisement with ornate border containing a series of vignettes displaying several types of wagons, coaches, and carts produced by the manufactory. Vignettes are captioned with details of the products uses and surround a central view of the exterior of the busy "Simons, Coleman & Co. National Wagon Works" factory and office at No. 1109 North Front Street. Vignettes depict: African American plantation workers transporting sugar cane to a barge by a "cane cart"; laborers and settlers hauling materials out West by "road wagon" and "catamaran"; an ambush of U.S. Army soldiers, baggage wagon, and ambulance by Native Americans; and a busy Philadelphia port scene with a disinterested constable overseeing the wharf congested with carts and wagons as docked Henry Simons's factory ships ready for departure. Also contains an allegorical scene with a Northern factory worker and his Southern patron extending each other their hands before the shadowy figure of a factory agent; a large American eagle clutching the American flag; promotional text; and a listing of the factory's several business locations and names of agents. The city's high quality blacksmithship and large local lumber supply made Philadelphia the primary national and international manufacturer of wagons immediately following the Civil War., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 351, Lower left corner missing., Rease, a prominent mid-19th century Philadelphia trade card lithographer known to highlight details of human interest in his advertisements, partnered with Francis Schell in the 1850s, and eventually owned his own press until around 1872.
Creator: Rease, W. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1865]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W174 [P.2143]

Title: [Charles J. Webb Company float during a parade along a Philadelphia street]
Description: View of the float for Charles J. Webb Co., Philadelphia woolen and cotton yarn dealer. Bordered by a log fence and adorned with cotton plants and two small American flags, the float carries four live sheep and several costumed passengers including: three African American men attired as cotton pickers; a white man attired as a colonial lady near her spinning wheel; and a white boy attired as a colonial sheepherder holding his crook. Partial view of preceding float is visible with a white man attired in colonial garb. A large, stone building lines the street., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Purchase 1989., RVCDC, 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1920]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - unidentified - processions [P.9260.638]

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: Heroes of the colored race
Description: Print commemorating men prominent in and representative of the advancement of African American civil rights. Depicts a central vignette of bust-length portraits of ex-Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce of Mississippi, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and ex-Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi surrounded by four scenes of pre- and post-Civil War African American life. Includes two titled scenes, "Receiving the News of the Emancipation" depicting an older African American man, two women, and children celebrating, and "Studying the Lesson" depicting an African American man teacher instructing a classroom of children. Adorning the borders of the central vignette are a portrait of John Brown flanked by a horn of plenty and school books, and an eagle holding American flags embellished with portraits of Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, and Ulysses S. Grant. Other scenes depict enslaved African American men and women picking cotton and African American Civil War soldiers fighting a battle. Includes corner portraits of African American legislators John R. Lynch of Mississippi, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina, Robert Smalls of South Carolina, and Charles E. Nash of Louisiana., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1975, p. 60-61., Gift of Gordon Colket, 1975., Reaccessioned as P.9615., 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: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [8140.F]

Title: Afro-American historical family record
Description: Blank African American genealogical certificate containing a family tree surrounded by portraits of the first twenty-four U.S. presidents; portraits of prominent African American men and women religious, political, and educational leaders; and eleven vignettes contrasting life in the South of the enslaved versus the free. African American portraits include Frederick Douglass flanked by Washington and Lincoln; Judson W. Lyons, Register of the Treasury; Miss Lucy C. Laney, Founder of the Haines Institute; Booker T. Washington; H.M. Turner, Bishop of the A.M.E. Church; T. Thomas Fortune, editor New York Age; Hon. John M. Langston, diplomat; Madam Sissiretta Jones, performer and singer; Miss Hallie Q. Brown, educator and African American women's rights activist; Prof. Mary V. Cook, Principal of the State University, Louisville, KY; Miss Ida B. Wells, editor and author; Hon. John R. Lynch, U.S. Paymaster and ex-Congressman; Dr. Henry Fitzbutler, founder of the Louisville National Medical College; and L.H. Holsey, Bishop of the C.M.E. Church. Vignettes depicting slavery include the last auction of enslaved people in Savannah; enslaved cotton pickers working the field; enslaved people dancing and playing instruments "as children were taught in the dark days of slavery"; and an enslaved family in front of their “hut.” Contrasting post-emancipation scenes include a view of Tuskegee Institute; a view of "progressive farming as taught at Tuskegee Institute"; a group portrait in front of a "school house erected by a Tuskegee graduate"; the Victorian house of R.R. Church, a free man; and Spanish-American War battle scenes of African American regiments assisting the Rough Riders, including at San Juan Hill. Also contains the white eye of Providence below the title., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1899, by J.M. Vickroy, Terre Haute, Ind., Printed on recto: Branch Office Terre Haute, Ind., Purchase 2002., 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., Vickroy, a prominent Indiana fine arts publisher, specialized in genealogical and fraternal order certificates.
Date: 1899
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - African American Heroes [P.2002.16]

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