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- Title
- Germantown National Bank postcards
- Description
- Contains views of bank building constructed in 1868 by J.G. Sidney. Depicts several oblique views of the front facade and side of the bank, along with interior views of the safe deposit department, the offices and the ladies' room., Contains 5 postcards printed in color and 1 printed in black and white., Bank founded in 1814 by a group of businessmen in the house of Dr. George Bensell. Moved into J.G. Sidney's building from its location in the Clarkson-Watson house at 5275-5277 Germantown Avenue., Postcards issued by a few different publishers including Staton Bros. Publishing, Philadelphia and the Detroit Publishing Co., Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Creator
- Brightbill, George M., collector
- Date
- ca. 1910
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Brightbill postcards [Germantown - National Bank - 105]
- Title
- Germantown Bank, Philadelphia, Pa
- Description
- Depicts an oblique view of the Bank of Germantown in a converted colonial home, the Clarkson-Watson House, built 1745-1775 on Germantown Avenue. The bank occupied this building from 1825 to 1868, until it moved to a new lot built by J.G. Sidney at 5500-5506 Germantown Avenue., Dwelling built circa 1745 for Matthew Clarkson, mayor of Philadelphia from 1792 to 1796. Thomas Jefferson and Edmund Randolph stayed here during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The Bank of Germantown occupied the property from 1825 to 1869, around the same time John Fanning Watson, author of Annals of Philadelphia, lived here., Sheet number: 100A01., Divided back. Post marked 1909., Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Creator
- Brightbill, George M., collector
- Date
- ca. 1909
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Brightbill postcards [Germantown - Buildings - 100]
- Title
- The Bank of Germantown Of this building Mr. Watson, the Annalist, thus writes: "It was the residence of Clarkson (City Mayor) now altered on the Bank end. It was the office of Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, and Randolph, attorney Genl. (both, in the fever of 1793). It was still later the residence of John F. Watson, [the annalist], while cashier; and there, in the front second story chamber (North end,) he wrote out in one summer, his Annals of Philadelphia; rising at four [o'clock] and ending at eight [o'clock], A.M."
- Description
- Exterior view of the Bank of Germantown. Built circa 1745, the building housed the bank from 1825 to 1868. Also known as the Clarkson-Watson House, it served as the home of Matthew Clarkson 1780-95 and of John Fanning Watson, the cashier of the bank, 1825-1847. Image includes partial view of adjoining residences., Title and date from Poulson inscription on mount and photograph., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 3, page 75. The scrapbooks contained approximately 120 photographs by Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia commissioned by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., Also included in an annotated album containing twenty photographs by Richards entitled "Pictorial Views of Houses & Places in Germantown yr 1859." (LCP 66037.D.17), Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited.
- Creator
- Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
- Date
- April 1859
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Germantown - N [(3)2526.F.75 (Poulson)]
- Title
- Pictorial views of houses & places in Germantown yr 1859
- Description
- Photograph album commissioned by antiquarian Ferdinand Dreer containing twenty salted paper prints depicting nineteenth century Germantown landmarks. Views include prominent and historic residences, businesses, a school, and a church, predominately on Germantown Avenue. Images accompanied by numbered annotations of brief notes about the history of, significance of, and persons associated with the buildings., Photographs depict the Germantown Mennonite Church (6121 Germantown Avenue) and Samuel Keyser residence (6133 Germantown Avenue); Germantown Academy (110 School House Lane); Cliveden (6401 Germantown Avenue); Congress Hall boarding house (6100 block Germantown Avenue); Leonard Nutz residence (5329 West Penn Street); John Fanning Watson residence (Price Street); Thomas Godfrey Farm (Limekiln Pike at Church Lane); Samuel Morris residence (5442 Germantown Avenue); Roberts Mill (Church Lane at Wingohocking Street); John Smith residence, i.e., Daniel Keyser residence, near the old turnpike toll gate (5800 block Germantown Avenue); Michael Keyser, i.e., John Knorr residence (6100-6106 Germantown Avenue); John Johnson residence used as an Underground Railroad station (6306 Germantown Avenue); Parson Rodney House, i.e., Macknett's Tavern (5900 block Germantown Avenue); Benjamin Engle residence (5938 Germantown Avenue); Christopher Sower residence (5300 Germantown Avenue); Pugh residence, i.e., James De La Plaine residence (5521-5523 Germantown Avenue); Bank of Germantown (5275-5277 Germantown Avenue); Rock House (East Penn Street) ; Michael Billmeyer residence (6505-6507 Germantown Avenue); and Washington Tavern (6200 block Germantown Avenue). Also contains a lithograph portrait of John Kelpius, a founder of Germantown, printed by P.S. Duval & Sons., Paper binding., Title page inscribed: Pictorial views of house & places in Germantown in 1850. Taken for F.J. Dreer., The Johnson House was built 1765-1768 by master builder Jacob Knor at 6306 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. John Johnson resided in the house during the Battle of Germantown. The dwelling sustained damage including a hole in the parlor door caused by a cannon ball and a chipped corner. It served as a station on the Underground Railroad. The Johnson family owned the house until 1908. The Woman's Club of Germantown purchased the house in 1917, and in 1980, gifted the house and its contents to the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust to operate as a house museum. In 2002, the deed of ownership was transferred to the Johnson House Historic Site, Inc., Cliveden is the colonial residence built 1763-1767 by master carpenter Jacob Knor for Philadelphia attorney Benjamin Chew at 6401 Germantown Avenue. It was the site of the turning point in the Battle of Germantown in 1777. The Chew family enslaved people of African descent in the city of Philadelphia and in Germantown during the 18th and 19th centuries. The estate was the Chew family residence until 1972 when it was acquired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation., Fifteen of images duplicated in F. De B. Richards Photograph Collection., Duplicate album with variant annotations entitled "Houses & Places in Germantown in 1859 illustrated by John F. Watson" in the collections of the Germantown Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Charles Willing, 1972., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
- Date
- 1859
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Richards album [66037.D]