Search results

Title: The terrible conflagration at Ninth and Washington Streets, Philadelphia. On the morning of Wednesday February 8th 1865. [graphic].
Description: Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Reaccessioned as P.2215., Select link below to view a digital image., Historical Society of Pennsylvania:
Date: 1865.
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W397.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W397 [6549.F]

Title: View of the ruins caused by the great fire northeast corner of Sixth and Market st. which began on the night of Weds. April 30, 1856 - From the northwest
Description: Shows burnt ruins and fire debris lining Sixth Street above Market from the fire begun in the rag and paper warehouse of Jessup & Moore on North Street below Arch. Includes a line of men standing on debris and Independence Hall in the background. The fire razed forty-four buildings, which caused a loss of half of a million dollars., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on accompanying label., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 5, page 77. The scrapbooks contained photographs of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia collected by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., McClees 1856-5., See clippings in Poulson scrapbook "Illustrations of Philadelphia," vol. 5, p .21., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., McClees, a prominent Philadelphia photographer and daguerreotypist, produced some of the earliest paper photographic views of Philadelphia between 1853 and 1859.
Creator: M'Clees, Jas. E. (James E.), photographer
Date: 1856
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - McClees - Fires and firefighting [(5)2526.F.9a]

Title: Independence Hall or State House, from the N.E. across the ruins made by the great fire N.W. corner of Chestnut & Fifth St
Description: View looking northeast showing the State House built 1732-1748 after the designs of Andrew Hamilton and Edmund Woolley at 520 Chestnut Street. In the foreground, a partial view of the fire ruins from the expansive fire of the Artisan Building near Fourth and Chestnut streets on April 11th, 1856 is visible. Shows the exposed side of a damaged building adorned with broadsides., Title from transcribed scrapbook inscription., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Probably originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 5, page 30. The scrapbooks contained photographs of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia collected by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., Reproduced in Kenneth Finkel's Nineteenth century photography in Philadelphia (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1980), entry #76., McClees, a prominent Philadelphia photographer and daguerreotypist, produced some of the earliest paper photographic views of Philadelphia between 1853 and 1859.
Creator: M'Clees, Jas. E. (James E.), photographer
Date: Spring 1856
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - McClees - Government Buildings [8339.F.31]

Title: [Election night mob]
Description: Scene depicts an incident that occurred in Philadelphia (the city proper and Moyamensing) on Election night, October 11, 1849. The incident began when a group of white boys and men dragged a flaming furniture car through the area around St. Mary Street, a neighborhood inhabited primarily by blacks. As the car travelled along, a shot was fired, and a cry arose that a white man had been shot. Having heard this, the mob headed toward the California house at Sixth and St. Mary, which was kept by a black man who was rumored to have a white wife. A riot ensued, and the California house was destroyed in a fire that claimed many other buildings and numerous lives., Frontispiece for Life and Adventures of Charles Anderson Chester: the notorious leader of the Philadelphia "killers." (Philadelphia: Printed for the publishers, 1850, c1849)., Accompanied by the following caption: "A cry at once arose that a white man was shot, and the attention of the mob was directed to the California House, at the corner of Sixth and St. Mary street.", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Resistance.
Date: [1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1850 Lif 76423.O (Mrs SM Brenner) frontispiece, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2780

Title: [Man among fire ruins of a building]
Description: Glass negative showing a man walking through the ruins of a building. Two tall poles and the outer wall still stand among the rubble. The ruins were likely from a fire at 721-723 Arch Street that also damaged Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' property at 715-719 Arch Street., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: ca. 1900
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [*P.9895.8.11]

Title: [Fire ruins of a building]
Description: Glass negative showing a view of a ruined building. A few tall columns and an outer wall still stand among the rubble. The ruins were likely from a fire at 721-723 Arch Street that also damaged Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' property at 715-719 Arch Street., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: ca. 1900
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [*P.9895.8.12]

Title: The terrible conflagration at Ninth and Washington Streets, Philadelphia On the morning of Wednesday February 8th 1865
Description: Disaster print showing the scene at the "disastrous conflagration commenced in the storage yard [of Blackburn & Co.] at Ninth & Washington Street" in the early morning hours of February 8, 1865. In the foreground, displaced and panicked residents of all ages attired in their night clothes, many holding their few possessions, run down and gather on the snowy streets. Amongst the commotion, police officers assist residents with their possessions (trunks, bedding, and cookware) and direct firefighters toward the blaze and burnt ruins of and surrounding the coal yard. The firefighters transport a ladder, hoses, and hose carriage toward the burning buildings as other volunteers rush to smother a man on fire and comfort a fleeing girl. Others depicted at the scene include two men laying an unconscious man attired in a nightshirt on the ground; a man and woman clutching their children to their chests; and a woman falling and dropping her baby in her flight as a dog runs past them. In the background, a small number of survivors and firefighters carrying victims, run down the 1100 block of Ninth Street that is lined with burning and destroyed buildings. Across from the coal yard, presumably the proprietor, James McManus, holds a bundle, and prepares to exit the doorway of the "Lager Beer Saloon" on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Ninth Street. Furniture covers the sidewalk in front of his establishment, the upper floors visibly on fire., Also contains several lines of text explicating the economic and human cost of the fire, including "loss of property" at "$400, 000," the "property destroyed" at about "one hundred structures," and the "List of Dead and Missing - Mrs. Barbara Ware, aged 43 years. Miss Annie Ware, 23 years._Emma Ware, 20 year._Helen Ware, 13 years._Isabella Ware, 4 years._Rebecca Ware._Albert Ware, 17 years._Clayton Ware, 10 years._The Scott Family is missing._Samuel McMenamin Fleetwood". A barrel of coal oil ignited through arson stored at Blackburn & Co. started the blaze shortly after 2 A.M. The fire destroyed the coal yard, which then caused a stream of burning oil to flow down Washington Avenue and Ninth Street that spread the fire to neighboring blocks of Federal and Ellsworth streets., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 746, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Reaccessioned as P.2215., Historical Society of Pennsylvania:, Fire described in the Philadelphia Inquirer, February 9, 1865, p. 8.
Date: 1865
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W397 [6549.F]

Title: Destruction by fire of Pennsylvania Hall. On the night of the 17th May, 1838. [graphic].
Description: Artist and publication information supplied by Wainwright., Exterior view of Pennsylvania Hall engulfed in flames. A large crowd looks on. Fire fighters spray water on an adjoining building. Pennsylvania Hall was constructed 1837-1838 at Sixth and Haines Streets in Philadelphia as a meeting place for local abolitionist groups. Dedication ceremonies began on May 14, 1838 and continued over several days in a climate of growing hostility. On the night of May 17, 1838 a mob stormed the Hall and set it on fire. Fire companies refused to fight the blaze, and the building was completely destroyed. Bowen issued this print commemorating the event within a few days of the fire., Gift of Mrs. S. Marguerite Brenner.
Creator: Wild, J. C. (John Caspar), ca. 1804-1846, artist., creator
Date: [1838]
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W094.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W94 [P.9057.27]

Title: Broad Street Independant [sic] Church, Philadelphia
Description: Exterior view of the First Independent Church, later renamed Chambers Presbyterian Church, built 1831 at the northeast corner of Broad and Sansom streets. Also shows a partial view of an adjacent building and pedestrian traffic. Pedestrians include a couple with a child and two men greeting one another. Also contains amateur ink-drawn and hand-colored modifications. Retouches show fire hoses in front of the buildings leading to firefighters using a hand-pumper to fight a blaze in the background. Some pedestrian figures also altered with firefigher hats and capes. The church, altered in 1853 to include a front portico, housed the independent congregation of Rev. John Chambers. Congregation admitted to the Presbytery in 1873., Inscribed on recto: S.A. Jackson; see p. 81., Title annotated with a slash through the "a" in "Independant.", Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 64, Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 4, page 85. The scrapbooks contained photographs of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia collected by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape.
Creator: Town, E.
Date: [ca. 1850]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *BW - Churches and meetinghouses [(4)2526.F.85]

Title: [Ruins of William C. Patterson & Co.'s bonded warehouse, South Front and Lombard Streets, Philadelphia]
Description: Rooftop view looking east showing men standing on rubble and ruins, formerly the bonded warehouse complex of William C. Patterson & Co. built in 1854 at Front and Lombard Streets, after a fire on August 4, 1869 destroyed thousands of barrels of whiskey stored there. Intact row houses facing Penn Street are visible in the background, including the rear of Denison, Kelly & Co. at 424 South Delaware Avenue (i.e. 425 South Penn Street). The bare masts of a ship on the Delaware River are also visible in the right background., Title supplied by cataloger., Advertisement printed on verso: Richmond & Co. first-class furniture, warerooms, 45 South Second St., Philadelphia., Yellow mount with rounded corners., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Date: [ca. 1869]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Fires and firefighting [P.9742]

Title: 1227-1229 Market St. after the great fire at Hunt, Wilkinson + Co's 1212-19 Market St., [Philadelphia, PA]
Description: Glass negative showing a view of a collapsed building at 1227 Market Street. A building with a sign reading "1229 Freihofer's Central Branch" stands with broken windows to the left. A sign reading "D.C. Humphrys Co. Signs, 13 N. 13th St." rest on top of the rubble., Originally housed in negative box inscribed “Bought 12/27, 1899.”, Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: October 25, 1901
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [*P.2013.13.558]

Title: Ruins of St. Augustines Church North 4th Street Phila. Destroyed by a mob on the evening of the 8th of May 1844. [graphic] / L.F.
Description: Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Select link below to view a digital image.
Date: 1844.
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W322.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W322 [P.2182]

Title: In commemoration of the great parade of the Philadelphia Fire Department October 16th 1865 [graphic] : Dedicated to the Philadelphia firemen and their visiting brethren / on stone by Jas. Queen; designd. by Schell; P.S. Duval & Son lith. Philada.
Description: Copyrighted by Barclay & Co., Commemorative print containing a portrait of Chief Engineer David M. Lyle; three vignettes including a view of the Citizens Volunteer Hospital, a horse drawn steam engine, and fire fighters battling a blaze; and a list of fire companies who participated in the parade.
Creator: Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist. P.S. Duval & Son, lithographer., creator
Date: c1865.
Location: http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W181.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W181 [P.2272]

Title: Destruction by fire of Pennsylvania Hall. On the night of the 17th May, 1838
Description: Exterior view of Pennsylvania Hall engulfed in flames. A large crowd looks on. Fire fighters spray water on an adjoining building. Pennsylvania Hall was constructed 1837-1838 at Sixth and Haines Streets in Philadelphia as a meeting place for local abolitionist groups. Dedication ceremonies began on May 14, 1838 and continued over several days in a climate of growing hostility. On the night of May 17, 1838, a mob stormed the Hall and set it on fire. Fire companies refused to fight the blaze, and the building was completely destroyed. Bowen issued this print commemorating the event within a few days of the fire., Title from item., Artist and publication information supplied by Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 179, Gift of Mrs. S. Marguerite Brenner, 1984., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Wild, J. C. (John Caspar), approximately 1804-1846, artist
Date: [1838]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W94 [P.9057.27]

Title: United Firemen's Insurance Company, Philadelphia. Office no. 723 Arch Street Insure buildings household furniture & merchandise generally from loss by fire. C.B. Andress prest. W.A. Rolin tresr. W.H. Fagen secy
Description: Advertisement containing a firefighting scene to promote the insurance company chartered April 2, 1860 by members of old volunteer fire departments. Shows several volunteer companies of firefighters racing past Independence Hall to a fire on the south side of Chestnut Street. In the foreground, a police officer waves to volunteers commandeering a hose carriage and horse-drawn steam engine that is chased by a dog. The hose truck is attached to a fire hydrant. In the distance, spectators run toward the fire where other firefighters use a steam engine to battle the flames., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 773, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Society Collection - Posters & Broadsides - Advertisements - Miscellaneous Folder 2 - United
Creator: Boell, William
Date: [ca. 1866]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Society Collection - Posters & Broadsides - Advertisements - Miscellaneous Folder 2 - United

Title: The great conflagration in Philadelphia on Tuesday July 9th 1850 Terrific explosion of saltpetre [sic] in Water Street. Houses destroyed by the fire 500 _ Killed 57_Wounded 115_ Loss of property over one million of dollars
Description: Disaster scene showing the commotion in front of the partially destroyed stores of John Brock & Co., and Gordon and Berger at 39 (i.e., 100 block) North Water Street. People hold a crowd back as fire fighters attend to the collapsing building spewing a cloud of smoke. A family, including a mother and child, flee past fire fighters rushing to a fallen comrade as debris falls down upon them. Also shows a man kneeling near the Vine Street Wharf as another stands in the center of the view with his arms up in the air. The explosion emanated from a fire started by the friction of a hoisting-machine igniting a large store of gunpowder and saltpeter in the Brock, and Gordon and Berger building. The blaze that spread about one square mile between Front and Callowhill streets destroyed actually about 367 houses and stores. Several people were blown into the Delaware River and residents evacuated as a result of the explosion., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 329, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bb 83 P 544, Rosenberg, a landscape, portrait, and figures painter, worked in New York and Philadelphia during the 1850s and 1860s.
Creator: Rosenberg, Charles G., artist
Date: c1850
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Bb 83 P 544

Title: Dr. Jayne's Building, Carter's Alley, March 5th 1872
Description: Views looking east, one from Third Street, at the rear elevation of the fire-ravaged Jayne building with ice hanging from its exterior. One of the images includes a partial view of the cast iron front of 117 South Third Street in the foreground. Dr. David Jayne, a chemist and Philadelphia manufacturer of patent medicines, moved into an eight story building at 84-86 Chestnut Street (i.e., 242-244 Chestnut Street), between 2nd and 3rd Streets in 1850, after it was completed after designs by William J. Johnston and Thomas Ustick Walter. His business occupied the building until his death in 1866. It burned on March 5, 1872., Titles and photographer's imprint from manuscript notes on versos., Yellow mounts with rounded corners., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Bell began his photographic career in 1848 working for his brother-in-law's daguerreotype studio in Philadelphia and thereafter was associated with many commercial studios as partner or sole proprietor. He served as the chief photographer for the U.S. Army Medical Museum in 1865 and replaced Timothy O'Sullivan on George M. Wheeler's survey of the territories west of the 100th meridian in 1872. He returned to Philadelphia, went into business with his future son-in-law William Rau in 1875, and was active in the photography community until his death in 1910.
Creator: Bell, William, 1830-1910, photographer
Date: March 5, 1872
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Bell - Fire Ruins [8281.F.1-2]

Title: 715-17-19 Arch Street after fire of 2/23/1900
Description: Glass negative showing the five-story building at 715-719 Arch Street owned by Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris with damage to the upper stories from a fire. Telephone wires run between the building and the shorter building to the left. The fire started on February 23, 1900 at 721-723 Arch Street and spread to the buildings on either side., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: March 24, 1900
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [*P.9895.8.13]

Title: 715-17-19 Arch Street after fire of 2/23/1900
Description: Glass negative showing the five-story building at 715-719 Arch Street owned by Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris with damage to the upper stories from a fire. Telephone wires run between the building and the shorter building to the left. The fire started on February 23, 1900 at 721-723 Arch Street and spread to the buildings on either side., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: March 24, 1900
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [*P.9895.8.14]

Title: [Fire] Ruins of 715-19 Arch St. from Garner's window, [possibly] 710 Arch, [Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The damaged buildings on either side are visible, and an undamaged building is visible behind the ruins in the background. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Time: A.M., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.821]

Title: [Ruins of 715-19 Arch St. from Garner's window. Possibly 710 Arch, Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The damaged buildings on either side are visible, and an undamaged building is visible behind the ruins in the background. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Same as last., Time: A.M., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.822]

Title: Front of father's building 715-719 Arch St., the morning of the fire, [Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Photographer remarks: Taken with Geo. N. Latham's camera. Overtimed., Time: A.M., Light: No sun., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.815]

Title: [Fire] Ruins of 715-19 Arch St. from [George S.] Harris [& Sons, lithographers] 2nd story, [Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Time: A.M., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.817]

Title: [Fire] Ruins of 715-19 Arch. From a window of [George S.] Harris [& Sons, lithographers] 2nd story, [Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Time: A.M., Farther E. than last., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.819]

Title: [Ruins of 715-19 Arch. From a window of (George S.) Harris' (& Sons, lithographers) 2nd story, Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' severely damaged building at 715-719 Arch Street. The pillars of the front facade stand. Piles of rubble lay in front of the ruins. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Same as 819., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.820]

Title: Ruins of the National Theatre, s.e. cor. of Chestnut and Ninth St
Description: Watercolor showing a view of the ruins of the National Theatre built in 1837 at 824-836 Chestnut Street, which was razed by fire on July 5, 1854. Shows partial fragments of the brick walls left standing. A broadside or poster is pasted on a fragment of the brick wall in the center. Bricks and debris are visible on the ground. Partial view of unburnt adjacent building in the left and in the background. The fire also destroyed the neighboring Philadelphia Museum known as the Chinese Museum built circa 1836-1838 after the designs of Isaac Holden at Ninth and Sansom Streets. The museum served as an exhibition space including the display of Nathan Dunn's Chinese artifact collection, and as a concert, public meeting, and lecture space., Title and date from manuscript note on accompanying mount., Manuscript on the note reads "R.H. Wells" but is likely mistaken and probably should read "C.H. Wells" who created many sketches for Charles A. Poulson., Originally part of Poulson scrapbook of illustrations of Philadelphia.
Creator: Wells, C.H., (Charles H.), approximately 1832-1884, artist
Date: March 1857
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *drawings & watercolors - Wells [P.8756.11]

Title: Good Intent Hose, Hook & Ladder Company of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company certificate containing a large central vignette of fire fighters with fire fighting vehicles in front of the State House in Philadelphia surrounded by six smaller vignettes depicting the company's three fire stations (dating 1804, 1848, and 1860); fire fighters battling blazes at T. Morris Perot's drug store (located on 600 block of Market Street, burned December 3, 1868) and at a block of rowhouses; and fire engines. Different era company firemen in uniform stand to either side of the central scene. At the top an eagle holds an empty oval frame and a bundle of fire fighting equipment including ladders, axes, and a bullhorn., Issued to Thaddeus L.Butcher [who] was duly elected a member...April 5th, 1859. Signed by W.B.R. Selly, president, and Frank Gallen, secretary., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 318/319, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen C. Duval (P.S. Duval's son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval's retirement in 1869 until 1874., Gift of Maxwell Whiteman., Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphiana - Fire Companies. FLP copy contains portrait photograph.
Date: ca. 1870
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Certificates - Fires and fire fighting [6532.F]

Title: Good Will Fire Company of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters extinguishing a blaze at the Union League of Philadelphia (burned September 7, 1866); the Good Will fire station; and a horse-drawn fire engine. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hat, a ladder, an axe, and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. Pictorial elements are divided by a twisting fire hose. A company ambulance resting upon two intertwining American flags appears above the text., Not in Wainwright., Issued to William H. Urian on October 12, 1868. Signed by Lewis B. Heins, president, and John M'Cullough, secretary., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 319, Gift of Maxwell Whiteman., Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphiana - Fire Companies. FLP copy tinted with two stones.
Creator: Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
Date: ca. 1867
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Fires and fire fighting [6526.F]

Title: Washington Hose Company of Philadelphia [certificate]
Description: Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters arriving at a fire at J.F. [i.e. J.E.] Caldwell & Company's store at 902 Chestnut Street (burned January 14, 1869); the company fire station on Lombard Street, east of 11th Street; and fire fighters pulling a fire engine past University of Pennsylvania buildings on 9th Street. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, a ladder, an axe, a bullhorn and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. A small oval photographic portrait of a fireman is pasted above the text., Not in Wainwright., Issued to William H. Taylor on January 6, 1871. Signed by David B. Baker, president, and Joseph J. Ryan, secretary., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 820/821, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval's son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval's retirement in 1869 until 1874., Gift of Maxwell Whiteman.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., lithographer
Date: ca. 1870
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelpia certificates - Fires and fire fighting [6530.F]

Title: Washington Hose Company of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters arriving at a fire at J.F. [i.e. J.E.] Caldwell & Company's store at 902 Chestnut Street (burned January 14, 1869); the company fire station on Lombard Street, east of 11th Street; and fire fighters pulling a fire engine past University of Pennsylvania buildings on 9th Street. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, a ladder, an axe, a bullhorn and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. A small oval portrait of George Washington adorns the top., Not in Wainwright., Issued to William G. Myers on April 6, 1871. Signed by David B. Baker, president, and [Joseph J. Ryan], secretary., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 820/821, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval's son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval's retirement in 1869 until 1874.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., lithographer
Date: ca. 1870
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Certificates - Fires and fire fighting [P.9303.11]

Title: Mechanic Fire Engine Company
Description: Fire company certificate containing five vignettes: "The Old Engine House"; "View of Steamer" illustrating a steam-powered fire engine; "Race By Moonlight" depicting two groups of fire fighters pulling fire equipment racing down a city street; the new fire house located on Brown Street, east of 15th Street; and "Burning of Maguire's Mill" depicting fire fighters extinguishing a blaze at Maguire's planing mill on Ridge Road (burned October 12, 1870). Additional decorative elements include an eagle grasping a bundle of fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, ladders, and an axe; and two company fire hats., Not in Wainwright., Issued to John A. Supplee on April 6, 1871. Signed by Daniel R. Erdmann, president, and Edwin J. Cress, secretary., Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval's son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval's retirement in 1869 until 1874., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 464
Date: ca. 1871
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **Philadelphia Certificates - Fires and fire fighting [P.9303.12]

Title: [Ruins of the Hall]
Description: Depicts the burnt ruin of the abolitionist meeting place at Sixth and Haines Streets in Philadelphia. Several white men and women pedestrians walk on the sidewalk. The hall was erected in 1838 as an arena for "free discussion." On May 17, 1838, after 3 days of interracial dedication ceremonies and services, hostile mobs set the hall on fire. The ruin continued to stand until the Odd Fellows Society built a hall on the lot in 1846., Title from P. Lee Phillip's, "A Descriptive list of maps and views of Philadelphia in the Library of Congress, 1683-1865" (Philadelphia: Geographical Society of Philadelphia, 1926), p. 49., Originally published in: [Samuel Webb's], History of Pennsylvania Hall. (Philadelphia: Printed by Merrihew and Gun, 1838). Last page contains advertisement for a limited supply of larger frameable versions of the plate to be sold at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 29 N. 9th Street, in Philadelphia., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of engravings related to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Gilbert, Reuben S., engraver
Date: [1838]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr-8x10-Associations-Pennsylvania Hall [(6)1322.F.98c]

Title: [Destruction of the hall]
Description: Depicts a street scene with the abolitionist meeting place, Pennsylvania Hall, engulfed in flames at Sixth and Haines Streets in Philadelphia. Crowds, including a group of drunken men and other revelers, look on as several fire companies using handpumps hose the adjoining spared building. The hall, erected in 1838 as an arena for "free discussion," was set on fire by a mob of hostile citizens who had witnessed 3 days of interracial dedication ceremonies and services. For disputed reasons, the fire companies did not attempt to extinguish the burning hall. The building was razed and never rebuilt., Title from: [Samuel Webb's], "History of Pennsylvania Hall," p. 136., Manuscript note on verso: Destroyed by a mob by fire on the night of 17th May 1838., Originally published in: Samuel Webb's History of Pennsylvania Hall. (Philadelphia: Printed by Merrihew and Gun, 1838). (Am 1838 Hist Pa Hall). Last page contains advertisement for a limited supply of larger frameable versions of the print to be sold at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 29 N. 9th Street, in Philadelphia., LCP exhibition catalogue: Negro History #101., Accessioned 1979., 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 the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.LCP exhibit catalogue: Negro History #101., Sartain, a member of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and a premier 19th century Philadelphia engraver, often instilled his work with his reformist beliefs.
Creator: Sartain, John, 1808-1897, engraver
Date: [1838]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department PhPr - 8x10 - Events - Fires [P.2283.2]

Title: Reliance Steam Fire Engine Company of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company certificate containing five vignettes showing the company firehouse and engines, and firefighting scenes bordering text framed as a badge. Vignettes depict firefighters gathered around a hand-pump, and a steam engine, at their stations near New and Second streets; firefighters racing an engine past the Public Ledger Building (built 1866-1867) and Independence Hall en route to a fire; and firefighters using a steam engine to battle a fire aboard a sailing vessel, and a hand pump to battle a fire at buildings opposite piers at the Delaware River. Also contains above the vignettes two American flags draped over a pole; a panoramic view of cityscape; an empty framed oval, probably to be used for a photographic portrait of the fire fighter member; two oval frames surrounding the company's institution and incorporation date, 1786 and 1848 respectively; and the company motto "We Persevere to Conquer." Company originally established by Quakers., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 636, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc 834 R 279, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval’s son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval’s retirement in 1869 until 1874., Mifflin fund, November 12, 1959.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Bc 834 R 279

Title: Good Will Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company of Philadelphia [membership certificate]
Description: Fire company certificate containing five vignettes bordered by patriotic and firefighting iconography. Vignettes depict the Fairmount Waterworks, including boys fishing on the canal lock; a circular industrial building, possibly the Spring Garden Water Works; company volunteers rushing hand pumps through Fairmount past Reservoir Hill; the station dog sleeping near the company steam engine in front of the firehouse on the 2200 block of Wood Street; and volunteers, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, fighting the fire at a large city building. Iconography includes helmets with the company number "25," fire hoses, trumpets, and belts as well as the American eagle holding the U.S. shield and flanked by flags over the company motto "Our Motto is Our Name, Always Ready for Public Good." Also contains the company institution and incorporation dates (1834 and 1851, respectively)., Signed Quintin Todd, Secy., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 320, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Fire Companies - Good Will Hose and Steam, P.S. Duval & Son was a core partnership between Peter S. Duval and his son Stephen that operated under various names and incarnations between 1857-1869. The firm name P.S. Duval, Son & Co. was cited in city directories 1868-1869.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1868]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Fire Companies - Good Will Hose and Steam

Title: Washington Fire Company of Frankford
Description: Fire company certificate containing vignettes depicting fire fighters surrounded by spectators, battling the July 12, 1866 fire at the "Tackawana" (i.e., Tacony) Print Works in Frankford; a steam engine parked in the company fire station on Frankford Avenue between Sellers and Oxford streets; and fire fighters rushing a horse-drawn steam engine past a church. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, a ladder, an axe, a trumpet and other tools are drawn bundled together to form decorative elements on both sides. A small oval portrait of George Washington adorns an arch at the top. An American eagle rests on top of the portrait and clutches an American flag that is intertwined over the arch that is printed "First in War. First in Peace. First in the Hearts of His Country Men." Also contains the company institution date - 1793. Company was incorporated in 1846 (date visible on the station house)., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 819, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Fire Companies - Washington, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval’s son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval’s retirement in 1869 until 1874.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Fire Companies - Washington

Title: Marion Hose Company of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company certificate containing a central view, vignettes, and firefighting iconography. Central view shows the company's fire station at Queen Street below Sixth Street. Two men and a dog sit in front of a fenced lot adjacent to the station. Vignettes show volunteers drawing a hand pump past the station in "1857" and a church in "1864"; firefighters battling the "Burning of the Ironsides" at League Island on December 16, 1866; and fighting the blaze from a boiler explosion at "Merrick's Foundry" on April 7, 1864. Fire fighting equipment including a fire hose, helmets, and axes are drawn layered together to form decorative elements in the upper corners. A small oval framed scene of "Marion and the British," semi-draped with an American flag, adorns an arch at the top. The scene shows Continental Army Lieut. Col. Francis Marion's slave Oscar Marion preparing a meal that the officer invited the British to share. Also contains the company institution date, 1833, and incorporation date, 1834., Not in Wainwright., Company seal pasted on recto., Issued to Geo. Jeffries on May 9, 1871. Signed by William Byrnes, Pres. and Alfred A. Mullen, Sec., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 456, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Marion Hose, Duval and Hunter was a partnership between Stephen Orr Duval (P.S. Duval’s son) and Thomas Hunter that lasted from P.S. Duval’s retirement in 1869 until 1874.
Creator: Bosch, A. H., artist
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Marion Hose

Title: Cut outs of firefighting scenes from The Fire Insurance Company of the County of Philadelphia advertisement
Description: First cutout is captioned "1800" and is within a border containing a banner reading "Incorporated 1832 Charter Perpetual." Shows several volunteers, attired in long coats and top hats, operating a hand-pumper engine near a pond of water and water pump during the day. Other men operate the water pump and use buckets to collect water from the pond as flames shoot from two windows of a building in the background. Two volunteer firefighters, including Joseph Tipler of the United States Engine Company, in uniform flank the scene. The second firefighter's shirt and hat is adorned with "1." Second cutout is captioned "1866" and is surrounded by a border of filigree. Shows several volunteers, during the evening, using steam engines to battle the blaze of two multi-story buildings. Men run and operate hoses from the ground and by ladder, pull equipment, and direct their fellow firefighters. Some volunteers hold an ax or a horn. United States Engine Company was incorporated in 1832., Title supplied by cataloguer., Attributed to Breuker & Kessler from duplicate print in auction catalog., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 169, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutouts
Date: [ca. 1866]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 1, Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 2

Title: Cut outs of firefighting scenes from The Fire Insurance Company of the County of Philadelphia advertisement
Description: First cutout is captioned "1800" and is within a border containing a banner reading "Incorporated 1832 Charter Perpetual." Shows several volunteers, attired in long coats and top hats, operating a hand-pumper engine near a pond of water and water pump during the day. Other men operate the water pump and use buckets to collect water from the pond as flames shoot from two windows of a building in the background. Two volunteer firefighters, including Joseph Tipler of the United States Engine Company, in uniform flank the scene. The second firefighter's shirt and hat is adorned with "1." Second cutout is captioned "1866" and is surrounded by a border of filigree. Shows several volunteers, during the evening, using steam engines to battle the blaze of two multi-story buildings. Men run and operate hoses from the ground and by ladder, pull equipment, and direct their fellow firefighters. Some volunteers hold an ax or a horn. United States Engine Company was incorporated in 1832., Title supplied by cataloguer., Attributed to Breuker & Kessler from duplicate print in auction catalog., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 169, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutouts
Date: [ca. 1866]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 1, Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Firefighting Album Am 3989 Cutout 2

Title: Firemen's furnishing house. Fire hats, belts, fatigue caps, shirts, &c. J.M. Migeod & Son 27 South Eighth St. Philada. Manufacturers of firemen's, military & society goods Service and parade horns, lanterns, torches, spanners, metal badges, ball badges, marshal's badges, sashes and batons for parades. Mourning draperies for hose carriages and steamers, feather plumes for horses, flags, banners and markers. Gold and silver fringe and trimmings, gloves of all kinds, woolen neck ties, coat buttons ad covers, firemen's pictures. Military & fire companies and societies fitted out with every article required
Description: Advertisement containing vignettes, and firefighting, military, and patriotic iconography. Central scene shows firefighers rushing equipment to and battling a building on fire during the evening. Other vignettes show a military parade and a masonic parade. Iconography includes an American eagle clutching a bundle of firefighting tools, American flags, men in Zouave and firefighting uniforms, a firefighter's and dress calvary helmet. The business J.M. Migeod was renamed J.M. Migeod & Son in 1866., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 254, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Society Collection - Posters & Broadsides - Advertisements - Miscellaneous Folder 2, Haehnlen operated a lithography studio until ca. 1873.
Date: [ca. 1868]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Society Collection - Posters & Broadsides - Advertisements - Miscellaneous Folder 2

Title: America Fire Engine Co. of the city of Philadelphia
Description: Fire company membership certificate containing two side panel views, vignettes, and firefighting iconography. The left panel shows firefighters running from the fire house on Buttonwood Street, below Third Street. Two men stand lookout on the tower above the house, as others pull the fire engine from the garage. The right panel shows the fire company attempting to extinguish the January 14, 1869 fire caused by an explosion of a steam boiler at the southeast corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets. Flames shoot from the top of three adjacent businesses on land formerly occupied by the Burd Mansion including, Howell & Brothers, paper hanging (900 Chestnut Street); J.M. Hafleigh, dry goods (902 Chestnut Street); and J.F. & E.B. Orne, carpets & oil cloths (904 Chestnut Street). The center vignette, below the membership text, depicts a man standing in front of the two horses that are hitched to a carriage pulling the fire company's engine. At the top of the certificate, American and Pennsylvania flags flank the image of lady liberty sitting on the wing of an eagle. With a lightning bolt in her left hand, she floats above a banner that reads "Allways [sic] ready and willing to assist". Fire fighting equipment, including a helmet, engine, and bugles, are drawn as decorative elements interspersed with the side panel views. Also contains the company's number "No. 9" and institution date, April 10th 1790. Incorporated on April 13, 1844., Not in Wainwright., Signed by Thomas F. Moore, president, and Frank Jacoby, secretary., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 16, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Certificates - Fire Companies - American Fire Engine
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Certificates - Fire Companies - American Fire Engine

Title: Ice scenes after the burning of the Jayne Building on March 5, 1872, Philadelphia
Description: Series of views entitled "Jaynes building after the fire" and "Scene in street the day after the burning of Dr. David Jayne's building." Views look east showing the rear elevation of the fire-ravaged Jayne building with ice hanging from its exterior. One image also shows buildings on the north and south sides of Carter's Alley, men standing with shovels on a mound of ice in the alley, and in the distant right background, a business sign for "trusses" at 220 Carter's Alley. Dr. David Jayne, a chemist and Philadelphia manufacturer of patent medicines, moved into an eight story building at 84-86 Chestnut Street (i.e., 242-244 Chestnut Street), between 2nd and 3rd Streets in 1850, after it was completed after designs by William J. Johnston and Thomas Ustick Walter. His business occupied the building until his death in 1866. It burned on March 5, 1872., Titles written in manuscript notes on labels pasted on versos., Photographer's label pasted on versos., Initials "H.F.O." and "No. 3" written in manuscript note on verso on one item [P.8548]., Yellow mounts with rounded corners., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator: R. Newell & Co.
Date: [ca. 1872]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Newell - Fire Ruins [P.8548 and P.9082.5]

Title: [Fire] ruins part of Father's & May's property, No. 721 Arch [Street, Philadelphia]
Description: Glass negative showing two severely damaged buildings at 715-721 Arch Street. In the right, a small section of the frame of Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' building stands. In the left, the front wall of the fire-gutted building stands. Signs reading "S. May & Bro., 721 Straw and Millinery Goods" and "Metropolitan Straw Works, 723" adorn the remaining facade. Piles of rubble cover the ground. The fire began in the elevator shaft of Morris' building on the night of January 26, 1886, and spread down Arch Street and onto Cherry Street., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: January 26, 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.818]

Title: [700 block of Arch Street with fire ruins of Morris building]
Description: Glass negative showing a view of the 700 block of Arch Street with Marriott C. Morris' father Elliston P. Morris' building in ruins on the right. Horse-drawn carts travel down the brick street lined with trolley tracks and people walk down the sidewalk., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator: Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date: 1886
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.59.2]

Title: In commemoration of the great parade of the Philadelphia Fire Department October 16th 1865 Dedicated to the Philadelphia firemen and their visiting brethren
Description: Commemorative print containing a portrait of Chief Engineer David M. Lyle in uniform and three vignettes. Vignettes show an injured soldier being transported from an ambulance at the Citizens Volunteer Hospital; a horse drawn steam engine; and fire fighters battling a blaze with a steam engine. Also contains a list of over 100 regional fire companies who participated in the parade surrounded by a border designed as fire hoses extending from a fire hydrant. The 1865 parade was the greatest one in the history of the fire companies with near twenty thousand fireman processing nearly 20 miles from Broad Street. The men marched with decorated steam engines, hand pumpers, and ambulances., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 369, Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphiana - Firemen's Parades. FLP holds 2 copies, one is half-sheet., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook., Reaccesioned P.2272., Advertisement soliciting "Agents for Every Fire Co." to sell the print published in The Philadelphia Inquirer (October 13, 1865), p. 8.
Creator: Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
Date: c1865
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W181 [P.2272]

Title: Ruins of museum building. Ninth below Chestnut Street
Description: Photograph depicting the fire ruins of the Philadelphia Museum known as the Chinese Museum built circa 1836-1838 after the designs of Isaac Holden at Ninth and Sansom Streets. Shows partial fragments of the brick walls left standing. Bricks and debris are visible on the ground. The Museum served as an exhibition space, including the display of Nathan Dunn's Chinese artifact collection, and as a concert, public meeting, and lecture space until razed by fire on July 5, 1854., Title from Poulson inscription., Date inferred from content., Attributed to Richards & Betts., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" unidentified volume, page 13b. 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, Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Reproduced in Kenneth Finkel's Nineteenth century photography in Philadelphia (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1980), entry #158., 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. 14., Arcadia caption text: The Chinese Museum, built 1836-1838 after the designs of English architect Isaac Holden, was a veritable multi-use venue. The two-story marble building exhibited Nathan Dunn’s impressive collection of wax figures dressed in authentic Chinese clothing set amidst Chinese furniture, decorations, and rooms along with the Philadelphia Museum Company’s holdings of artist Charles Willson Peale’s collection of paintings, bones, stuffed animals, and curiosities. Between 1842 and 1844 both museums left the building due to decreased attendance and profits, but the space at the northeast corner of Ninth and Sansom streets capable of holding 8,000 people continued to host balls, political conventions, plays, lectures, public meetings, and exhibitions, such as the Exhibition of American Manufactures sponsored by the Franklin Institute, pictured above in October 1844. The smoldered remains of the building are shown below, after a devastating fire destroyed it on July 5, 1854., Richards & Betts was a partnership between Frederick DeBourg Richards and John Betts circa 1854-1857.
Creator: Richards & Betts, photographer
Date: July 1854
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Fires [(5)2526.F.13b]

Title: [Broad Street Station fire, Philadelphia, June 1923]
Description: Scene showing smoke filled interior of the burnt train shed. Depicts laborers, including African Americans, clearing debris from a row of tracks upon which two burnt out train cars rest. Wires hang down from the skeletal framework ceiling. Fire hoses are strewn across the tracks. A camera and tripod rest on a walkway near the damaged trains. In the background, a group of well-dressed men and a group of firemen consult amongst debris. The fire, started by a short circuited cable, was at the time considered one of the worst fires in the city's history with an estimated $1,500,000 worth of damage. By the second day, despite the fire continuing to burn in areas, 2000 laborers began to clear debris and set up umbrella shelters to prepare for the station's planned reopening by the end of that week., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Purchase 1981., 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: [June 1923]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - transportation [P.8683.13]

Title: [Aftermath of the Broad Street Station fire, Philadelphia, June 1923]
Description: Scene showing a large crowd of men and women commuters on a makeshift walkway stretching to the back of the interior of the train shed. Depicts the crowd, including African Americans, milling about on the landing overseen by a railroad conductor. Two laborers with a plank, one an African American, wait at the front of the crowd. Labor crews on either side of the commuters repair the destroyed platforms and tracks upon which burnt out train cars rest. Under a sign pointing left "To Filbert Street," a conductor and two men consult near a telephone box. The Broad Street Station fire started on a Monday and burned for three days. The fire was still burning when 2000 laborers began repairing the station to reopen that Friday., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Purchase 1981., 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: [June 1923]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photographs- unidentified - transportation [P.8683.19]

Title: The conflagration of the Masonic Hall Chesnut Street Philadelphia. Which occured on the night of the 9th of March 1819 This plate is respectfully dedicated to the active and much esteemed fire engine & hose companies, by their obed't serv'ts S. Kennedy and S.S. West
Description: Reissue of the print after a commemorative painting of the hall on fire by Samuel Jones at the request of the publishers with added figures by the prominent Philadelphia genre painter, John Lewis Krimmel. View depicts several volunteer firefighters hosing the flame-engulfed tower of the majestic hall, erected in 1811, purportedly after the design of William Strickland. A large frenzied crowd, including African Americans and well-dressed men and women couples, gather on the street. Spectators push, shove, are knocked down, and watch the fire in horror. Residents flee with their belongings as firefighters blow horns and transport a handpump. The fire started by a faulty flue destroyed the building, which after several successful masonic charity events was rebuilt, without a tower, in 1820 under the direction of Strickland., Title from item., Third state., Inscribed below image: Copy right secured., Samuel Kennedy and Samuel West were members and official print publishers for the Association of American Artists, later headed by Krimmel., Barber, a Philadelphia printer, artist, and engraver, was in business from 1867 until 1885., See Anneliese Harding's John Lewis Krimmel. Genre artist of the early Republic. (Winterthur, Delaware: The Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum, 1997), p. 206-208., See Milo Naeve's John Lewis Krimmel: An artist in Federal America. (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1987), p. 109., LCP exhibition catalogue: Made in America #30., 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.
Creator: Hill, John, 1770-1850, engraver
Date: [ca. 1876]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **PhPr - Associations - Masonic Hall [P.9210.5]

Title: Terrible conflagration and destruction of the steam-boat "New Jersey," On the River Delaware, opposite Philadelphia, on the night of Saturday, March 15th, 1856, between 8 and 9 o'clock, by which dreadful calamity sixty-one lives were lost. Names of all on board
Description: Dramatic view of the steamboat engulfed in flames and smoke, the captain still at the helm as the passengers escape into the icy river. Panicked-looking passengers jump into the water already teeming with disaster victims, including an African American man, who thrash, swim, and attempt to stay upon and assist others onto cakes of ice, debris, and a single rowboat. Rescuers from the nearby wharf, including firemen, work in a frantic manner and desperately throw a rope to a white woman standing on an ice floe. Also shows a horse on the fire engulfed deck and a white woman propelled by a flame off of the rear of the boat. A sign for "Baths" is visible on the riverbank in the background. Contains the names of the 107 white and "colored" dead, missing, and saved passengers in three columns below the image. Captained by Ebenezer Corson, the "New Jersey," on mid-voyage to Camden from Philadelphia via an alternate elongated route due to heavy ice, caught fire as a result of defective boilers, a fireplace, and brick work. With the fire spreading rapidly, Corson retreated to Arch Street Wharf in Philadelphia, and came within thirty feet of the pier when the pilot house collapsed leaving the boat unmanned and out of control. Corson survived by leaping ashore before the uncontrolled ship drifted back out on the river., Title from item., Date supplied by Wainwright., Copyrighted by A. Pharazin., Philadelphia on Stone, Purchase 1965., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [1856]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W478 [7541.F]

Main menu

Pages