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Title: Suitcase
Description: Cardboard suitcase with metal reinforced corners and edges. Missing side on bottom piece and lacking handle. Forms part of the Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection. Given by the family with Bible inside [*Am 1873 Bible 17281.Q (SCSVC)]. Has labels for CC Hinkson, 329 N. 40th St. Phila. [ie Cordelia Chew Hinkson (1897-1983)]; Miss Bunny Hinkson [ie Mary Hinkson Jackson (1928-2014)] address obscured by Bekins sticker. [Cornelia was Mary’s mother]. Also has several Railway Express labels. Inside the top case, metal snap is labeled “United Carr.”, Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky, 2016.
Date: ca. after 1929-1940s
Location: OBJ 901

Title: [Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning family photograph album]
Description: Album compiled by a member of the African American middle-class Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning family containing portrait photographs of family and friends. Majority of contents are unidentified and include professionally photographed cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and tintypes, as well as snapshots. Several of the professional photographs also show props, including a baby's swing, fur rug, wicker chairs and stools. Other portraits include women dressed in early 20th-century beach attire, a ca. 1920's photo of a woman with a ukulele; and two men posed in front of an entryway draped in an American flag. Album also contains a reproduction of an unidentified painted portrait photograph; ca. 1828 silhouettes of Richard C. Cogdell and his brother Charles S. Cogdell (sons of Richard and Cecilia Cogdell) stamped on verso cut by Master Hankes, i.e., Jarvis F. Hanks; and a clipped periodical illustration depicting Maria Walpole, Countess of Waldegrave., Sitters include Cordelia Chew Hinkson and her daughter Cordelia Hinkson Brown as a baby (inside cover & insert before p. 32); Lillie Dickerson (p. 8); George Venning (insert before p. 10); Florence I. Warwick as a child and adult (insert before p. 10 & 24); Richard DeReef Venning (insert before p. 18 & 36); Louise Sanders Venning (insert before p. 32); and possibly Cordelia Chew (p. 36)., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Some loose photographs contain identity of sitter and date inscribed on verso. Some inscriptions barely legible., Twelve ca. 1920s 2x3 snapshots showing vacation portraiture pasted on inside front cover., Two photographs inserted in slot on p. 8., Date of silhouettes inferred from active dates in Charleston, S.C. of silhouettist Jarvis F. Hanks. See Charleston Courier, March 13, 1828, 2 and "For A Few Days," Charleston Courier, March 31, 1928, 3., Various photographers, including Philadelphia photographers Baumgardner & Hebling; H. D. Garns (& Co.); L. Blaul; Kuebler; Swain & Bridle; M. Herbert Bridle; 1XL Gallery; Larkin Gallery; F. S. Keeler; Bell Studio; and Henrici & Garns., See Lib. Company Annual Report, 1991, p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1860 - ca. 1925]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection [P.2012.37.2]

Title: [Album of Richard DeReef Venning]
Description: Photograph album of African American government worker Richard DeReef Venning, a member of the African American middle-class Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning family, and containing predominantly unidentified portraits of African American and white men, women, and children, including family and friends. Contains bust, half and full-length portraits, often studio portraits. Several of the female sitters wear ornate hairstyles and many sitters also wear crosses. Also contains a carte de visite reproduction of a painted portrait of possibly George Cogdell (p.16) and a carte de visite inscribed “Pete” and “Sam” showing two men in checkered patterned jumper costumes, wigs, hats, and full-face masks (p.18). Identified sitters include Samuel Le Count Cook (p.2, photograph dated 7/4/[18]90 and imprint of DC photographer Rice on verso, ), Edward W. Venning (p.13, photograph dated 1869 and imprint of Philadelphia photographer G.W. Cheston on verso), Sarah Venning (p.13 &14, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Larkin on the verso), Richard DeReef Venning (p.13, photograph dated 12/7/[18]74 on recto and imprint of Philadelphia photographer Henrici & Garns on verso), Sarah Ann Sanders, daughter of Sarah Sanders (p.14, lower right, ca. 1865, inscribed on recto: S.A.S.; imprint of Philadelphia photographer B.F. Reimer and "property of ed. y.v." inscribed on verso), Cordelia Chew Hinkson (p.35), and Cordelia Hinkson Brown as a baby (p.35). Other sitters may possibly be William H. Chew (p.1), Addie Howard (p.3) and George Washington Musgrave (group portrait, p.19)., Album also contains a portrait signed "Ellie" (p. 22, photograph dated 11/16/[1875] and imprint of NY photographer G.H. Johnson on verso) and an unidentified portrait that is likely Cordelia Sanders (Chew) and her sons Richard and Charles Chew (p.15, lower left, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Miles & Foster on verso). Another unidentified portrait is likely Jacob C. White, co-founder of the Pythians, Philadelphia's first African American baseball club (p. 27, upper left, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Gutekunst). Also contained are inserted portraits (rehoused on boards and with album), including one of a Black man inscribed "H.S.S." and Jan. 11/82 on the recto and verso of the mount (L.W. Cook, Boston, photographer) and one of a Black woman inscribed "Respects of Marie" on the verso (J.P. Silver, photographer)., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Contains title page: Album. Page illustrated with ornamental border., Contains several loose portaits., Various photographers, including Philadelphia photographers H. D. Garns & Co., G. W. Chesterton, African American photographer Gallo Cheston, Larkin Gallery, O. B. DeMorat, C. Hagemann & Co., Henrici & Garns, B. F. Reimer, H. D. Garns & Co., Miles & Foster, Broadbent & Phillips, M. S. Hagaman, Lothrop’s Ferrotype Gallery, Germon, J. Fenton, J. P. Silver, Parlor Galleries, as well as Washington, D.C. photographers Kets Kemethy and Rice, Norfolk photographer J. A. Faber, Trenton photographer J. Bainbridge, Charleston photographer Jesse E. Bolles, Boston photographer L. W. Cook, Salem photographer Smith & Bousley, and New York photographer G. H. Johnson., Inscription on front free end paper: R.D. Reef Venning, June 12/84, Washington, D.C., Some of the photographs contain inscriptions, including dates, identifications, and valedictions, on the versos., Label pasted on back cover: No. 464 Gately & Haskell, booksellers, Hoen building, Baltimore, MD., Ca. 1900 pastel portrait of possibly Clara, nurse to children and grandchildren of Sarah Sanders and R. W. Cogdell (P.9367.32, Stevens-Cogdell/ Sanders-Venning Collection) after ca. 1875 tintype photographed by J. Fenton (729 South St., Phila) P.2012.37.1.23b originally inserted in album and housed with album., See Lib. Company Annual Report, 1991 p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., Some photographs dated during conservation treatment in July 2021. Conservation notes in collection research file at repository (Graphic Arts Department)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Richard DeReef Venning (1846-1929), born in Philadelphia, was son of seamstress Elizabeth and carpenter Edward W. Venning. Venning worked as a grocer in Philadelphia before being appointed as a clerk to the Eastern Division of the Pension Office in 1881. He resided in Washington, D.C. from the early 1880s to early 1900s, and boarded with the African American Presbyterian minister Francis Grimké and his brother, lawyer and diplomat Archibald Grimké for several years. In 1914, Venning returned to Philadelphia and lived with his nephew George E. Venning's family who referred to him as "Dah." The family was active in the Philadelphia African American political, social, educational, and cultural community from the 1850s to the 20th century, including the St. Thomas P.E. Church, Church of the Crucifixion, Central Presbyterian Church, the Colored Institute of Youth, and the Citizens Republican Club.
Creator: Venning, Richard DeReef, 1846-1929
Date: [ca. 1865 - ca. 1922]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection [P.2012.37.1]

Title: [Album of Richard DeReef Venning]
Description: Photograph album of African American government worker Richard DeReef Venning, a member of the African American middle-class Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning family, and containing predominantly unidentified portraits of African American and white men, women, and children, including family and friends. Contains bust, half and full-length portraits, often studio portraits. Several of the female sitters wear ornate hairstyles and many sitters also wear crosses. Also contains a carte de visite reproduction of a painted portrait of possibly George Cogdell (p.16) and a carte de visite inscribed “Pete” and “Sam” showing two men in checkered patterned jumper costumes, wigs, hats, and full-face masks (p.18). Identified sitters include Samuel Le Count Cook (p.2, photograph dated 7/4/[18]90 and imprint of DC photographer Rice on verso, ), Edward W. Venning (p.13, photograph dated 1869 and imprint of Philadelphia photographer G.W. Cheston on verso), Sarah Venning (p.13 &14, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Larkin on the verso), Richard DeReef Venning (p.13, photograph dated 12/7/[18]74 on recto and imprint of Philadelphia photographer Henrici & Garns on verso), Sarah Ann Sanders, daughter of Sarah Sanders (p.14, lower right, ca. 1865, inscribed on recto: S.A.S.; imprint of Philadelphia photographer B.F. Reimer and "property of ed. y.v." inscribed on verso), Cordelia Chew Hinkson (p.35), and Cordelia Hinkson Brown as a baby (p.35). Other sitters may possibly be William H. Chew (p.1), Addie Howard (p.3) and George Washington Musgrave (group portrait, p.19)., Album also contains a portrait signed "Ellie" (p. 22, photograph dated 11/16/[1875] and imprint of NY photographer G.H. Johnson on verso) and an unidentified portrait that is likely Cordelia Sanders (Chew) and her sons Richard and Charles Chew (p.15, lower left, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Miles & Foster on verso). Another unidentified portrait is likely Jacob C. White, co-founder of the Pythians, Philadelphia's first African American baseball club (p. 27, upper left, imprint of Philadelphia photographer Gutekunst). Also contained are inserted portraits (rehoused on boards and with album), including one of a Black man inscribed "H.S.S." and Jan. 11/82 on the recto and verso of the mount (L.W. Cook, Boston, photographer) and one of a Black woman inscribed "Respects of Marie" on the verso (J.P. Silver, photographer)., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Contains title page: Album. Page illustrated with ornamental border., Contains several loose portraits., Various photographers, including Philadelphia photographers H. D. Garns & Co., G. W. Chesterton, African American photographer Gallo Cheston, Larkin Gallery, O. B. DeMorat, C. Hagemann & Co., Henrici & Garns, B. F. Reimer, H. D. Garns & Co., Miles & Foster, Broadbent & Phillips, M. S. Hagaman, Lothrop’s Ferrotype Gallery, Germon, J. Fenton, J. P. Silver, Parlor Galleries, as well as Washington, D.C. photographers Kets Kemethy and Rice, Norfolk photographer J. A. Faber, Trenton photographer J. Bainbridge, Charleston photographer Jesse E. Bolles, Boston photographer L. W. Cook, Salem photographer Smith & Bousley, and New York photographer G. H. Johnson., Inscription on front free end paper: R.D. Reef Venning, June 12/84, Washington, D.C., Some of the photographs contain inscriptions, including dates, identifications, and valedictions, on the versos., Label pasted on back cover: No. 464 Gately & Haskell, booksellers, Hoen building, Baltimore, MD., Ca. 1900 pastel portrait of possibly Clara, nurse to children and grandchildren of Sarah Sanders and R. W. Cogdell (P.9367.32, Stevens-Cogdell/ Sanders-Venning Collection) after ca. 1875 tintype photographed by J. Fenton (729 South St., Phila) P.2012.37.1.23b originally inserted in album and housed with album., See Lib. Company Annual Report, 1991 p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., Some photographs dated during conservation treatment in July 2021. Conservation notes in collection research file at repository (Graphic Arts Department)., 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Richard DeReef Venning (1846-1929), born in Philadelphia, was son of seamstress Elizabeth and carpenter Edward W. Venning. Venning worked as a grocer in Philadelphia before being appointed as a clerk to the Eastern Division of the Pension Office in 1881. He resided in Washington, D.C. from the early 1880s to early 1900s, and boarded with the African American Presbyterian minister Francis Grimké and his brother, lawyer and diplomat Archibald Grimké for several years. In 1914, Venning returned to Philadelphia and lived with his nephew George E. Venning's family who referred to him as "Dah." The family was active in the Philadelphia African American political, social, educational, and cultural community from the 1850s to the 20th century, including the St. Thomas P.E. Church, Church of the Crucifixion, Central Presbyterian Church, the Colored Institute of Youth, and the Citizens Republican Club.
Creator: Venning, Richard DeReef, 1846-1929
Date: [ca. 1865 - ca. 1922]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection [P.2012.37.1]

Title: [Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning and Chew families portrait collection]
Description: Collection of primarily professional portrait studio photographs depicting members of the Venning, Chew, Saunders, and Sanders lines of the African American middle-class Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning Family. Portraits show the sitters when children and/or when adults. Sitters include Sallie Venning Holden ( P.2014.51.16-17) and her nieces Lillie Venning and Mary Venning; Harriette Elizabeth Richardson Saunders and George Saunders (parents of Georgine Saunders Chew); Cordelia Sanders (Chew) and her sons Richard Sanders Chew (P.2014.51.4) and Charles Sanders Chew (“Papoo”) (P.2014.51.6); Georgine Saunders Chew (“Dama”), her daughters Cordelia Sanders Chew (Hinkson) and Agnes Saunders Chew (Upshur), and her siblings Joseph S. Saunders (dentist), Mary Saunders (Patterson) (soprano and music instructor), Charles Saunders, Susan Saunders (Williams), Agnes Saunders. Small number of portraits document school graduations, including those of Cordelia Chew (Hinkson), Agnes Chew (Upshur), and Joseph S. Saunders. Also contains an unidentified silhouette of a young man, probably a member of the Cogdell family., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., One paper photograph (P.2014.51.1) mounted in daguerreotype brass mat., Silhouette (P.2014.51.3) mounted in daguerreotype case., Various photographers including Herbert Bridle (Philadelphia), Broadbent and Phillips (Philadelphia), H. D. Garns & Co. (Philadelphia), William Kuebler (Philadelphia), Snellenburg & Co. (Philadelphia), William C. Withers (Philadelphia), Keet & Gemmill (Harrisburg), Le Rue Lemer (Harrisburg), Arthur W. Sheppard (Brooklyn), W. E. Perry (Cresson, Pa.), and Abraham L. Myers (Atlantic City)., Sitters identified from manuscript notes on versos and/or accompanying photographic prints., See Lib. Company Annual Report, 1991, p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., P.2014.51.1-3 housed separately in phase box., RVCDC, Description revised 2023., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1800-ca. 1925]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Collection [P.2014.51]

Title: [Steven-Cogdell/Sanders-Venning Hinkson family group portrait collection]
Description: Collection of group portrait photographs, including members of the Hinkson line of the African American middle-class Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning family. Portraits depict a 1929 group portrait photograph of the Christian Street Y.M.C.A. volleyball team, including Dehaven Hinkson; a 1932 portrait photograph of a “Bon Voyage” children’s party for sisters Cordelia Hinkson (Brown) and Mary Hinkson (daughters of Dehaven and Cordelia Chew Hinkson)(P.2015.46.1); a ca. 1950 photograph of a group of several woman, during a dinner party, posed around a large formally-set dining table, including Dorothy Abele Gatling, Mary Venning, Martha Venning Bowie, Agnes Chew Upshur, Cordelia Chew Hinkson, Julia Capps Venning, and Georgine Saunders Chew; ca. 1950 group portraits of members of the men’ organization the Boulé, including Dehaven Hinkson, Richard J. Warwick, and Eugene T. Hinson; and a 1950 Theresa Studio photograph of the men's social club Commissioners of Philadelphia annual June dinner and dance at the Theresa Hotel (Harlem, N.Y.C.) (P.2015.46.7), including William Warrick, Mabel Lawson Warrick, Dehaven Hinkson, Cordelia Chew Hinkson, William G. Upshur, and Agnes Chew Upshur; and a ca. 1955 group portrait of the women’s social group the Geace (P.2015.46.2), possibly during their golden anniversary, including Mary Venning, Martha Venning Bowie, Agnes Chew Upshur, Dorothy Abele Gatling, Mabel Lawson Warrick, and Cordelia Chew Hinkson., The "Bon Voyage" party was a farewell party before Dehaven Hinkson and his family relocated to Europe for his post-graduate studies. The Geace Club evolved from the women meeting as adolescents as members of the Sunshine Club. The Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, also known as the Boulé, is the first Greek-letter fraternity founded by African Americans in 1904. Members have already received their college and professional degrees at the time of inclusion. Richard J. Warwick and Eugene T. Hinson were founding members. The Commissioners was founded in 1933 by prominent African American Philadelphians as a men's social club "to promote social involvement among members of the community.", Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Photographers include Frank W. Harris, G. Marshall Wilson, and the Theresa Studio., See Lib. Company. Annual Report, 1991, p. 26-31., Gift of descendants Cordelia H. Brown, Lillie V. Dickerson, Mary Hinkson Jackson, and Georgine E. Willis in honor of Phil Lapsansky., See LCP exhibit catalogue: African American Miscellany p. 45., Genealogical charts available at repository., Several of the sitters of the photographs were identified by the donor. Photocopies with the identified sitters housed at the repository., Housed with Stevens-Cogdell and Sanders-Venning and Chew Families Miscellaneous Portraits Collection [P.2013.14]., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [1929-ca. 1950]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders Venning Collection [P.2015.46]

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