Block numbered in two places: 6214., Image of two women in European-style dresses facing five children, the boys wearing short tunics, the girl a dress, a veil, and earrings; one of the women is seated and appears to be reading or instructing from a book; they sit under an umbrella or patio covering, and a palm tree is visible in the distance., “Am.S.S.U” – Back of block in two places., “African Monitor Girl.” – Inscribed on side of block., “N.J. Wemmer. 215 Pear St. Phila.” – Back of block. Boxwood dealer Nelson J. Wemmer is listed at this address in Philadelphia city directories from 1861 to 1876.
Contains vignette showing a scene with the theme of salvation, including a missionary. Ships approach a coastline on which a missionary and cross are encircled by converts attired in robes. Tribesmen watch from a cliff above., Presented to William W. Waln. By S. A. Fell., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Helen Beitler and Estate of Helen Beitler.
Date
[ca. 1850]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helen Beitler Graphic Ephemera Collection - Rewards of Merit [P.2011.10.150]
Block numbered in two places: 8824., Portrait of Stephen Paxson, a missionary for the American Sunday-School Union who was nicknamed "Stuttering Stephen"; in the waist-length portrait Paxson has a goatee., Signed: A.H. Markley Phila. sc., “V. Grot[tenthaler] [?] P[hila.]” – Back of block. Vincent Grottenthaler is listed (as a dealer in boxwood) in Philadelphia city directories from 1867 to 1876., Illustration appears in A fruitful life: a narrative of the experience and missionary labors of Stephen Paxson (Philadelphia, 1882), frontispiece.
Block numbered in one place: 3550., Image of a man in European dress holding a book in one hand and gesturing with the other; in front of him sits a seated Native American man who holds a small tomahawk in one hand and touches his face or rests his head on his hand; behind him stand three other similarly-dressed men and what appears to be a woman., Illustration appears in Child's world, v. 13 no. 16 (1874), p. 3.
In The missionary sisters (Boston, 1860), frontispiece., Facsimile signatures: Seraphina H. Everett; H.M.L. Hamlin., Two separate waist-length portraits of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions missionaries, in arabesque frames: Mrs. Seraphina Haynes Everett; Mrs. Harriet Martha Hamlin.
Three-quarter length portrait of the African American Methodist evangelist preacher, missionary, and temperance advocate who was born to enslaved parents in Maryland. Shows Smith, standing, slightly turned to her right, and attired in medium-colored, Quaker-like garb including a shawl, shirtwaist with an upright lace collar adorned with a pendant, skirt, and scoop bonnet. She holds a book, possibly a Bible, in her right hand, top edge down, and with her fingers interspersed between a few pages. A chair is partially visible in the right of the image and dark-colored drapery serves as the backdrop. Smith, her freedom bought by her father when a child, entered preaching in 1869. Known as a compelling speaker and singer, she preached at Methodist Episcopal churches throughout the East and Midwest, including Philadelphia. In 1878 she felt called to travel to Keswick, England for a Methodist convention and remained in the country to minister and then worked as a missionary in India (1879-1881) and West Africa (1882-1890). In 1890 she returned to the United States and settled in Chicago where she was also a prominent member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (Smith joined in the 1870s). In 1893 her "Autobiography" was published, from which she began to raise funds for an orphanage for African American children. 1n 1899 the Amanda Smith Orphan's Home, later the Amanda Smith Industrial Home opened in Harvey, Il. The home was razed by fire in 1918., Title from manuscript note on verso., Photographer's imprint printed on mount., Publisher's imprint printed on verso. Also includes a vignette depicting the British coat of arms., Mount designer's imprint printed on verso., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2018, p. 59 - 60., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator
Pettitt, Alfred, -1880
Date
[1878]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Smith [P.2018.13]
In Ten years in Oregon (Ithaca, 1848), frontispiece., Born in Tioga County, New York, Sarepta (or Serepta) White accompanied her husband Elijah White to Oregon in 1836, after the Board of Missions of the New England Conference of the Methodist Church appointed him the physician to the Willamette Valley, Oregon. During their time in Oregon, both their son and their adopted son drowned. Later in life she practiced medicine in San Francisco., Waist-length of the wife of physician-missionary, next to her husband.
In Wiley, I.W. The mission cemetery and the fallen missionaries of Fuh Chau, China (New York, 1858), p. 200., Mrs. Wentworth was the daughter of J.J. Lewis, Esq., and the wife of Rev. Dr. Wentworth. She and her husband were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Mission. They arrived in China in May 1855., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 230., Mrs. Scudder and her husband were sent to Ceylon by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In Woods, L. Sermon, preached at Haverhill, Mass. 4th ed., enl. (Boston, 1814), frontispiece., Waist-length portrait of the woman missionary, with a ruffled collar., Artists' signatures illegible; identification based on the copy of the 1st ed. (1814) owned by the American Antiquarian Society and copy of the 2nd ed. (1814) owned by Bowdoin College. Library Company's copy of the 8th ed. (1818) has portrait frontispiece engraved by Ralph Rawdon., Another portrait appears in: American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 74.
In Hale, S.J. Woman's record (New York, 1853), p. 868. "Illustrated by two hundred and thirty portraits, engraved on wood by Lossing and Barritt.", Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Hill, with a lace collar.
In Dwight, H.G.O. Memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth B. Dwight (New York, 1840), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Your very affectionately E.B. Dwight., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Dwight.
In Church, P. Notices of the life of Theodosia Ann Barker Dean (Boston, 1851), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Theodosia A. Dean., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Dean, with a palm trees and a pagoda-like tower.
In Winslow, M. Memoir of Mrs. Harriet L. Winslow (New York, 1840), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Very affec. Your Harriet., Waist-length portrait of the woman missionary, with arabesque decoration on sleeve of garment., Another portrait appears in: American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 184.
In Medbery, R.B. Memoir of Mrs. Sarah Emily York (Boston, 1853), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Yours ever Emmy W. York., Three-quarter length portrait of the woman missionary, seated, with a shawl draped over her shoulders.
In Lowrie, L.A. Memoirs of Mrs. Louisa A. Lowrie (Pittsburgh, 1836), frontispiece., Waist-length portrait of the woman missionary, wearing a scarf around her neck.
In Lord, Lucy T. Memoir of Mrs. Lucy T. Lord (Philadelphia, 1854), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Lucy T. Lord., Three-quarter length portrait of the woman missionary, holding an open book.
In Hartley, C.B. The three Mrs. Judsons (Philadelphia, 1860), frontispiece., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Judson., Another portrait appears in: American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 102.
In Hartley, C.B. Three Mrs. Judsons (Philadelphia, 1860), frontispiece. Portrait also stamped in gold on spine., Waist-length portrait of the writer, who accompanied her husband, the missionary Adoniram Judson, to Burma following their marriage., Another portrait appears in Hunt, L. The American biographical sketch book (New York, 1848), plate opposite p. 202.
In Mann, Rev. C.M. Memoir of Mrs. Myra W. Allen (Boston, 1832), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Myra W. Allen., Myra Allen served as a missionary in Bombay, India, with her husband, David O. Allen., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Allen.
In The Ladies' Repository (November, 1859), plate preceding p. 641. "Engraved expressly for the Ladies Repository.", Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Wilkins seated in front of a window with a Liberian village visible in the background.
In Wiley, I.W. The mission cemetery and the fallen missionaries of Fuh Chau, China (New York, 1858), p. 54., Mrs. White and her husband were both members of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They arrived in Fuh Chau, China, in September 1847., Another portrait appears in: American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 416., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In Wiley, I.W. The mission cemetery and the fallen missionaries of Fuh Chau, China (New York, 1858), p. 166., Mrs. Wiley and her husband were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Mission. They traveled to China in 1851., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In Hawes, L.F. Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep (Hartford, 1848), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Mary E. Van Lennep., Above signature: "Jesus, I give my all to Thee.", "See Page 128.", Waist-length portrait of the woman missionary, with a shawl draped over her shoulders.
In Bennett, S.R.I. Walks of usefulness (New York, 1868), frontispiece. Text first published in 1843., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Prior, wearing eyeglasses and a bonnet.
In Wiley, I.W. The mission cemetery and the fallen missionaries of Fuh Chau, China (New York, 1858), p.336., Mrs. Colder was the daughter of Rev. John Winebrenner, and the wife of Rev. James Colder. Mrs. Colder and her husband were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, and arrived in China in July 1851., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 162., Mrs. Comstock and her husband were Baptist missionaries in Arracan, which became the Rakhine State of Burma., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In Hooker, E.W. Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Huntington Smith. 3rd ed. (New York, 1845), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Very affectionately your Sister Sarah L. Smith., Three-quarter length portrait of Mrs. Smith, seated and holding a book., Provenance: Waldo & Jewett, artist., Another portrait appears in: American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 280.
In American missionary memorial (New York, 1853), p. 472., Mrs. Simpson and her husband were sent to Western Africa by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions., Waist-length portrait of the missionary.
In Lander, Meta. Light on the dark river (Boston, 1854), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Yours affectionately, Henrietta., Shoulder-length portrait of Mrs. Hamlin.
In Life and letters of Miss Mary C. Greenleaf (Boston, 1858), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: M.C. Greenleaf., Bust-length portrait of Miss Greenleaf.
Three-quarter length portrait of Rev. Crummell, the African American Episcopal priest, educator, missionary, and Black nationalist. Crummell is attired in his clerical robes, over a vest, long sack coat, and trousers. He wears eye glasses, a beard, and holds his right hand up to his chest, holding what is possibly a pipe. Crummell, born in New York and the first African American graduate of the University of Cambridge, lived as a missionary and educator in Liberia between 1853 and 1873. He returned to the U.S. and located to Washington, D.C. where in 1875 he and his congregation founded St. Luke's Episcopal Church, the first independent Black Episcopal church in the city. He spoke before the "Philadelphia Library Company" in St. Thomas's Episcopal Church about "The Natives of Africa, their Habits, Customs, Religion, and Characteristics" on December 10, 1861. Presumably, the portrait photograph was taken around this time., Reproduced in Kenneth Finkel, Nineteenth-Century photography in Philadelphia (New York: Dover Publications in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1980), 9., Originally part of a McAllister Scrapbook of Portraits. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Gutekunst, a premier Philadelphia photographer, in business from 1860 until 1917, was known as a specialist in portraiture and celebrity portraiture.
Creator
Gutekunst, Frederick, 1831-1917, photographer
Date
[1862]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv portraits - sitter - Crummell [5750.F.122]
Bust-length portrait of the minister and missionary to Myanmar. Binney, wearing a beard and attired in a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, and a black jacket, faces slightly right with his right hand tucked into his jacket., Title from manuscript note written on mount., American Celebrities Album., Purchase 1985., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Retrospective conversion record: original entry.
Date
[ca. 1870]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department American Celebrities Album [(II)P.9100.28a]
In Judson, E.C. Memoir of Sarah B. Judson (New York, 1852), front cover (stamped in gold)., Below image: Faithful is He that calleth you [1 Thessalonians 5:24]., Full-length portrait of Mrs. Judson, standing between mourners (including Adoniram Judson?) and storm-tossed ship. She points to a vignette (depicting buildings and people in Burma?) within an arabesque frame, above which an angel hovers. Snakes curl around the lower edge of the frame.
Bust-length portrait of Sarah Margru Kinson Green., Sarah Margru Kinson Green, a child captive onboard the Amistad slave ship, returned to the United States to study at Oberlin College., “This girl, one of the Amistad captives, called in her native language Margru, meaning black snake, called at our office for an examination, while a stranger to us. She was described as possessing strong friendship, independence, perseverance, energy, and unusual intellectual powers ; remarkable memory, and the faculty of acquiring education. We afterward learned that she had been educated at the Oberlin Institute, in Ohio, and excelled in all branches of study, and was one of the first scholars in the institution in mathematics and superior sciences ; remarkable for memory and native intelligence. She has gone to her native land as a missionary. The forehead is broad and high, and particularly prominent in the center, in the region of eventuality, and the whole head is large, sustained by a vigorous constitution. She is far superior to Africans generally. The same is true of the majority of the Amistad captives, particularly so of Cinquez, the leader. Dignity, independence, and scope of mind were such as to do honor to individuals of any nation.”--P. 231., In the American phrenological journal, vol. 12 (1850), p. 231., Another portrait appears in The illustrated phrenological almanac for 1851 (1850), p. 30.
Life membership certificate containing a vignette contrasting scenes of apocalyptic doom and religious salvation. Shows to the right an angel trumpeting salvation and wielding the Bible above a missionary preaching to a large group of Native Americans and a converted Black family kneeling and reaching toward the heavens; broken shackles and swords beside them. Opposite the scenes of salvation, a cross rises from the ground, bringing forth a river of redemption too late for the lost souls of a bejeweled "heathen" woman and a skull-headed man entangled by serpents. Behind them a temple, probably the Vatican, collapses to the ground. The Missionary Society, officially organized in New York in 1820, worked first to convert Native Americans and enslaved people before extending their missions to the Black inhabitants of Liberia in 1823., Issued to Eliza J. Hamilton on April 7th, 1846. Signed by John Whitman, President and Saml. Sappington, Secretary., Gift of David Doret, 2009., See variant *Philadelphia Certificates - Organizations - M [P.P.2004.46.1]., 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., Access points revised 2021., Description revised 2021.
Creator
Sartain, John, 1808-1897, engraver
Date
[ca. 1835]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia Certificates - Organizations - M [P.2009.26.1]
Bust-length portrait of the African American deacon and missionary bishop to Liberia. Burns, attired in a white collared shirt, a white bowtie, a black waistcoat, and a black jacket, sits slightly facing right. The African coastline, depicting buildings on the shoreline and boats in the water, is visible in the background., Title from item., Published in The Ladies repository (March 1859), frontispiece., See biography of sitter in The Ladies repository (March 1859), p. 129-132., Accessioned 1879., 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., Brady produced ambrotypes in his New York studio from 1855 until 1856, ceasing production following a lawsuit over the patent.
Creator
Buttre, John Chester, 1821-1893, engraver
Date
[March 1859]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Portrait Prints-B [5017.F.45]
As the caption suggests, the image is set on the island of St. Croix in early May 1769, and it shows a group of black baptismal candidates being led into the "Negro church," for baptism. Dressed in long white robes, trousers, and turban-like head-dresses, the men file into the church first. They are followed by the women, who are dressed in long white dresses and white caps. In front of the long, simple hall that serves as the church, some black women sit in a courtyard bordered by trees and shubbery. According to the caption, the ceremony takes place around noon. Missionaries, soldiers, and black citizens (all men) meet and converse in the open space in front of the church. Others watch the procession of baptismal candidates;some appear to pray, holding their palms upward. The missionaries' quarters appear in the background of the image, while the Negroes' quarters are seen to the right., Folded plate at the back of Christian Georg Andreas Oldendorp's Geschichte der Mission der Evangelischen Brüder auf den caraibischen Inseln S. Thomas, S. Croix, und S. Jan (Barby: Bey Christian Friedrich Laux, und in Leipzig in Commission bey Weidmanns Erben und Reich, 1777), n.p., Caption underneath the image reads: "Friedenstahl in St. Croix an einem Bettage, da die Täuflinge zur Taufe in Kirche geführt werden, 1768 zu Anfang May und zu Mittage, da die Sonne übern Scheitel steht, aller Schatten senckrecht faellt, überhaupt weing Schatten ist. Hinten das Wohnhaus, zur linken die Neger Kirche, zur rechten Negerhaeufer." The text can be translated as follows, "Friedenstahl in St. Croix on a day of prayer, on which the baptismal candidates are led into church for baptism, Wednesday, the beginning of May, 1769, because the sun is at its apex, all shadows fall perpendicular to the ground, there is little shade. In the background, the missionaries' quarters; to the left, the Negro church; to the right, Negro quarters.", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
Creator
Nusbiegel, Georg Paul, 1713-1776, engraver
Date
[1777]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1777 Olde 69802.O n.p., https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2678
In Bloom, David F. Memoirs of eminently pious women of Britain and America (Hartford, 1833), plate opposite p. [300]., Five separate bust-length portraits in arabesque frames: Mrs. Susan Huntington, Mrs. Sarah Edwards, Mrs. Isabella Graham, Mrs. Ann H. Judson, and Miss Hannah Adams.
Life membership certificate containing a vignette contrasting scenes of apocalyptic doom and religious salvation. Shows to the right an angel trumpeting salvation and wielding the Bible; a white man missionary preaching to a large group of Native Americans; and a converted African family of a man, woman, and child, kneels and reaches toward the winged messenger of God. On the ground are broken chains and swords, and a hut and palm trees are in the background. Opposite the scenes of salvation, a cross rises from the ground, bringing forth a river of redemption too late for the lost souls of a bejeweled "heathen" woman and a skull-headed man entangled by serpents. Behind them a temple, probably the Vatican, collapses to the ground. The Evangelical Association, a Methodist ministry, worked first to convert Native Americans and enslaved people before extending their missions to the Black inhabitants of Liberia in the 1820s., Issued to Peter H. Cage of Catasauqua, Pa. on February 24, 1870. Signed by Thomas Bowman, Secretary; Francis Hoffman, President; and Isaac Hess, Treasurer., Gift of David Doret, 2004., RVCDC, 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
Sartain, John, 1808-1897, engraver
Date
[ca. 1850]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Organizations - M [P.2004.46.1]
Half-length portrait of the first African American man ordained by the Presbyterian Church, seated and facing left, and with his right hand raised. Gloucester is attired in a shirt with a high neck collar, a vest, and a jacket. Contains decorative border with an inset of the Bible inscribed with the verse John I:29. Born and enslaved in Tennessee, Gloucester, initially a missionary, presided over the first African American Presbyterian church in the country., Title from item., See Lib. Company. Annual report, 1973, p. 43., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886. Accessioned 1973., 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
B. Tanner & W.R. Jones, engraver
Date
August 1st 1823
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait prints - G [P.8911.430]
Life membership certificate containing a vignette contrasting scenes of apocalyptic doom and religious salvation. From the celestial heavens, the hand of God points to an angel trumpeting salvation and wielding the Bible; a white man missionary preaches to a large group of Native Americans; and a converted African family of a man, woman, and child, kneels and reaches toward the winged messenger of God. On the ground are broken chains and swords, and a hut and palm trees are in the background. Opposite the scenes of salvation, a cross rises from the ground, bringing forth a river of redemption too late for the lost souls of a bejeweled white woman and a skull-headed man entangled by serpents. Behind them a temple, probably the Vatican, collapses to the ground crushing a white man. The Missionary Society, officially organized in New York in 1820, worked first to convert Native Americans and enslaved people before extending their missions to the Black inhabitants of Liberia in 1823., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Issued to Reverend Thomas Lumption on April 9th, 1844. Signed by Joshua Soule, Chairman, and Francis Hale, Clerk., Purchase 1971., RVCDC, 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.
Date
[ca. 1835]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Certificates [7971.F]
