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- Title
- [Police Station, Union Street between Third and Fourth streets, south side, Philadelphia.]
- Description
- View looking east showing the Third District police station occupying a residence on the 300 block of Union Street between Spruce and Pine streets. Includes a group of men and boys seated and standing in front of the building. Sign printed "Police Station" adorns the window. Also shows adjacent buildings. A single city police district was organized by an act of the Assembly in 1850, which expanded into separate districts for each ward following the consolidation of the city in 1854. Police stations occupied rented spaces before the city began building its own facilities in the late 1850s-1860s., Title supplied by cataloguer., Date and photographer's monogram inscribed in negative., Inscribed in negative: 13., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of Philadelphia., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited.
- Creator
- Odiorne, Henry B., 1805-1860, photographer
- Date
- August 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Odiorne - P [(7)1322.F.39c
- Title
- Police. = Polizeibeamter. ; Bill-Carrier. = Placat Träger
- Description
- Depicts two men standing on the corner on the city street, a policeman in uniform dressed in a blue jacket and top hat (left), the other a bill carrier (right) who wears a sandwich-board for "Dr. Jayne's Sarsaparilla, Philadelphia". Out of sight of the policeman, a man climbs into the window of a property while a gentleman watches in the background. View also includes a horse-drawn carriage., Published in Pittoresque scenes of American life (Philadelphia: John Weik, publisher and importer, ca. 1850)., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 612
- Date
- [ca. 1850]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1855 Pit [13493.Q.12]
- Title
- The Policeman.
- Description
- The policeman talks to a woman through a window. She wears a low-cut gown, and he holds his hands to his face. Behind him, a boy steals something from a man's pocket. The valentine criticizes him for neglecting his job to pay attention to women., Text: What a happy life the policeman leads; / With his Starry shield before him! / He mutters his love to the passing maids, / While ladies, from windows, adore Him. / The Gallant BRAVE Fellow never suspects / A thief might, near Him, be stealing; / So he chats with HIS DEAR, and bows his respects, / While love the dark-deed is concealing., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
- Date
- [between 1840 and 1880?]
- Title
- "Maid of Grease" how fat you look.
- Description
- A woman cook stands in front of a stove and holds the lid of a pot. A policeman, or "Bobby," stands behind her and says, "Pretty cookery.", Text: "Maid of Grease" how fat you, / The plainest surely of plain Cook; / To try your charms on me's no use / For you shall never cook any Goose. / Doubtless you may think it nobby / To win the notice of some 'Bobby;' / But value not his Cupboard love, / Who from cook to cook doth rove; / Lose your place and money, you / Will find you've lost your Bobby too., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
- Date
- [between 1840 and 1880?]
- Title
- [Armory of First City Troop, 21st and Ludlow streets, Philadelphia]
- Description
- Exterior views of the first permanent First City Troop armory erected in 1863 at 21st and Ludlow streets below Market Street. Also shows four men, including a policeman, standing near the entranceway of the building. Armory was rebuilt in 1874. The First City Troop, a private military organization and one of the oldest continually mounted U.S. military units, was organized in 1774 to defend against British invasion., Title supplied by cataloguer., Stereograph on yellow mount with square corners., Created postfreeze., Two of the images originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of materials related to the Cooper and Union Shop Volunteer Saloons and Hospitals., Stereograph inscribed with misidentification: Cooper Shop?, One of the images [5778.F.27f] 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. 88., Arcadia caption text: Founded in 1774 to defend the American colonies and still in existence today as the oldest mounted military unit in continuous service in the United States Armed Forces, the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry has participated both in combat and at ceremonial occasions. In 1863 the First City Troop erected its first permanent armory, shown here on Twenty-First and Ludlow streets, for $19,000. The Troop quickly outgrew this modest two-story brick structure with its riding hall in the rear, and enlarged and altered the building as part of its centennial celebration in 1874. In 1901 the Troop moved to its present armory on South Twenty-Third Street., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
- Date
- ca. 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - unidentified - Military [5778.F.27e], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - unidentified - Military [P.2282.37], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Military [5778.F.27f]
- Title
- F[ire] and P[olice] Dept. Record. [certificate]
- Description
- Blank membership certificate for members of fire and police departments that contains eleven views, some montages, documenting the activities of life as a police officer and fireman. Views include call boxes in use by concerned citizens; scenes of rescue, including victims pulled from fires and the restraining of run-away horses and of crowd control, including police assistance during a fire alarm; police in a horse-drawn wagon in a shoot out with a mob throwing bricks; police manning and marching in a parade; racing fire engines and trucks; and a courtroom scene. Also includes a vignette showing a policeman and fireman shaking hands in front of a call box; pictorial details of a billy club, an ax, and flags of different nations; and a border containing cornices depicted as police and firemen helmets. Imagery surrounds a blank entry for genealogical, professional, and death information., Gift of David Doret., Vickroy, a prominent Indiana fine arts publisher, specialized in genealogical and fraternal order certificates.
- Creator
- J. M. Vickroy Co.
- Date
- c1902
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Certificates - Fire [P.2009.6.3]
- Title
- [Steam dummies, Fifth & Sixth Street line, with crowd]
- Description
- Depicts a crowd of people standing near the number 8 steam dummy that operated along Fifth and Sixth Streets, between Frankford and Southwark, at one point known as the Frankford-Southwark Passenger Railway. An engineer or driver stands alone in soiled overalls next to an open compartment, as if he's just repaired or inspected the car. The conductor and a uniformed policeman stand with other male passengers in the background, in front of the attached trailer, which has seats on the roof of the car., Title from manuscript on verso., According to Jackson's Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, steam dummies were first used on the Frankford branch of the Frankford-Southwark Passenger Railway in 1863 and operated until 1893 when electric streetcars replaced them., Gift of Emily Riese., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited.
- Creator
- Davis, Eugene H., photographer
- Date
- 1894
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Davis [P.9332.4]
- Title
- [Spring Garden Hall, N.W. corner Thirteenth & Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia.]
- Description
- Exterior view of the hall containing the district's police station and Mayor's office completed in 1848 after the designs of William L. Johnston at Spring Garden and North Thirteenth streets. Shows the Greek-Revival style building, the largest of the commissioners' halls buildings, adorned with a steeple built by Jacob Berger and containing a clock made by T. Tyson. Prior to the city's consolidation with bordering townships in 1854, neighborhoods maintained and housed their own police stations, mayors, and other government officials in commissioners' halls, including Spring Garden. Razed circa 1892., Photographer's imprint blindstamped on mount., Manuscript note on recto: 12th and Spring Garden; 13th & Sp. Garden., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Probably originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of Philadelphia., McClees & Germon, a partnership between Philadelphia photographers James E. McClees and Washington Lafayette Germon, was active between 1854-1855.
- Creator
- McClees & Germon
- Date
- ca. 1855
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *photo - McClees [8339.F.18]
- Title
- Spring Garden Hall, N.W. corner Thirteenth & Spring Garden St
- Description
- Exterior view of the hall containing the district's police station and Mayor's office completed in 1848 after the designs of William L. Johnston at Spring Garden and North Thirteenth streets. Shows the Greek-Revival style building, the largest of the commissioners' halls buildings, adorned with a steeple built by Jacob Berger and containing a clock made by T. Tyson. Also shows a gentleman at the entranceway of the building; neighboring buildings; and trees in cages, including one adorned with a broadside, lining the street in the foreground. Prior to the city's consolidation with bordering townships in 1854, neighborhoods maintained and housed their own police stations, mayors, and other government officials in commissioners' halls, including Spring Garden. Razed circa 1892., Title, date, 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 69. 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 1855-12., 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 #94., 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
- 1855
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - McClees - Government Buildings [(5)2526.F.8a]
- Title
- Extra bounty! Families of recruits provided for. By the liberal contribution of the Grocers' Committee, the Fifth Metropolitan Guard Col. T.W. Parmele, is enabled to offer an extra cash bounty of $10 for each recruit in addition to other bounties. The families of recruits are also provided for by the Metropolitan Police Fund, and have the gratuitous services of the physicians of the Police Department at their own homes. Headquarters, Howard St., near Broadway
- Description
- The 5th Metropolitan Guard, the 174th Regiment of New York Infantry, was mustered in Nov. 13, 1862 and consolidated with 162nd New York Infantry Feb. 17, 1864., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War.
- Creator
- United States, Army, New York Infantry Regiment, 174th (1862-1864)
- Date
- [1862]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare sm # Am 1862 Uni Sta (2)5777.F.4c (McAllister)
- Title
- [Founders' Week parade, Philadelphia Brewing Co. floats, Industrial Day, October 7, 1908, Philadelphia]
- Description
- View showing the procession of horse-drawn floats on South Broad Street between Walnut and Pine streets during the Founder's Week parade. Floats display boughs of barley and hops; stacks of crates; and a large keg. Viewing stands decorated with bunting and American flags filled with spectators line the street. Also shows several police officers, including African Americans, standing in front of the crowds on the east side of the street. The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is visible in the left background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 1976., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Processions [8191.F.1]
- Title
- To a Bobby.
- Description
- A policeman in uniform holds a lantern in his hand. The valentine suggests that he takes advantage of the benefits of his position and shies away from the responsibilities., Text: If the right one’s a strong ‘un, / You collar the wrong ‘un, / It’s one of the tricks of the trade. / All the members / Of the force, / Have a watch / and chain, of course. /You’re the biggest fraud in the force, / and with your lantern in your hand, / You frighten all the kids / and rob every costers stand, /You sample the gin at the corners, / till your nose is as red as a beet, / And if they come down with the tanners, / you wink at the rascals who cheat, / You are after all the cookies, / like any love sick chick, / And when there’s a row a brewing / you scamper away mighty quick., Provenance: Helfand, William H..
- Date
- [between 1840 and 1880?]
- Title
- Commissioners Hall, Spring Garden
- Description
- Exterior view of the hall containing the district's police station and Mayor's office completed in 1848 after the designs of William L. Johnston at Spring Garden and North Thirteenth streets. Shows the Greek-Revival style building, the largest of the commissioners' halls buildings, adorned with an American flag and including a steeple built by Jacob Berger with a clock made by T. Tyson. Also shows street and pedestrian traffic, including strolling couples, a man on horseback, and a horse-drawn street car. Prior to the city's consolidation with bordering townships in 1854, neighborhoods maintained and housed their own police stations, mayors, and other government officials in commissioners' halls, including Spring Garden. Razed circa 1892., Names of artists and date supplied by Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 152, Gift of David Doret.
- Creator
- Kuchel, Charles Conrad, b. 1820, artist
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W 80 [P.2004.41.1]
- Title
- View of the farm where the murder of the Deering [sic] Family was committed by the fiend Antoine Probst on April 7th 1866
- Description
- News print showing the farm at Jones Lane in South Philadelphia of the Philadelphia family murdered by their farmhand Anton Probst on April 7, 1866. The victims included Christopher Dearing, aged 38 years; his wife, Julia Dearing, aged 45 years; their son, John Dearing, aged 8 years; their son, Thomas Dearing, aged 6 years; their daughter, Anna Dearing, aged 4 years; their daughter, Emily Dearing, aged 2 years; family friend Elizabeth Dolan, aged 25 years; and fieldhand Cornelius Cary, aged 17 years. Depicts (left to right) "1. The Haystack" where the headless body of the first murdered, field hand Cary, was hidden; "2. The Dwelling" Probst ransacked for money and in which he shaved, changed, napped, and ate after the murder; "3. The Stable" where Probst fed the animals before his departure; and "4. The Barn" where the family was lured one by one, killed, and discovered by neighbors a few days later. Individuals walk the property, including spectators and police, and a cow stands across from two policemen in a field tilled for planting in the foreground. Also shows barren trees, carts, wagons, and other farm equipment. Probst, a German immigrant and swindler, was a disgruntled former farmhand of the Dearings who murdered the family by hammer and ax for revenge and money. He was convicted in May 1866 and executed the following month at Moyamensing Prison for the largest murder in Philadelphia at that time., Not in Wainwright., pdcp00022, Manuscript note on verso: In the ‘neck’ Philada a farm close to the Delaware River., Key to buildings depicted printed below the image., Philadelphia on Stone, Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphiana - Farms
- Date
- [1866]
- Location
- Free Library of Philadelphia. | Print and Photograph Collection. FLP Philadelphiana - Farms
- Title
- View of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, Philadelphia, where over 300,000 Union soldiers have been fed. [graphic] / Schell del; Adrian - Probasco sc.
- Description
- Signature of Corresponding Secretary inscribed on recto: S.B. Fales., Inscribed on recto of 5778.F.8c: Organized May 27th 1861 - finally closed Dec. 1st 1865 - torn down Jany 3, 1866 - 1,025,000 meals furnished to soldiers, sailors, freedmen & c. SBF, Inscribed on recto of P.2006.1: John Mcallister Jr. with regards of Samuel B. Fales. Organized May 27th 1861 - finally closed Dec. 1st 1865 - torn down Jany 3, 1866 - 1,025,000 meals furnished to soldiers, sailors, freedmen & c. SBF, Created postfreeze., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of materials related to the Cooper Shop and Union Volunteer Saloons and Hospitals., Exterior view showing heavy street activity in front of the saloon and hospital of the volunteer relief agency located near the Navy Yard at Swanson and Washington Avenues. A Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad train arrives on the grounds, soldiers line up to enter the saloon, fire company wagons being used as ambulances pass in the streets; and a crowd of men and women stand near a policeman. Contains the names of committee officers and members below the image. Situated at the transportation hub between the North and the South on land leased en gratis from the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, the agency provided meals, hospital care, washing, sleeping, and writing facilities to military personnel, refugees, and freedmen. It served over 800,000 men, 1,025,000 meals before closing.
- Creator
- Adrian & Probasco, engraver., creator, Schell, Francis H., 1834-1909, delineator., creator
- Date
- [ca. 1862]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. Ph Pr - 11x14 - Associations [5778.F.8c; 9a; 30b; P.2006.1.27]
- Title
- An unpleasantness in Swampoodle
- Description
- Photographic reproduction of a print drawn by Helen M. Colburn, daughter of New Jersey artist Rembrandt Lockwood, depicting an altercation in the post-Reconstruction African American and Irish northeast Washington, D.C. working-class neighborhood "Swampoodle." The figures are drawn with racist and caricatured features and mannerisms. In the center, an African American woman holds an ax up to another African American woman who stands with her hands at her hips, and with a look of surprise on her face. A third African American woman to the left of the woman with an ax attempts to reach for the weapon, while a fourth African American woman holds a switch and looks on with a stunned expression. Beside the stunned woman, a small African American boy stands in front of a fifth African American woman leaning over to pick up a rock. In the far left, an African American police officer is being led by an African American boy to the group of women. A shadowy depiction of a crowd of men, women, and children, some holding up brooms and sticks, is visible in the background. Scene also includes wash buckets, switches, and weeds on the ground near the central figure's feet. The central figures wear worn shirts and long skirts or dresses. The woman threatended wears the most worn cloths and rags on her feet. Three of the women wear kerchiefs and two wear aprons. Robinson, married to Washington U.S. Treasury clerk Rollinson Colburn, lived in the Capitol between circa 1870 and her death in 1912. In 1887 eight of her works, some purported to be based on her own eye-witness accounts during the 1870s, showing African American life in the city were published as a collectible series of photographs. Occassionally, Colburn described and signed her descriptions of the scenes on the versos of the photographs., Title printed on mount., Date from copy right statement printed on mount: Copyright 1887., Written in lower left of original print: Copyright 1887., Written in lower right of original print: Mrs. R. Colburn., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- 1887
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - 5 x 7 - unidentified - Events [P.2015.22 & P.2020.16.6]
- 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
- Kerr & Co., 34 Walker St. N.Y
- Description
- Trade card promoting Kerr & Co.’s thread and depicting a racist caricature of an African American man using Kerr’s thread to move a safe onto a cart. In the right, shows an African American man, attired in a yellow hat, an orange shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and green pants, standing on the back of a cart pulled by two white horses. He turns the handle attached to an oversized spool of “Kerr’s Cotton” thread, which is pulling a large, black safe labeled, “Herring’s Champion New York; Kerr & Co., 34 Walker St. N.Y.” onto the cart. A white man, attired in a black hat, an orange shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and green pants, stands behind the safe to steady it. In the left, a crowd of people look on to the scene, including a white man police officer; a brown haired white girl attired in an orange hat, an orange dress with a white lace collar and a blue sash at the waist, and white stockings and shoes; a white man with a black mustache, attired in a black top hat, a white shirt, a black jacket, a yellow coat, and white pants and shoes; and a white woman attired in an orange hat with a white feather, an orange dress with white checks, and a black shawl. Above them a crane holds an oversized spool of black thread labeled, “Kerr & Co. Warranted 200 yds machine thread. Six cord (40) soft finish.” In the right is a building where people look through the windows at the scene. In the second story window in the left are two white men with mustaches attired in white collared shirts and blue jackets. In the right window are two white women attired in an orange dress and a blue dress respectively and hats. The building reads, “six-cord, soft-finish, new spool cotton.”, Peter Kerr (1818-1869) was a thread manufacturer who moved to the United States in 1866 and opened a factory in New York City. He partnered with his brother-in-law George A. Clark's thread company. Clark & Company later merged with J.&P. Coats in 1896., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on recto: Kerr's cotton never breaks. It is a safe thread., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Kerr [P.2017.95.97]
- Title
- Chinatown, Philadelphia, Pa. [900 block Race Street]
- Description
- View of Chinatown on the 900 block of Race Street in Philadelphia. In the right, shows the exterior of the Far East Chinese Restaurant at 907-909 Race Street built after the designs of Thomas Ustick Walter in ca. 1827 and later altered with 907 raised one story and 909 raised two stories. There are Chinese architectural details on the balcony and awning which reads, 907 Far East Chinese Cafe. A white man police officer and a white woman stand under the awning and face the viewer. Buildings extend on both sides of the street including another restaurant with a sign that reads, 917 Cafe. Men and women pedestrians walk on the sidewalks. The Far East Chinese Restaurant operated from circa 1906 to 1952., Title from item., Date inferred from medium and content., Divided back., Library Company copy has manuscript message and address written on verso and is postmarked, Philadelphia, Pa. Jul 13, 1911 4:30 P.M., Gift of Linda Kimiko August.
- Date
- [ca. 1911]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP Postcards - Streets - Race [P.2023.27.2]
- Title
- Chinatown by moonlight Philadelphia, Pa. [900 block Race Street]
- Description
- View of Chinatown on the 900 block of Race Street in Philadelphia. In the right, shows the exterior of the Far East Chinese Restaurant at 907-909 Race Street built after the designs of Thomas Ustick Walter in ca. 1827 and later altered with 907 raised one story and 909 raised two stories. There are Chinese architectural details on the balcony and awning which reads, 907 Far East Chinese Cafe. A white man police officer and a white woman stand under the awning and face the viewer. Buildings extend on both sides of the street including another restaurant with a sign that reads, 917 Cafe. Light emanates through windows and from the signs on the buildings, and the moon shines from above. Men and women pedestrians walk on the sidewalks. The Far East Chinese Restaurant operated from circa 1906 to 1952., Title from item., Date inferred from medium and content., Divided back., Library Company copy has manuscript message and address written on verso and is postmarked, Philadelphia, Pa. Jul 17, 1915 1[0] A.M., Gift of Linda Kimiko August.
- Date
- [ca. 1915]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP Postcards - Streets - Race [P.2023.27.3]
- Title
- "De breddren and sisters will now relate dere experience."
- Description
- Set of five collecting cards depicting African Americans, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque facial features and speaking in the vernacular, satirizing African American church life. Includes (1) "De Breddren and Sisters Will Now Relate Dere Experience" showing a white-haired African American minister at his pulpit before a small congregation of mostly African American women, attired in kerchiefs, and seated in pews; (2) Sister Hannibal. - "Oh Breddren and Sisters, Ise an Awful Sinner" showing Sister Hannibal standing up and confessing among the other congregants; (3) Sister Snowball. - "Yes, Breddren and Sisters, Dats So, I Kin Testify Dat Sister Hannibal is an Awful Sinner. I knows It" showing Sister Snowball standing, her hands clasped across her stomach, while Sister Hannibal, sits and frowns, and the minister rests his hand on his head; (4) "Sister Snowball, You Am a Liar" showing the "sisters" fighting among the other parishioners, who are in various states of commotion; (5) "De Congregation Am Dismissed" showing white men police officers escorting the congregation out of the church, including an unconscious Sister Hannibal in a handcart. Images also show the church interior and exterior, including windows, steps, and a tree., Title from item., Date of publication inferred from date of copyright, Series no. printed in upper left corner., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, 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., Sammis & Latham was a New York publishing firm active in 1882 that issued comic card sets and juvenile novelty items.
- Creator
- Sammis & Latham
- Date
- 1882
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Genre [P.2012.24.1-5]
- Title
- Founder's Week, Industrial Day Oct. 7th 1908. Philadelphia Brewing Co's float. By courtesy of Philadelphia liquor dealers journal
- Description
- View showing a horse-drawn Philadelphia Brewing Company float on the 300 block of South Broad Street during the Founder's Week parade. Float contains white men, attired in hats and smocks, near a large model of a keg inscribed "Brewing Industries of Philadelphia." Float also displays a large banner listing revenues spent by the brewing industry on its "allied trades." A large crowd of spectators, including African American men, women, and children, sit in viewing stands decorated with bunting and stand along the street. A white man police officer stands in front of the crowd. Partial view of Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church (321 S. Broad) is visible in the background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Title and photographer's imprint inscribed in negative., Inscribed in negative: 2958., Purchase 1986., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, with corrections., 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
- Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
- Date
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Rau. [P.9151.4]
- Title
- Founder's Week, Industrial Day, Oct. 7th 1908. Phila. Brewing Co.'s float. By courtesy of Philadelphia liquor dealers journal
- Description
- View showing a horse-drawn Philadelphia Brewing Company float on the 300 block of South Broad Street during the Founder's Week parade. Four white men, attired in white suits and hats, lead the horses pulling the float. The float contains two white men near displays of crates of bottles and is adorned with a hand-painted banner depicting a freight train near factories and a vignette portrait of a horse. Also shows a large crowd of spectators, including African American men, women, and children, seated in viewing stands decorated with bunting and standing along the street. A white man police officer stands in front of the crowd. Partial view of Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church (321 S. Broad) is visible in the background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Title and photographer's imprint inscribed in negative., Inscribed in negative: 2955., Purchase 1986., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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
- Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
- Date
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Rau. [P.9151.6]
- Title
- Founder's Week, Industrial Day Oct. 7th 1908. Philadelphia Brewing Co.'s float. By courtesy of Philadelphia liquor dealers journal
- Description
- View showing a horse-drawn Philadelphia Brewing Company float on the 300 block of South Broad Street during the Founder's Week parade. The float with a financial theme contains white men costumed as "Uncle Sam" and a late 17th-century gentleman near a chest labeled "State Treasury" and stacks of money bags. Float also contains a banner inscribed with the annual amounts of local, state, and federal taxes paid by Philadelphia brewers. Also shows a large crowd of spectators, including African American men, women, and children, seated in viewing stands decorated with bunting and standing along the street. A white man police officer stands in front of the crowd. Partial view of Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church (321 S. Broad) is visible in the background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Title and photographer's imprint inscribed in negative., Inscribed in negative: 2953., Purchase 1986, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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
- Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
- Date
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Rau [P.9151.7]
- Title
- Founder's Week, Industrial Day Oct. 7th 1908. Philadelphia Brewing Co.'s float. By courtesy of Philadelphia liquor dealers journal
- Description
- View showing a horse-drawn Philadelphia Brewing Company float on the 300 block of South Broad Street during the celebration of the Founder's Week parade. Float contains white men and a woman in German costume near hop vines on stakes, and boughs of barley and hop tenders. Float also contains a banner promoting the amount of hops, barley, and other cereals utilized by Philadelphia breweries. Also shows a large crowd of spectators, including African American men, women, and children, seated in viewing stands decorated with bunting and standing along the street. A white man police officer stands in front of the crowd. Partial view of the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church (321 S. Broad) is visible in the background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Title and photographer's imprint inscribed in negative., Inscribed in negative: 2959., Purchase 1986., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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
- Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
- Date
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Rau [P.9151.8]
- Title
- Founder's Week, Industrial Day, Oct. 7th, 1908. Philadelphia Brewing Co's float. By courtesy of Philadelphia liquor dealers journal
- Description
- View showing a horse-drawn Philadelphia Brewing Company float on the 300 block of South Broad Street during the Founder's Week parade. Four white men attired in costume lead the float containing brewing equipment, including a kettle and fermenter. Several men sit and stand on the float, which also displays a banner promoting the "Magnitude of the Brewing Industry of Pennsylvania." A large crowd of spectators, including African American men, women, and children, sit in viewing stands decorated with bunting and stand along the street. A white man police officer stands in front of the crowd. Partial view of the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church (321 S. Broad) is visible in the background. Founder’s Week celebrated the 225th anniversary of the founding of Philadelphia, October 4-10, 1908. There were numerous parades and activities with each day having a special designation, including Religious, Military, Municipal, Industrial, Children’s and Naval, Historical, and Athletic and Knights Templar Day., Manuscript note on mount: Property of National Decorating Co., Phila. Pa., Title and photographer's imprint inscribed in negative., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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
- Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer
- Date
- October 7, 1908
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Rau [P.9260.639]
- Title
- Commissioners Hall, Northern Liberties, Phila
- Description
- Exterior winter view of the hall as it looked on February 22, 1852, with adjoining fenced property, adorned with an American flag, and containing the district's police station and Mayor's office, on the busy, snow covered Third Street between Buttonwood and Green streets. Several warmly dressed white pedestrians, hall officials, and a policeman mill about and converse on the sidewalk; white children throw snowballs and play with a sled; horse-drawn sleighs pass by; white men shovel snow off the street and hall steps; and an African American man carrying a basket of celery and a dead goose stops in the street and looks behind him and toward the passing sled. A broadside inscribed, "Washington, 22nd Feb. 1852" adorns a nearby building. Prior to the city's consolidation with bordering townships in 1854, neighborhoods maintained and housed their own police stations, mayors, and other government officials in Commissioners Halls, including Northern Liberties. Built in 1814, the Northern Liberties' hall served as the quarters of the Northern Liberty Barracks until the American Revolution, and was torn down circa 1869 for the erection of Northern Liberties Grammar School., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Reproduced in Edwin Wolf's Philadelphia: Portrait of an American city (Philadelphia: Camino Books in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1990), p. 199. Incorrectly identified as Commissioners Hall, Spring Garden., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 151, Print described in Public Ledger, July 1, 1853., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Kuchel, Charles Conrad, 1820-, artist
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W79 [P.2034]
- Title
- Commissioners Hall, Northern Liberties, Phila
- Description
- Exterior winter view of the hall as it looked on February 22, 1852, with adjoining fenced property, adorned with an American flag, and containing the district's police station and Mayor's office, on the busy, snow covered Third Street between Buttonwood and Green streets. Several warmly dressed white pedestrians, hall officials, and a policeman mill about and converse on the sidewalk; white children throw snowballs and play with a sled; horse-drawn sleighs pass by; white men shovel snow off the street and hall steps; and an African American man carrying a basket of celery and a dead goose stops in the street and looks behind him and toward the passing sled. A broadside inscribed, "Washington, 22nd Feb. 1852" adorns a nearby building. Prior to the city's consolidation with bordering townships in 1854, neighborhoods maintained and housed their own police stations, mayors, and other government officials in Commissioners Halls, including Northern Liberties. Built in 1814, the Northern Liberties' hall served as the quarters of the Northern Liberty Barracks until the American Revolution, and was torn down circa 1869 for the erection of Northern Liberties Grammar School., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Reproduced in Edwin Wolf's Philadelphia: Portrait of an American city (Philadelphia: Camino Books in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1990), p. 199. Incorrectly identified as Commissioners Hall, Spring Garden., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 151, Print described in Public Ledger, July 1, 1853., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Kuchel, Charles Conrad, 1820-, artist
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W79 [P.2034]
- Title
- [William H. Helfand miscellaneous popular medicine ephemera collection]
- Description
- Collection of ephemera primarily from the pharmaceutical and medical trades. Contains trade cards, business cards, illustrated envelopes, and small-format advertising fliers, calendars, circulars, and cards. Firms and businesses represented include Boston Chemical Company; C.I. Hood & Co.; H.H. Warner & Co.; Maltine Manufacturing Co.; The Newton Horse Remedy Co.; Smith, Kline & French; and Voigt Milling Co. Products advertised include Eskay's albumenized food; cough and kidney cures; balsams; liver pills; heaves and distemper cure; smelling salts; electro-silicon and crudoform liniment; and an obstetric calendar. Illustrations depict various subjects, including storefronts and factories, children, a horse-drawn sulky, a policeman, portraiture, genre and comic scenes, patent medicines, and patriotic and allegorical figures. An envelope containing a vignette of the New York state seal also included as part of the collection., Title supplied by cataloger., Various engravers and printers, including Holyoke Electro. Co.; Ketterlinus; and Rode & Brand Lith. Co., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., Housed with William Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection.
- Date
- [ca. 1880-ca. 1898]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Misc. Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection [P.2010.36]
- Title
- Sunday laws hanging the cat on Monday for killing the mouse on Sunday
- Description
- Cartoon mocking Philadelphia's Sunday Laws depicting the moment before "Thomas" the cat will be hanged for his murder of a mouse on the Sabbath. In the center, shows the gallows surrounded by a line of white policemen, attired in uniforms and caps. In the left, three white hangmen, attired in suits, hold onto the rope and pull on the unlooped end of the noose. Two of the men smile sinisterly, while the third man wipes his tears with a handkerchief as he says, “Alas poor Tom!” To the right, an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, carries the "Blood Tub." Under the noose, a white man, possibly Philadelphia Mayor Alexander Henry, stands holding an execution order that reads, “Mayor Public Execution Tom” and the cat by the scruff of its neck. Before him stands a minister, resembling John Chambers, a champion of the Sunday Laws. He holds the dead mouse in this right hand and an open book in his left hand as he sentences the cat to death for murder. Behind the minister, an elderly white man, attired in a suit with a white bowtie, stands slightly hunched down holding an ear trumpet to his right ear. He comments, “I can’t hear a word the minister says on account of them cars,” a reference to the contested Sunday Law against the running of streetcars. A black dog runs in the left foreground., Title from item., Date from manuscript note written on recto: Aug. 1859., Place of publication inferred from content., Text printed on recto, below image: In the Dark Ages, long ago, One Horne was flogged on Monday; What for? That’s what I want you to know, He danced a horn-pipe Sunday! That was all! He but danced a horn-pipe Sunday, But he danced to the horsewhip Monday. By the roundheads, too, when Cromwell reigned, We read there was a hung on Monday, A cat who “the Sabbath day (?) profaned” By cat-ching a mouse on Sunday? Understand: She played with him first on Sunday, ‘Twas for that she was hung on Monday! And by America’s Puritan men, Mrs. Hotchkiss was punished on Monday; Cotton Mather forbade her, but once and again, She had kissed her babe on Sunday; A blow for a kiss. For so many kisses on Sunday, She got so many blows on Monday. So, too, in Brooklyn, the other day, Meyerbeer was tried on Monday; The complaint against him thus did say “He has sold lager beer on Sunday” And he had! But the jury said, on Monday! A good drink might be sold Sunday! And in the West’s “Queen city,” too, One Rudolph’s just ‘quitted on Monday; He would drive his ‘bus the whole week through And accommodate people on Sunday: And the Court, Gave the very Pruden-t decision on Monday, That “there’s more than ‘one thing needful’ on Sunday:” And so the “good time” is “coming” boys When a thing that is good on Monday—A drink, or a drive, or a joyful noise—Will be thought not bad on Sunday! Everywhere When wrong will be wrong on Monday, And right will be right on Sunday!, Accessioned 1893., 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
- [Philadelphia]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1859-Sun [5656.F.24a]
- Title
- Slaves concealing their master from a search party
- Description
- Proslavery print depicting an enslaved African American family hiding their white man enslaver in their cabin from a Union search party on horseback. The enslaver, holding a pistol, hides behind the open door from which the mother, her chair turned over behind her, misdirects the search party down the road. Near the hearth, an older son holds a skillet defensively as a younger petrified sibling holds unto him for protection., Inscribed upper left corner: 12., Issued as plate 12 in Sketches from the Civil War in North America (London [i.e., Baltimore]: [the author], 1863-1864), a series of pro-Confederacy cartoons drawn and published by Baltimore cartoonist Adalbert John Volck under the pseudonym V. Blada. The "first issue" of 10 prints (numbered 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24), with imprint "London, 1863" were printed as etchings. The remaining 20 prints (numbered 4, 8, 9-11, 14, 17-20, 23, 25-27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 40, 45) headed "Second and third issues of V. Blada's war sketches" and dated "London, July 30, 1864" were printed as lithographs., Title and publication information from series at Brown University Library., Research file about artist available at repository., Accessioned 1935., 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 Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Creator
- Volck, Adalbert John, 1828-1912, artist
- Date
- [1863]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Volck - Sketches - Volck 12 [2990.F.3]
- Title
- Life in Philadelphia. A black charge
- Description
- Racist caricature depicting a courtroom scene where an African American man magistrate hears the case of an African American man detained for drunkenness and "-sulting de Fair sec." In the left, the judge who has one foot wrapped and raised on a foot rest sits at a table and holds a glass of liquid with a spoon in it near a bottle and corkscrew. He has a receding hairline, wears glasses, and is attired in a blue waistcoat, tan vest, white shirt and bowtie, black pantaloons, and a black shoe with a buckle. He states that the detainee has put a "Fair Face" on the matter, but "appearances are bery Black" against him. In the right, the hiccupping detainee, who is attired in a worn, striped shirt and blue jacket, and white patched pants is held by his jacket by an African American man constable attired in a brown robe with yellow details and black slip on shoes with buckles. He holds a staff in his right hand. The detainee explains to the judge that he is innocent and that all he did was ask to "scort a lady home." Next to the judge stands an African American man secretary, attired in a dark jacket and white shirt and bow tie. He stands with a quill in his hand in front of a ledger, ready to write down the testimony. Figures are depicted with oversize and exaggerated features. Their skin tone is depicted with black hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferrred from content and name of publisher., Contains three dialogue bubbles above the image: Please y-r Worship I hab taken up dis Nigger!! case he’s -nebriated and -sulting to de Fair sec./Well, young man, you seem to put a bery, Fair Face, on the matter. But, I can assure you, Appearances, are bery Black, against you. What hab you to say, to de Charge./It wasn’t me yr (hiccup) Honor. Dis old Black Beadle kick’d up (hiccup) all de Row case I asked bebe to scort a Lady home., Charles Hunt was a respected 19th century London engraver and etcher known mostly for his prints of sporting subjects., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Summers, William, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1833]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (London Set) [P.9710.5]
- Title
- 'Conquering prejudice,' or 'fulfilling a constitutional duty with alacrity.'
- Description
- Antislavery print depicting the pursuit of a freedom seeker in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Shows a barefooted, enslaved African American woman, portrayed with exaggerated features, and attired in a head kerchief and a short-sleeved dress. She runs holding her child and screams for help, "My God! My child! Will no one help! Is there no mercy!" Chasing her are Daniel Webster admiring himself for performing a "disagreeable duty," a marshal holding a gun and handcuffs and exclaiming a sense of relief over Webster's interpretation of the Constitution, and two dogs. In the background is a church and courthouse., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 1978, p. 54-5., Purchase 1978., 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 Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Kramer was a German born painter and lithographer who worked with the Rosenthals, a prominent Philadelphia family of lithographers from 1850 and through the early 1850s.
- Creator
- Kramer, Peter, 1823-1907, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1851- Con [8433.F]
- Title
- Life in New York
- Description
- Collection of primarily racist social caricatures lampooning the etiquette and conventions of early 19th-century, middle-class New Yorkers, particularly the growing community of free African American persons. Eliciting the heightened racism in the antebellum North, the African American men, women, and children characters are depicted with exaggerated features, wearing boldly-patterned and colored clothes, and speaking in a vernacular to be portrayed and denigrated as illegitimate elite society. Caricatures also address “rules” of courtship, fashion, classism, and a dance lesson. Some caricatures also represent the sexism and ethnic divisions of the era., Influenced by the "Life in Philadelphia" series of 1828-1830, the series consists of at least eight prints published around 1830 by eminent New York lithographer Anthony Imbert. Although often attributed to Edward W. Clay, the different styles of the caricatures imply that the prints were executed by various artists employed by Imbert. The African American caricature, "A Five Points Exclusive," a lithograph published in the early 1830s by John Pendleton, an associate of Imbert, has been included as a part of the series., Serie title from items., Dates inferred from content and names of publishers., Original series contained at least eight prints., LCP holds four of the series. Three are first editions., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 93-95. (LCP Print Room Yz, A423.O), 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., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- 1830-ca. 1834, bulk 1830
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set)
- Title
- Life in New York. My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson..."
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Canova, Dominico, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]
- Title
- Life in New York. My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson..."
- Description
- Racist and sexist caricature exploiting a documented assault case reported as a lampoon in the September 30, 1829 edition of the "Morning Courier and New York Enquirer" about two African American men in an altercation over the intentions and handkerchief of "Miss Minta." In front of the left side of a police station counter attended by seven white men, "Antonio Cesea de Wilson" is being held back by his coat lapel by a white older man. The older man, attired in a waist coat and pantaloons, has a slight frown. Wilson, portrayed with wide, round eyes and a plain expression, and attired in a cravat, shirt, waistcoat, vest, and pants, stands with his feet apart and his left arm outstretched and his hand in a fist as his other arm is pulled back. He explains to the police how he came to the tussle with "Massa Sambo." On the right side of the counter, "Massa Sambo," portrayed with a plain expression, and attired in a ruffled shirt, cravat, waistcoat, and stirrup pants, stands and gestures behind him to Miss Minta." She holds a closed fan up in one hand and a parasol to the ground with the other. She is portrayed with a plain expression and wears her hair in a top knot and is attired in a long-sleeved, double-skirted dress with a check pattern and lace details, stockings, and slip on shoes. She looks in the direction of “Massa Sambo.” He explains that he is the receiver of the handkerchief and her rightful suitor. He has not only received her "witching glance" but has given her several gifts, including a lock of hair. The men, congregated behind the station's counter, include the magistrate recording the testimonies. The men are attired in waistcoats, shirts, and cravats. Many of the men laugh and, in the right, one reads a paper near shelves of ledgers. The African American figures are portrayed with oversize features., Title from item., Date inferred from content and name of publisher., Contains several lines of dialogue in dialect and the vernacular below the image: My name is Antonio Ceasa de Wilson, I have been paying a visit to Miss Araminta Arabella Tomson in de oyster cellar where she live, Where Massa Sambo come in and say “You have no business here” so I look at Miss Minta and she say I have, and this gentleman and me have a tussle. The handkerchief is not his, but one Miss Minta made a present of to me.”/I can assure you “that Miss Araminta did give me the witching glance, which told me as plain as eye could speak that I was the more welcome visiter, and as to the handkerchief, it is Miss Minta’s, and I have better right to it than this other gentleman, as I have presented to her, a scissor, a timble, and a lock of my hair.”, Anthony Imbert, a New York artist, was a pioneer of American lithography who was also known for his ability as a marine painter., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Canova, Dominico, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1830]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in New York (New York Set) [P.9704.1]