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Title: A Sunday morning view of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia._ Taken in June 1829
Description: Busy street scene showing elegantly-dressed African American parishioners of all ages entering the first African Episcopal church in the United States at the corner of Fifth and Adelphi (i.e. Saint James) streets. Includes a date stone in the eave of the church that reads "The African Church MDCCXCIII." Also shows a man leading a horse near the rear of the building. The church was established in 1794 by the religious and beneficent organization, the Free African Society, as a result of the discriminatory practices of the city’s congregations. Absalom Jones, a freed slave, became rector of the church in 1796 and remained as its minister until his death in 1818., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 729, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bb 862 B 756 #44, Free Library of Philadelphia: Castner 28:26, trimmed, staining.
Creator: Breton, William L., ca. 1773-1855, artist
Date: 1829
Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Bb 862 B 756 #44

Title: St. Thomas' (African) Church Southwest corner of Fifth and Adelphi Street. (Episcopal) The Revd. Absalom Jones, (colored) first Rector
Description: Exterior view of the first African Episcopal church in the United States at the corner of Fifth and Adelphi (i.e., Saint James) streets, in Philadelphia, Pa. Shows an oblique view of the two-story church designed with several windows, including lunette windows. A small wall, topped with a wrought iron fence, surrounds the property. Partial view of adjacent buildings in the left and right. The church was established in 1794 by the religious and beneficent organization, the Free African Society, as a result of the discriminatory practices of the city's congregations. Absalom Jones, a freed enslaved man, became rector of the church in 1796 and remained as its minister until his death in 1818., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on mount., Date inscribed on photograph., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 3, page 151. The scrapbooks contained approximately 120 photographs by Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia commissioned by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., 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. 41., Arcadia caption text: This simple church, photographed in May 1859, stood at the corner of Fifth and Saint James streets. Formed in response to the discriminatory practices of the city’s congregations, St. Thomas African Church was established in 1794 as the first African Episcopal church in the United States. An outgrowth of the religious and benevolent organization the Free African Society, established by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the church served as a religious pillar of the elite African American community during the 19th century. Jones, a freed slave, became rector in 1796., 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: Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
Date: May 1859
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Churches and Meetinghouses [(3)2526.F.151]

Title: St. Thomas' (African) Church Southwest corner of Fifth and Adelphi Street. (Episcopal) The Revd. Absalom Jones, (colored) first Rector
Description: Exterior view of the first African Episcopal church in the United States at the corner of Fifth and Adelphi (i.e., Saint James) streets, in Philadelphia, Pa. Shows an oblique view of the two-story church designed with several windows, including lunette windows. A small wall, topped with a wrought iron fence, surrounds the property. Partial view of adjacent buildings in the left and right. The church was established in 1794 by the religious and beneficent organization, the Free African Society, as a result of the discriminatory practices of the city's congregations. Absalom Jones, a freed enslaved man, became rector of the church in 1796 and remained as its minister until his death in 1818., Title and photographer's imprint from Poulson inscription on mount., Date inscribed on photograph., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 3, page 151. The scrapbooks contained approximately 120 photographs by Philadelphia painter and pioneer photographer Richards of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia commissioned by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., 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. 41., Arcadia caption text: This simple church, photographed in May 1859, stood at the corner of Fifth and Saint James streets. Formed in response to the discriminatory practices of the city’s congregations, St. Thomas African Church was established in 1794 as the first African Episcopal church in the United States. An outgrowth of the religious and benevolent organization the Free African Society, established by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the church served as a religious pillar of the elite African American community during the 19th century. Jones, a freed slave, became rector in 1796., 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: Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
Date: May 1859
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Churches and Meetinghouses [(3)2526.F.151]

Title: Diaries
Description: Three volumes of The standard diary (Philadelphia, 1890-1892), belonging to Sarah Sanders Venning Holden, each stamped in gold on front cover: The Real Estate Trust Co. 1340 Chestnut St. Philadelphia. Sallie Venning composed brief daily entries, noting her activities, social engagements, visitors, vacations, and substitute-teaching assignments. There are accounts, and names and addresses at the end of each volume., Sarah Sanders Venning, known as Sallie, was born in Philadelphia Aug. 12, 1872, daughter of Julia and Edward Y. Venning. She was a substitute teacher. She married William B. Holden in 1903 and was widowed in 1928. She was active in St. Thomas African Episcopal Church and in various women's clubs. She died in 1959.
Creator: Holden, Sarah Sanders Venning, 1872-1959
Date: 1890-1892
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts MSS Steven-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning Collection Box 4, Folder 3.

Title: [Miscellaneous prints from the Joe Freedman collection of Philadelphia ephemera]
Description: Collection of miscellaneous prints, including promotional novelties, vignettes, views, proof sheet of banknotes, a photograph reproduction, and a postcard. Imagery depicts City Hall, Continental Hotel, Girard Fire Insurance Company, interior of Independence Hall, "Bird's Eye View from Lemon Hill" showing the Fairmount Water Works, Market Street and Delaware Avenue, the storefront of optician William Y. McAllister and Alex. R. Harper & Bro., watches (728 Chestnut), and vignettes showing miners at work, and a view of laborers at work in a stone quarry juxtaposed with a view of Native American persons. Also includes a 1777 German calendar illustration showing Philadelphia along the Delaware River (.193x); an 1804? lottery ticket for the African Church of St. Thomas (.190x); a ca. 1833 proof sheet of bank notes in German for The Western Bank of Philadelphia; a ca. 1830 textile sewn on paper and illustrated with a genre scene in front of the "House of Refuge, Philadelphia"; a pocket-size political print depicting Philadelphia mayor-elect Morton McMichael holding a fox by its tail to satirize his 1865 election win over Daniel M. Fox; and a 1919 calligraphic envelope (in color inks) addressed to Mrs. Sarah Zook, Temple University Hospital, Broad & Ontario Streets, Phila, Pa. Some prints also depict street and pedestrian traffic. Vignettes are possibly specimens for illustrations on certificates., Title supplied by cataloger., Artists, photographers, and publishers include C. G. Childs, W. N. Jennings, and The Rotograph Co., P.2013.87.190x and 193x in frames and housed separately in phase box., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1830-ca. 1950, bulk ca. 1860-ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Freedman Collection - Box 2 - Miscellaneous [P.2013.87.2; 185-195x], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Freedman Collection - Lottery & Calendar Illustrations [P.2013.87.190x and 193x]

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