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- Title
- Joseph L. Varnam, ladies' and gents' & children's boot & shoe maker, Bustleton, 23rd ward, Philad'a Fine custom work made to order. Repairing promptly attended to
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature with an oversized head and exaggerated facial features, sitting on a chair and playing the cello. He is attired in bright, mismatched clothing, including a yellow hat, a red and white striped and collared shirt, a yellow bowtie, a blue jacket with tails, yellow and red striped pants, blue socks, and yellow and black shoes. Includes vignettes of a boot and a shoe printed on verso., Title from stamp on verso., Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Varnum [P.9984.1]
- Title
- [Wm. F. Simes & Son trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for Wm. F. Simes & Son, proprietors of the "little gem corn & bunion remedy", at 1102 Market Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a couple embracing and reeling in a large fish; a woman and three anthropomorphic owls reading and standing on a thin tree branch; a girl reeling in a fish twice the size of her own body; a man with a large, bulbous nose standing next to a stork on a beach, looking toward the ocean where a male fairy flies to retrieve a hat floating in the water; a Native American female cherub kneeling before a small Greek statuette; a male cherub playing a banjo and synchronizing the movements of a tiny ballerina doll to the music with a string attached his leg; a male cherub picking flowers and observing a dragonfly; and a male suitor standing next to the bench where his female companion is seated., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.858] copyrighted 1882 by [illegible?], Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Simes [1975.F.755-759; 1975.F.789; 1975.F.815; 1975.F.858]
- Title
- [S. Shoneman trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for Samuel Shoneman's "button house" and ladies' trimmings store at 101 South Eleventh Street, later 1018 Chestnut Street, in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict sprays of flowers; flowers in a vase; children carrying a potted flowering plant; a girl picking and smelling flowers; putti; a boy straddling a music stand containing sheet music and playing the violin or fiddle; a male figure attired in a hat and ruffled collar standing near a scythe and hourglass holding a hoop through which a frog leaps; and a view showing the treaty made at the village of Shackamaxon (i.e. Penn Treaty Park, Kensington) on the Delaware River. Penn, surrounded by his delegates, negotiates with the Delaware Indian chief near a giant elm tree. Crates of goods are sat upon and displayed by the English delegation. Also shows residences standing in the background., Title supplied by cataloger., Three prints contain advertising text printed on versos promoting various styles of buttons sold by Shoneman's "button house", along with various ladies trimmings, jewelry and fancy goods., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880-1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Shoneman [1975.F.691; 1975.F.698; 1975.F.798; 1975.F.850; 1975.F.852; 1975.F.862 & 863; P.9728.10]
- Title
- Harm oneons Carolina melodies arranged for the piano forte
- Description
- Sheet music cover showing the minstrel group, the Harmoneons, in Blackface as a musical group playing in a tropical setting. The four men and one man dressed as a woman are seated and play instruments, including a triangle, fiddle, banjo, tambourine, and clappers. The men are attired in button-down, yellow striped shirts and white pants, and the woman in a short-sleeved, red and white dress. Palm trees, a mountain side, and ocean are visible in the background. The entertainers' and their characters' names are printed below the image: Js. Power as Toney; M. S. Pike as Fanny; L. V. N. Crosby as Pomp; F. Lynch as Gumbo; and Jno. Power as Sambo. The Harmoneons, founded by Crosby and originally managed by J. Simmons Davis, were one of the earliest minstrel troupes in the United States and were active into the 1860s., Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1845 by C. Bradlee & Co. in the clerk's office of the District Cou[rt]., Title list of scores printed on recto., Facsimile signature of minstrel L. V. N. Crosby printed on recto. LCP copy contains partial signature., Gift of Michael Zinman, 2009., Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Lower corners missing., 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
- Sharp, William, 1803-1875, artist
- Date
- 1845
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Entertainment - H [P.2009.25]