Series of trade cards for J.C. Finn & Sons paper hanging store at Tenth and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia depicting a girl applying adhesive to wallpaper strips and sloppily hanging them on the wall and flowering vines bordering a framed landscape view of a watermill., One print [1975.F.307] copyrighted by Chas. W. Frost 1881., One print [1975.F.308] contains advertising text promoting "French tapestry papers" and "special designs for ceiling ornamentation" printed on verso., Printers and engravers include Farmer, Livermore & Co., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
ca. 1881
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Finn [1975.F.307 & 308]
Advertisement showing the first floor of the elegant storefront, on the 600 block of Arch Street, surrounded by a tromp l'oeil border. Through the open entryway, a clerk is visible showing wallpaper samples, propped upon racks, to two women and a gentleman patron, seated on chairs. Large display windows adorned with massive scenic views flank the doorway. A boy and gentleman, stand near a boot scrape and admire one window display, and a mother, holding a parasol, and attended by her daughter, stand on cellar doors, and admire the paper in the other. An elegantly-attired couple strolls past a tall, closed door to the establishment and a muzzled dog walks near by. A hitching post labeled "Wall Paper" stands in front of the store near the street. Also shows partial views of the upper floor, and adjoining buildings. Border comprised of sheets of various patterns of wallpaper, in addition to rolls of the material., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: April 1849., Printer attributed by Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 250, LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America #66., Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Reproduced in Jennifer Ambrose, "Nineteenth Century Advertising Prints," in Magazine Antiques (August 2006)., Trimmed.
Creator
Rease, W. H., artist
Date
[April 1849]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W127 [P.2082]
Block-printed wallpaper depicting an exterior view of Machinery Hall designed by Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Horse-drawn carriages bring visitors to and from the Hall. A large crowd of spectators walk on the grounds. In the foreground, people from various nationalities and ethnicities are represented including Native Americans attired in feather headdresses; two men, including a Black man, attired in fez hats; two Chinese men, one carrying a fan, attired in conical hats and robes; two Arab men in white headdresses and robes; and a Scottish man attired in a kilt. Other spectators include a man attired in a sailor’s uniform, men and women couples, and young boys., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Gift of David Doret., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1876]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***Doret and Mitchell Collection – Prints [P.2022.62.3.49]