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- Title
- Thomas Clarkson
- Description
- Three-quarter length portrait of the British deacon, abolitionist, and author. Clarkson, attired in a white collared shirt, a black waistcoat, jacket, and pants, sits holding a pair of spectacles in his left hand and a quill in his right hand. He leans his right elbow on a table adorned with a "Map of Africa." Clarkson, author of "The History of the rise, progress, and accomplishment of the African slave-trade," was a founder of the British Anti-Slavery Society., Title from printed signature of sitter below image., Manuscript note on mount: The Philanthropist. Wrote in opposition to the slave trade., Gift of David Doret, 2004., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Dean, T. A., engraver
- Date
- May 1839
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait prints - C [P.2004.46.3]
- Title
- The battle at Bunker's Hill near Boston June 17, 1775
- Description
- Book illustration after John Trumbull's historical painting based on his eyewitness account of the battle while serving as a commissioned officer during the American Revolution. Dramatically depicts the scene of American Major General Joseph Warren's death proceeding the Americans' retreat from the hill. Amidst a melee of activity, Warren lies dying in the arms of an American militiaman who fends off a bayonnet pointed down over his body by an English soldier. British Major John Small restrains the bayonnet of his soldier as Americans Captain Thomas Gardner, holding a musket, Major Andrew McClary, and Colonel William Prescott stand guard over their fallen compatriot. Behind Small, British Major John Pitcairn, mortally wounded, is held up by Lieutenant William Pitcairn and to the far right American Lieutenant Thomas Grovesnor stands en garde shielding Peter Salem, an armed African American soldier who discharged the fatal shot at Pitcairn. British Generals William Howe, Henry Clinton, and Lieutentant Francis Lord Rawdon, flag in hand, continue the charge in the background. Other American soldiers involved in the battle include: Colonel Israel Putnam who gallantly leads the retreat; Rev. Samuel McClintock; Major Willard Moore, as well as several other free African American soldiers. American Lieutenant Colonel Moses Parker and British Lieutentant Colonel Sir Robert Abercromby lay dying., Published in John Howard Hinton's The history and topography of the United States of North America,... [LCP *Am 1834 Hinto, 11860.Q.1] and later editions., Printed below title: Vol. I. page . 226., Original painting at Yale School of Fine Art, New Haven, Connecticut., Described in Theodore Sizer's The works of Colonel John Trumbull (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967), p. 95., Described in The Library of Congress' An album of American battle art, 1755-1918. (Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Printing Office, 1947), p. 27-30., 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., Gift of Dolly Maass, 2002.
- Creator
- Archer & Boilly, engraver
- Date
- [1834]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - American Revolution [P.2002.14]
- Title
- The bloody massacre perpetuated in King Street, Boston, on March 5th, 1770, by a party of the 25th Regt
- Description
- Depicts a scene during the "Boston Massacre" of March 5th, 1770 in which an officer signals seven British soldiers to fire into a mob of protesting colonists. The wounded lie on the ground or are carried away by the crowd. A woman in a shawl observes the carnage. Eighteen lines of verse criticizing the actions of the British and a list of colonists killed or injured appear below the image: "Saml Gray, Saml Maverick, James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks, and Patk Carr (killed) and it is noted that there were "Six wounded; two of them (Christr Monk & John Clark) Mortally." Crispus Attucks, included in the list of colonists but not transparently depicted, was a free man, sailor, and the alleged leader of the crowd who was the first colonist shot and killed., Title from item., Most well-known of Paul Revere's prints, and a nearly identical copy of a print entitled "The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre" by Henry Pelham who accused Revere of piratism., Facsimile based on the original by Revere., Inscribed: Copy Right Secured., One of the prints originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of Massachusetts. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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., Revere was a Boston silversmith, engraver, and cartoonist, most known for his patriotic activities during the American Revolution.
- Creator
- Revere, Paul, 1735-1818, artist
- Date
- March 5, 1832
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1770-1 [1884.F.25; 5738.F.8]
- Title
- Chesnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia
- Description
- Exterior view of the third building of the popular theater, known as "Old Drury," at Chestnut Street above Sixth. White men and women pedestrians, a white newspaper boy, and laborers stroll the sidewalk. An African American huckster sells his wares to a customer in the street. The building, designed by William Strickland, was erected in 1822 after fire claimed the second building at Sixth and Chestnut Streets. It was demolished in 1855., Title from item., Published in John Howard Hinton's The history and topography of the United States (London: I.T. Hinton, & Simpkin & Marshall, 1830-1832), vol. 2, aft. p. 502. (LCP Am 1830 Hinto (2231.Q))., Printed in upper right corner: 47., Originally part of a Poulson scrapbook of Philadelphia illustrations., 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
- Fenner, Sears & Co., engraver
- Date
- [May 15, 1831]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department PhPr - 8x10 - theaters [(1)1525.F.47a]
- Title
- [Pictorial lettersheet containing illustration of "Am I Not a Woman and Sister"]
- Description
- Illustration depicts the enslaved woman, bare-chested, kneeling on one leg, and holding up her chained hands as in prayer., Addressed to Mr. S. T. haulk [sic] Salburry [i.e., Salisbury] South Carolina., Inscribed: Advertised July 1st., Completed in manuscript from Thos. Wall, Granville, Ohio to "Dear Sir" on May 25, 1840. Reads: Dear Sir is this the way you th treat slaves - if so you had better set thith free and Let them go - the load be upon your head at the [bar?] of god. Then god Say all you an [sic] your slaves must come before god and then be juge [sic] at the Bar of god - Set the [?] free and Let he aogo [sic]. Let the slave go free - [?] and I am - Do you [sic] Work yourself., Illustration of a kneeling male slave is a variant of the image popularized by Josiah Wedgwood. Formed in 1787, the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade designed and adopted as its seal the image of a supplicant African male slave asking "Am I not a man and a brother?" That same year, Wedgwood, a ceramics manufacturer and member of the Committee, issued the image as a medallion, which was distributed in America. The image became a popular anti-slavery icon and was soon widely reproduced on artifacts and in print in the United States and in Britain. During the 1820s, a female counterpart with the motto “Am I not a woman and a sister?” was created by British abolitionists and quickly embraced in the United States, particularly among women abolitionists., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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., Purchase 2011., Access points revised 2021., Description revised 2021., Reason was an African American artist, engraver and lithographer working in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s.
- Creator
- Reason, Patrick Henry, 1816-1898, engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1835]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Allegories [16971.Q]
- Title
- Reading circles. [To commence in early October.] These are intended to give variety and interest to a course of instruction in English Literature and are designed for families, or for young ladies who have completed the usual education at school. The exercises attended to by these circles, consist of the reading and analysis of select passages from the most eminent writers of the language, and are accompanied by explanatory and critical observations from the instructor, on the distinctive qualities of style by which each author is characterized, and on the mode of elocution by which these are appropriately expressed. The members of reading circles attend, twice a week, at each other's residence, in rotation or otherwise, as is found convenient, [or at the instructor's house, 96 S. Eighth Str.] Terms. For a course of 12 weeks, in circle consisting of not fewer than five individuals, $20 each--not fewer than ten, $15 [--in circles of ten, meeting once a week, $10.] References. Robert Walsh, Esq. Dr. James Rush, C. Picot, Esq. J. Frost, Esq. Mrs. Sarazin, Mrs. Sigoigne. William Russel. Philad. Sept. 1834
- Description
- Scottish-born educator William Russell taught at Germantown Academy in Philadelphia beginning in 1830 and left Philadelphia for Boston in 1838., Title annotated in pen., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- 1834
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Russell [P.9938]
- Title
- [Ruins of the Hall]
- Description
- Depicts the burnt ruin of the abolitionist meeting place at Sixth and Haines Streets in Philadelphia. Several white men and women pedestrians walk on the sidewalk. The hall was erected in 1838 as an arena for "free discussion." On May 17, 1838, after 3 days of interracial dedication ceremonies and services, hostile mobs set the hall on fire. The ruin continued to stand until the Odd Fellows Society built a hall on the lot in 1846., Title from P. Lee Phillip's, "A Descriptive list of maps and views of Philadelphia in the Library of Congress, 1683-1865" (Philadelphia: Geographical Society of Philadelphia, 1926), p. 49., Originally published in: [Samuel Webb's], History of Pennsylvania Hall. (Philadelphia: Printed by Merrihew and Gun, 1838). Last page contains advertisement for a limited supply of larger frameable versions of the plate to be sold at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 29 N. 9th Street, in Philadelphia., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of engravings related to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., 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
- Gilbert, Reuben S., engraver
- Date
- [1838]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr-8x10-Associations-Pennsylvania Hall [(6)1322.F.98c]
- Title
- William Wilberforce Esq. M.P
- Description
- Bust-length portrait, showing the English philanthropist, politician, and abolitionist, facing slightly right, seated, and reading a book. Wilberforce is attired in a shirt with a ruffled collar and a double-breasted jacket. He was active in the Church Missionary Society; Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor; and worked in Parliament to abolish the slave trade., Published as frontispiece in Lydia Marie Child's The Oasis (Boston: Benjamin C. Bacon, 1834). (Am 1834 Chi, 70173.D.5)., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of portraits., 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., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Access points revised 2021., Description revised 2021., Andrews, a Boston engraver, who studied and worked in Europe during the mid 19th century, was a prominent line engraver and portraitist.
- Creator
- Andrews, Joseph, 1806-1873, engraver
- Date
- [1834]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department portrait prints - W [5750.F.150b]
- Title
- [Album]
- Description
- Album belonging to Mary Anne Dickerson, a young middle-class African American Philadelphian, possibly created as a pedagogical exercise, with contributions dating from 1833 until 1882. Contains engraved plates depicting scenic views, and original and transcribed poems, prose, essays, and drawings on topics including friendship, motherhood, mortality, youth, death, flowers, female beauty, and refinement. Also contains a one page record of family deaths, marriages, and births with entries up to the birth of Mary Anne's grandson in 1882. Identified contributors are mainly Black elite scholars active in the African American anti-slavery and cultural communities of mid-19th century Philadelphia, New York, and Boston., Contains the following contributions: "The Mother's Joy," a poem by C.F., possibly by abolitionist and second wife of entrepreneur James Forten, Charlotte Vandine Forten; illustration after "The Boroom Slave" and the poem, "To the Album," by artist and activist Robert Douglass; prose, "To Mary Ann", about living a happy life by Philadelphian anti-slavery activist Amy Matilda Cassey; a memorial, "To My Dear Willie," by Mary Anne to her deceased son, William Jones; poem, "The Night of Death," by J.A.J., Mary Anne's husband, John A. Jones; Boston author and civil rights activist William C. Nell's transcription of the poem, "The Rights of Women"; allegorical prose on the meaning of life by New York abolitionist Harriet Forten Purvis; transcription of the poem, "The Pearl Diver," by white Philadelphian anti-slavery activist Arnold Buffum; prose to "Mary Annie" about remembrance by Ada, possibly by anti-slavery activist Sarah Forten Purvis or educator and anti-slavery activist Ada Howell Hinton; floral drawing by A.H.H., probably by Ada Howell Hinton; prose and floral watercolors by educator, abolitionist, and Quaker Sarah Mapps Douglass, the sister of Robert Douglass; "Lines Addressed to a Wreath of Flowers Designed on a Present for Mary Ann" by E.S. Webb, possibly Elizabeth Susan Webb, sister of novelist Frank J. Webb; and prose by Mary Anne about mortality. Additional entries of prose and poetry by John G. Dutton, E.S. Webb, Lydia A.B., Henrietta, W.F.P, and S.L.C., unattributed entry, "To Esther," and unattributed entry of a floral watercolor. Also contains engraved plates by A.B. Durand, C. Fielding, C.G. Childs, Robert Walter Weir, James Smillie and Thomas Cole entitled respectively, "Falls of the Sawkill"; "Italy, The Bay of Naples"; "Weehawken"; "Delaware Water Gap"; "Catskill Mountains"; "Fort Putnam"; and "Winnipiseogee Lake"., Title supplied by cataloguer., Inclusive range of dates inferred from entries inscribed with dates., Contains engraved illustrated title page: Album. The Mother's Joy., Blank album published in New York in 1833 by J.C. Ricker., Embossed and gilt morocco binding., Release of Dower document dated 1838 giving the Dickerson home to the surviving children, contemporary unidentified newspaper clippings, manuscript poetry transcriptions, contemporary greeting cards, trade card, and other miscellaneous loose items removed and housed separately., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 1993, p. 17-25., Research file available at repository., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Dickerson, a pupil of African American educator Sarah Mapps Douglass, was the daughter of African American activists, Martin and Adelia Dickerson, and step-father Samuel Van Brackle.
- Creator
- Dickerson, Mary Anne, 1822-1858
- Date
- [ca. 1833-ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Mary Anne Dickerson album [13860.Q]