Gift of Tim Long, 2016., Seal for the Woodlands Cemetery. Reads: Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philaa. Depicted is a cemetery urn with a lyre and a large tree on the right. A garden folly is in the far left background with the sun’s rays filling the sky. The Woodlands, the former country seat of William Hamilton (1745-1813), was established as the Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philadelphia in 1840. Located in West Philadelphia on the banks of the Schuylkill River, it has over 54 acres of land with over 30,000 people buried wherein.
The seal is a thick disc of brass. The surface is deeply engraved with the Library Company’s emblem, which Franklin designed. Its motto, composed by Franklin, reads “Communiter Bona profundere Dêum est,” which translates as “To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.” On the reverse of the disc is cast a cylindrical stub, perforated with a hole to permit the metal to be fastened to a handle., Made for the Library Company, ca. 1731-1733., Exhibited in, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World (2005-2007).
The Union Library, founded in 1746, merged into the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1769., Image of an open book and two hands shaking. Inscription on outer ring of the seal reads, “Union Library Company Philadelphia.” Motto below this reads, “Read But Chuse.”, Acquired when the Union Library merged with LCP, 1769.
See LCP AR [Annual Report] 1991 p. 26-31., 891 a: Thimble with monogram JES. Bottom decorated with leaves. 891 b. Cameo of George Washington. Italian. 891 c. Back of locket or watch, monogram LSV, 14k gold. 891 d. Small metal plate with monogram C.S.C. 891 e. Token from the South Carolina Society’s Centennial celebration in 1857. Obverse reads: 130 Rich W. Cogdell was admitted a member of the So. Ca. Society, May 2nd 1826. Reverse depicts a hands holding three leaves, reads: Centenl. Celebrn. of So. Ca. Society Mar. 28, 1857. Posteritate. 891 f. Mourning pendant with leather case. Back of pendant reads: John Stevens died June 1, 1772 Aged 52. Mary Stevens died August 1st, 1782, Aged 56. Front has monument with two urns, reads “Rest in Peace” surrounded by trees. Surrounded by a blue border with gold flowers. 891 g. Cameo with neoclassical scene of two men and a women reaching to grab a horse, while a child with a dog sits at the bottom right corner. Italian. 891 h. Button with circular pattern, inscribed W to J. 891 i Clear-cut glass, 3-sided wax seal attached to an ornate (brass?) handle. Depicts: dove with olive branch, man with beard and helmet (Roman?), third side blank. 891 j. Small glass mosaic of beetle. Borders from outside to interior are dark blue, turquoise blue, red. Beetle is composed of gold, red, and green with a white background., Gift of Cordelia Hinkson Brown, Beverly Brown-Ruggia, and family in honor of Phil Lapsansky, 2012., Middle-class African American family active in the Philadelphia African American political, social, educational, and cultural community from the 1850s to the 20th century. The family was involved in several prominent local African American institutions, including the St. Thomas P.E. Church, Church of the Crucifixion, Central Presbyterian Church, the Colored Institute of Youth, and the Citizens Republican Club.
