Library Company of Philadelphia
Here’s hoping you have something to sing about today.
We’re singing about these delightful blue numbers and wow! that gold printing!
These little books were issued as a 6 volume set, all in a neat little slipcase.
My own little library. Boston: Brown, Taggard & Chase, [1859.]
Happy #TeacherAppreciationWeek to all the teachers out there. Yes, even the feline ones.
Tradecard from : Henry H. Hildebrand, prescription druggist. [United States, ca. 1888]
The cicadas are coming, so let’s show some appreciation for their quieter and more aesthetically pleasing peers!
Gies & Co., Candy at Hayward’s, ca. 1885. Lithograph tinted with two stones.
CALL FOR PAPERS: Collecting, Curating, and Consuming American Popular Graphic Arts Yesterday and Today
A symposium in conjunction with Imperfect History: Collecting the Graphic Arts Collection at Benjamin Franklin’s Public Library in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Graphic Arts Department at the Library Company of Philadelphia on March 25, 2022.
The symposium seeks to examine changing and innovative directions in how historical popular graphic art (i.e., art not traditionally classified as fine art, that is representative of popular culture, and/or is mass produced and consumed) is curated, interpreted, and used and understood by those who produced, viewed, and consumed it.
To learn more about the symposium and submission guidelines, follow this link: https://librarycompany.org/imperfect-history/symposium/
Today is Arbor Day, a day to celebrate the trees!
A few local favorites:
The Pawpaw, sometimes also called “Appalachian banana,” produces the largest native North American fruit, tropical in flavor.
The Hemlock Spruce, state tree of Pennsylvania. The oldest recorded hemlock spruce is over 550 years old and lives in Forest Country, PA.
The American Chestnut, once the giant of the eastern U.S. forests, is now critically endangered. Introduction of blight in the early 20th century quickly destroyed nearly 4 billion trees, wiping out entire forests. Efforts to breed blight-resistant chestnuts are underway.
As the proverb goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Go plant a tree!
Images from: Michaux, F. Andrew. The North American Sylva. Paris: C. D'Hautel, 1819.
Check out the hand-painted details on this daguerreotype!
Early bird gets the worm…or the wheat in this case!
The Major & Knapp Lith. Co., Edwin C. Burt trade card, ca. 1881. Chromolithograph.
Happy Birthday to the Bard of Avon!
Pictured here is our copy of the Second Folio, including the lovely finispiece from Romeo & Juliet because you know we love a good #finisfriday.
Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, and tragedies. London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, 1632.
Who’s excited for Earth Day?! Hippo sure is!
Happy Earth Day, everyone! How are you celebrating today?
Images from: Hugh Craig. Johnson’s household book of nature. New York: Henry J. Johnson, c1880.
“Horizontal splinters, slanting rains, elongated immateriality.”
Appreciating the weird poetry of type specimen books for today’s #typographytogether April challenge.
What’s your favorite line?
Type specimens from Lawrence Johnson’s Second Supplement to the Specimen Book of Plain and Fancy Types, Ornaments, and Combination Borders. [Philadelphia, ca. 1850?]