Library Company of Philadelphia
Before TP there was…PPPP.
This Pocket Package Prepared Paper for the Million was patented in 1868 and issued in a wallet-style portfolio for the ultimate convenience.
It might not look like much, but after this past year, we’re not taking it for granted.
Happy National Puppy Day!
Robert S. Redfield, “Luv me - luv my doggie,” ca. 1895. Gelatin silver mounted on cardboard.
Although the scene depicted here might more typically be associated with Victorian era ideas about womanhood and domesticity, the fact that it was part of a display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia troubles these associations as the women in this photograph could instead represent the rapid industrialization and growing economic power of the nation.
Centennial Photographic Co., Log Cabin Studies, ‘Spinning’, 1876. Albumen on cardboard mount.
It’s Friday, and it’s been a spell since we’ve celebrated #endoftheweekendpapers so we’re doing it! TGIF, and TGISpring!
Marbled paper from Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield. (Baltimore: F. Lucas, Jr. & Jospeh Cushing, 1815.)
#decoratedpaper #bookbinding #endpapers #tgif
The first day of spring is almost here and we are ready for it!
Sunshine? Yes! Butterflies? Oh yeah! Flowers? You betcha! Allergies? Ugh, fine.
The poetical works of Thomas Campbell. New York: Charles Wells, ca. 1830?
Tucked inside this volume poetry are one dozen four leaf clovers, saved by one incredibly lucky reader.
Victoria Vokes, who is depicted in this trade card, was a British actress. She was one of five siblings popular in pantomime theatres in the U.S. and England during the 1870s.
Checking in after the first day of Daylight Savings…how are you all holding up?
Sleepy head, ca. 1840-ca. 1880. From the John A. McAllister Collection.
Poem reads: To lounge in bed, / Is your delight, / And so I wish you / A Good Night.
Who’s ready to lose an hour of sleep this weekend?
Yeah, not us.
Sunday at 2am the time “springs forward,” don’t forget to change your clocks!
J.W. Benson’s illustrated pamphlet of watches, clocks, chains, brooches, etc. (London, 1860.)
It’s a gorgeous day here in Philadelphia, and the spring bird migration is underway. It’s a great time to get outside and see what you can see!
(We’ve been seeing scores of Red Winged Blackbirds these past few days, which we take as a sign that spring is making an appearance!)
From: John James Audubon. The birds of America. New York: Published by J.J. Audubon, 1840-1844.