Happy #LibraryShelfieDay, bibliofriends! Here are some incunables (books printed before 1501) to help us celebrate in style! 

These photographs of familiar Philadelphia landmarks were taken by the Aero Service Corporation. The firm was founded in 1919. Experimentation with aerial photography began in the 19th century and the medium became more advanced when it was used as a tool for reconnaissance during World War I.

1st image: Aerial view of the Schuylkill River looking southeast from Manayunk, Philadelphia, ca. 1921. Glass negative.

2nd image: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1931. Glass negative.

3rd image: Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Old City Historic District, Philadelphia, ca. 1924-1926. Glass negative.

With the opening of Imperfect History in just 8 months, the Graphic Arts continues to make progress on the exhibition. Click here to read recent blog posts to learn more about collection objects and the curatorial process.

1st image: Shelving possibly built by janitor Edward McGrath in the book stacks at the Ridgway Building, ca. 1950s. Gelatin silver print.

2nd image: Primrose: The Celebrated Piebald boy, a Native of the West Indies; Publicly [sic] Shewn in London 1789 (London: Printed and sold at [T. Pole?], No. 55 Graceh. Strt, ca. 1790). Hand-colored engraving.

3rd image: Screenshot of African American history graphics catalog record for a racist 1899 theater advertisement.

We completely missed #squirrelappreciationday yesterday, and we couldn’t be sorrier about it.  Happy Belated, Bob! 

 The Travels and extraordinary adventures of Bob the squirrel. Philadelphia:  Geo. S. Appleton, 1847.

This tradecard has us thinking we really need to  upgrade our wfh setup…

E.D. Trymby, Furniture. From the Joe Freedman Collection of Philadelphia trade cards. Late 19th century. 

While the circumstances surrounding this year’s Inauguration Day are highly unusual, not much about the event has remained consistent since the first ceremony in 1789. In fact, although the Congress of the Confederation set March 4th as the official date of the swearing-in ceremony, George Washington did not take the oath until April 30th because of bad weather.

This photograph depicts the second inauguration of Grover Cleveland, the only president in U.S. history to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Second inauguration of President Grover Cleveland, steps of Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1893. Albumen print.

Today is the 222nd birthday of  writer Edgar Allan Poe. This cover adorns a memorial volume edited by Sara Sigourney Rice and published in 1877, 28 years after his death.  The combination black and gold stamping, diagonal lines, and asymmetrical design are all classic hallmarks of the Eastlake Movement influence. 

Rice, Sara Sigourney. Edgar Allan Poe: a memorial volume. Baltimore: Turnbull Bros, 1877.

Parlor Gallery opened in the 1880s and was operated by Lewis Horning. The photography studio was located in the on South 9th Street in Philadelphia and situated in the 7th Ward, which was the subject of a seminal study by sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois titled, “The Philadelphia Negro." 

Many of members of Philadelphia’s Black middle and upper middle class visited Parlor Gallery to commission portraits that became family keepsakes. The portraits also served to counter the proliferation of racist caricatures in popular U.S. visual culture during the late nineteenth century. 

1st image: Parlor Gallery, Unidentified young African American woman, ca. 1891. Gelatin silver on cabinet card. 

2nd image: Parlor Gallery, Taylor Aldridge, 1883. In Portrait album of well known 19th-century African American men of Philadelphia. 

3rd image: Parlor Gallery, Unidentified young African American woman, ca. 1891. Gelatin silver on cabinet card. 

4th image: Parlor Gallery, Unidentified African American man with a dog, ca. 1880. Albumen on cabinet card.

We got a request for more doublures in 2021 (and couldn’t be more delighted to oblige!) so we are declaring today to be #doubluresday.

These silk brocade doublures come from a bible presented to Capt. Samuel Tatem by his crew.  

The Comprehensive Bible. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1854.

What with it being January, we’ve been thinking about getting a new calendar.   

No, a calendar,  not a cullender. (But we could probably use a new colander, too.) 

Riddles and woodcuts from The Puzzling cap. Boston: T. Fleet, [1794]