Library Company of Philadelphia
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Welcome to the Library Company of Philadelphia's Tumblr page! Founded by Ben Franklin in 1731, we are an independent research library specializing in American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. This page highlights materials from LCP's extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art.
Ever wonder why you see a ton of gold-stamped cloth bindings from the 19th century, but hardly any silver? Gold-stamping was a popular technique for decorating leather bindings, and made an easy transition to decorating cloth bindings when bookcloth first hit the American publishers’ binding scene in the 1830s.
Because aluminum-stamping was not available until the late 1870s, and was most popular through the 1880s, we see fewer examples in collections today.
Browse the Library Company’s database of 19th-Century Cloth Bindings to see more!