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.
We’re bringing a little divination to this Publishers’ Binding Thursday. The Ladies’ Diadem, or, Starry Oracles (1847) measures just 4.5 inches tall and contains the name of a star for each day of the year, accompanied by a “poetical prophecy”. The star for today, February 16, is Mebusta, from the constellation of Gemini, and the accompanying prophecy reads “There lives more life in one of thy fair eyes, / Than all the poets can in praise devise.”
This little books features a lovely gold-stamped crown surrounded by gold stars and blind-stamped decoration on faded red cloth.
Browse the Library Company’s database of 19th-Century Cloth Bindings to see more!