There’s still time to see our current exhibition, From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures: Black Creative Re-Imaginings, free and open to the public in our main gallery through Friday, October 18.

Included in the exhibition is this photograph from our Stevens-Cogdell / Sanders Venning Collection showing members of the Treble Clef Mandolin and Guitar Club, circa 1905.

Charles M. Sullivan, Treble Clef Mandolin and Guitar Club (Philadelphia, ca. 1905). Gelatin silver print. Stevens-Cogdell / Sanders Venning Collection.

Ridesharing before it was a thing. #MorrisMonday

[Group in a wagon] Canoeing, Egg Harbor River, NJ Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer. October 12-14, 1907 1 photograph: film negative; 3 x 4 in. 

Today marks the Autumnal Equinox, or the first day of fall! The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and this 1880s trade card has reminded us that it’s officially #psl season and we could really use another cup of coffee.

Bufford’s Lith, printer. Union Tea Co. Boston : Bufford’s, c1880. 1 print: chromolithograph; 5 x 8.5 cm.

There’s still time to register for our upcoming seminar, Mirror of a City: Images of Philadelphia, 1780-1950, taking place September 26, October 10, and October 24.

Join Library Company curators Sarah Weatherwax and Erika Piola for this three-part seminar, in which attendees will examine the pivotal role of Philadelphia in creating the visual culture of the nation as a center for printmaking, photography, and collecting. Sessions will explore the social, cultural, and technological influences affecting Philadelphia image making; the known, hidden, and forgotten image makers; and the changing aesthetics of the physical city, as well as tastes of those who notably collected all manner of Philadelphia imagery. Seminar attendees will also gain knowledge about the evolution of the Library’s graphic collections, as well as have hands-on experiences with specimens of early photography, including daguerreotypes and stereographs.

The Library Company is pleased to announce that we have some scholarship funds available to help defray costs of students, teachers, artists, and employees at peer institutions. Check out the event site for more information.

Back to work! It’s #MorrisMonday and we’re getting some workweek inspiration from Janet Morris, pictured here carrying firewood while camping with her family at the Pocono Lake Preserve in September, 1909.

The Pocono Lake Preserve was pioneered by a group of Quakers, including Isaac Sharpless, who camped in the area in 1904. In 1908, this group bought the property from the Pocono Mountain Ice Company and designed it as a basic, rustic campground.

Marriott Canby Morris. [Janet Morris carrying wood], Pocono Lake, [PA] September 1909. 1 photograph: film negative; 3.5 x 5.5 in.         

Mocking the “Other”: The Irish American Experience

This year the Print Department acquired a set of four cards mocking the experience of Irish immigrants in America. In size and appearance they are similar to advertising trade cards, but there is no particular product associated with these late 19th-century collecting cards. 

Today on the Library Company blog, Sarah Weatherwax, Curator of Prints and Photographs, examines how this set of cards uses both visual and textual tropes to demean the Irish, playing off commonly held stereotypes that would have been readily understandable to the cards’ intended audience.

Philly is getting that Fall feeling today with temperatures and humidity finally taking a break. Bring on the sweater weather because librarians love their cardigans.

Graf Brothers, printer. Use Eavenson’s diamond soap. Philadelphia : Graf Bros, c1882. 1 print : chromolithograph ; 13 x 7.5 cm. (5 x 3 in.)

We often think of temperature control when we think of housing special collections. What about our extra special and also, spontaneously combustible collections??  At the Library Company we house nitrate and safety negatives in freezers to keep them stable. To access the negatives, boxes must acclimate to room temperature for 24 hours before being handled. To return to the freezer, curators must bake the boards inside the box (I mean literally bake cardboard in the oven!) to remove humidity before storing.

We love all the facial expressions and angles in this family portrait by Marriott C. Morris (August, 1884), including those of the dog sitting on Sam Morris’ lap.  

#MorrisMonday 

Marriott Canby Morris. [Group in porch steps. Father, Mother, Uncle William Canby, Henry Mathews Canby, Marriott C., Bessie & Sam, Avocado, Sea Girt, NJ] August 1, 1884.         

Let’s escape into the weekend!

This photograph (ca. 1890) by Philadelphia photographer R.R. Haug shows the procedure for a fire drill. In buildings that were often narrow, with spiral staircases and multiple stories, a chain ladder out a window was the best solution. However, we cannot imagine climbing down a chain ladder in a corset and skirts, can you?

Haug, Robert R. [Fire escape ladder practice [graphic] : Pauline Doehler’s Dry Goods and Notions] Philadelphia, ca. 1890. 1 photographic print :  gelatin silver ;  24 x 19 cm. (9.5 x 7.5 in.), on mount 30 x 26 cm. (12 x 10.25 in.)