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.
Our copy of David Gould’s Life of Robert Morris (Boston, 1834) is bound in a rare and gorgeous pale pink ribbon-embossed cloth. Ribbon-embossed grain got its name from its original intention: as decoration for cloth ribbons. However, the rising popularity of grained and decorated book-cloth in the 1830s and 1840s led to the production of ribbon-embossed cloth for use as a book covering.
This is the only example of this specific ribbon-embossed pattern we have in our collection – we hope this post inspires others to look through their collections to see if there are more examples to share!
Gould, David. Life of Robert Morris. Boston : Leonard W. Kimball. 1834