Library Company of Philadelphia
This week’s #toolsofthelibrarytrade highlights multiple facets of what we use in our library as well as a story of rediscovery. First, this library step stool was originally made for the Library Company’s Juniper building, which has since been torn down. When LCP left that location we did not want to take the step stool with us, so it went to antiques dealer. One of LCP’s donors, David Doret, found this stool and returned it to us. Now it is part of our Art & Artifacts Collection.
The next step in this stool’s journey was to photograph the stool for the online catalog. As shown in the image, we could not accommodate the dimensions of the stool seamlessly with our studio, but a little Photoshop magic went a long way without jeopardizing the integrity of the artifact.
OBJ-013. Library step stool. Gift of David Doret.
Alexander Hamilton: Who Tells Your Story?
Hamilton: An American Musical. The phenomenon has finally reached the stage in Philadelphia. The story it tells, the story that has stirred more interest in the history of our nation’s founding than anything in recent memory, also lives in the holdings of the Library Company. Curated by our Curator of Printed Books, Rachel D’Agostino, and currently on display in our mini exhibition cases are items from our collection that tell Hamilton’s story. The items were chosen both for their historical significance and for their direct connection to the musical. It is our hope that this exhibit will afford Hamilton fans the opportunity to see the real objects that inspired the musical, while encouraging those who have not (yet) memorized every line (many written by Hamilton himself) to learn more about the man who inspired a sensation and helped found a nation.
Under the pseudonym A.W. Farmer, Seabury pleaded with the colonists regarding congress, “Don’t let them lead you astray” while Hamilton countered by asking “Why should a tiny island across the sea regulate the price of tea?”
Our copy of Juliana Berners’ The Gentlemans Academie (London, 1595) is decked out in gorgeous marbled endpapers and fancy decorated turn-ins featuring gilt-stamped tulips.
Originally published in 1486 with the title The Booke of St. Albans, The Gentlemans Academie covers a broad range of topics, including falconry, hunting, and heraldy.
#MarbledMonday
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?
The deadline to apply for our First Biennial Innovation award is TODAY!
The Innovation Award will recognize a project—digital or analog—that critically and creatively expands the possibilities of humanistic scholarship.
The recipient of the Innovation Award will receive a $2,000 prize, a spotlight interview in our “Talking in the Library” podcast, and recognition at the 288th Annual Dinner of the Library Company of Philadelphia (October 29, 2019).
We look forward to reviewing all proposals!
It is week two of the #ToolsOfTheLibraryTrade and we couldn’t resist more content about bookbinding. This image is a compilation of illustrations from Edith Diehl’s, Bookbinding, its background and technique (1946). Originally this image was compiled as a design intended for a tote bag advertising our 2018 exhibition The Living Book: New Perspectives on Form and Function. However, the design was never printed. Who here wants a #ToolsThatBind tote??
C. Shoosmith, “A Free Negress and Other Market-Women,” in James Henderson, A History of Brazil: Comprising Its Geography, Commerce, Colonization, Aboriginal Inhabitants, &c. &c. (London, 1821). Lithograph.
This image of Black Brazilian market women selling goods shows the importance of women entrepreneurs in the marketplace. Their presence demonstrated how savvy and creative Black businesses were in the 19th century.
From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures : Black Creative Re-Imaginings is on display now through October 18, 2019.
Marriott C. Morris captured this image of his friends Anne and Mary Emlen in August, 1885, while in Sea Girt, NJ. Notice the flower tucked in one of the sister’s buttonholes!
#MorrisMonday
For nearly two hundred years, researchers of Philadelphia history from all disciplines and backgrounds have turned to John Fanning Watson’s extensive Annals of Philadelphia to help uncover the stories of the city’s past. First published in 1830 and subtitled “A Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, & Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants from the Days of the Pilgrim Founders,” Watson’s Annals has become an enduring and impactful source of knowledge on a range of Philadelphia’s legacies that includes information on everything from agriculture and apparel to transportation and military history.
Library Company Print and Photograph Department intern and Haverford College student, Allison Wise, has spent the last few months working with our extra-illustrated copy of Watson’s Annals. Read all about it on the Library Company blog.
Watson, John Fanning. Annals of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: E. L. Carey & A. Hart, 1830.
William Birch, An Unfinished House, in Chesnut Street, Philadelphia (Philadelphia: William Birch, 1800).
There’s still time to apply for our First Biennial Innovation Award! We’re pleased to announce we are extending the deadline until next Thursday, August 8.
The recipient of the Innovation Award will receive a $2,000 prize, a spotlight interview in our “Talking in the Library” podcast, and recognition at the 288th Annual Dinner of the Library Company of Philadelphia (October 29, 2019).
Proposals will be evaluated by a committee of leaders in higher education, research libraries, and cultural heritage institutions who will evaluate how proposed projects make scholarly work new again. That scholarly work might take the form of an article, chapter, academic monograph, scholarly edition, or other project, in either print or digital form. “Innovation” will be defined broadly, and may include refashioning scholarly work with new partners, for new audiences, or into new forms.
We welcome proposals from applicants in all fields and at all career stages, including graduate students, junior and senior faculty, as well as independent scholars. Visit the Innovation Award webpage for complete details.
Joe Freeman Collection of Trade Cards. United States, [ca. 1874 - ca. 1910]