Library Company of Philadelphia
Tomorrow evening, WHYY Movers and Makers is airing a special Hidden Histories episode featuring our Program in African American History, and our online exhibit “From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures: Black Creative Re-Imaginings.” We hope you’ll tune in! Thursday, June 11 at 7:30pm on WHYY-TV12.
Dersāna Mikā’ēl [The Homilies of Michael]. Ethiopian manuscript, Gondar, ca. 1682.
Bindings on 19th century albums and gift books were meant to catch the eye, and in some cases the binding was more important than the contents. This album is no exception. Decorated with painted inlaid mother-of-pearl and bordered in gilt it certainly caught our eye.
Album: presented to [blank] by [blank]. [Philadelphia : Moss & Brother, 1855?]. Binding attributed to Altemus & Co.
Some lovely nonpareil papers to usher in the weekend. May it be without equal!
Marbled endpapers from: López de Segura, Ruy. Libro De La Invencion Liberal Y Arte del juego del Axedrez…Alcala, En casa de Andres de Angulo, 1561.
Happy #publishersbindingThursday, #feathursday edition! We love the gold stamping almost as much as we love the marbled cloth! Swoon!
C.W. Webber. Wild Scenes and Song-Birds. New York: George P. Putnam & Co., 1854.
We were going to share this for #TypeTuesday, but then remembered that today is Wednesday. Y indeed.
Initial Letter from Benjamin Franklin’s Experiments and observations on electricity, made at Philadelphia in America…London: Printed for David Henry; and sold by Francis Newbery, at the corner of St. Paul’s Church-Yard., MDCCLXIX. [1769]
#OnThisDay in 1877, Hunkpapa Lakota chief Tatanka-Iyotanka, or Sitting Bull, led his troops to Canada after the Battle of Little Bighorn. After staying there for four years, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota. He later went on to join Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Sitting Bull, Sioux Chief, ca. 1870. Albumen on carte-de-visite mount. From American Celebrities Album.
In keeping with our series imagining how historic artists in their collection might “takeover” our social media platforms, we’re featuring Moses Williams, an early African American artist who lived and worked in Philadelphia.
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“Today I’m sharing with you all a silhouette of myself from the early 1800s. I grew up in the home of Charles Willson Peale, and like his many children, I was trained to work at the Peale Museum as a silhouettist. My dexterity with this artistic process became so profitable that I was able to marry and buy a home after gaining my freedom. In addition to bringing large crowds to the museum, my silhouettes have both provided me with freedom, independence, and an outlet for my creativity."
Moses Williams, Cutter of Profiles, ca. 1803. Silhouette.
To mark the end of National Poetry Month, we are sharing this lovely little publishers binding which adorns a a copy of the Philopoena, a popular gift book of poetry compiled by Rufus Griswold. The cloth cover was once a vibrant purple (mauvine), but over the decades has faded significantly.
Griswold, Rufus W. The Philopoena, or Poetry of the Affections. New York : Leavitt & Allen, 1853.
We’re submitting this beautiful illustration as a last minute contribution to #NationalGardenMonth and a reminder to go outside if you can, the flowers are in bloom.
Showing off my latest baked creation like…
Image depicts two girls gathered around a table picking at a large plate of sweets.