Waving goodbye to this weekend like… 

Marriott Canby Morris, [Thomas C. Potts with Sarah Rhoads Potts over his shoulder. Sea Girt, NJ], 1908. Film negative. 

Image depicts Marriott C. Morris’ brother-in-law Thomas C. Potts hoisting Morris’ niece Sarah Rhoads Potts as a baby over his shoulder on a porch. The baby smiles and waves her arms. 

Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga is free and open to the public through April 10, 2020. A limited-time public art exhibition at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga offers visitors a #bts look at the library’s first graphic novel. Stop by 1314 Locust to see the full length making-of documentary alongside original artwork and historical materials from our collections. 

We hear plaid is *in* this season, and we’re ready for it. 

Kate Douglas Wiggin. Penelope’s progress, being such extracts from the commonplace book of Penelope Hamilton as relate to her experiences in Scotland. Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company; Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1898.

Philadelphia missed out on most of the #snow that hit the northeast this week, which makes us a little sad. On the bright side, we also didn’t have to worry about inclement weather making it hard to get around. 

 With that in mind, might we recommend rapid transit when it is an option? Rabbit transit is just far too unpredictable.  

 Image: Partridge & Richardson, Mammoth Dress Trimming House. [United States], [ca. 1880].

#OnThisDay in 1775, the first official U.S. flag, the Grand Union, was flown over the USS Alfred. This metamorphic pamphlet, which was designed for visitors to the Betsy Ross House here in Philadelphia, lets viewers observe the history and evolution of American flag designs. 

The History of Our Flag (Philadelphia: Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 1937). Illustrated pamphlet. 

Images depict different stages of a fold-out pamphlet. Each image shows different stages of the evolution of the American flag.

This is the exact level of excitement and energy we’re trying to achieve on this #MorrisMonday! 

Marriot Canby Morris, [Parachute game, Boys Parlors Camp, Wildwood, NJ], 1907. Film negative. 

Image depicts a group of boys and young men from the Boys’ Parlors Association launching a young boy into the air with a large blanket at Wildwood, N.J. An American flag flying on a makeshift flagpole and a tent stand in the background.      

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, which means leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast followed by some Black Friday shopping! Might we suggest adding some books to your shopping list? 

Gift books were incredibly popular in the second quarter of the 19th century. The first American gift book, The Atlantic Souvenir, was published in 1826. By 1846 there were at least sixty different titles on the market, and by 1860 the fad was nearly over. 

 Image: Interior view of George G. Evans’ original gift book establishment. 439 Chesnut [sic] Str. Philadelphia: Taken from nature and drawn on stone by E. Sachse. Baltimore: Coloring print of E. Sachse & Co. Sun Iron Building, [1859]. Chromolithograph 30 x 47 cm.

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at the Library Company! And don’t forget the cranberry sauce!

Image from William P. C. Barton. A Flora of North America. Philadelphia: M. Carey & Sons, 1821[-1823].

We saved one of our favorite #LibraryLeaves for last.  These beautiful botanical illustrations from Miller’s Illustratio systematis sexualis Linnæi, published ca.1777, are all painstakingly engraved and breathtakingly hand-colored. (If you think the leaves are spectacular, wait until you see the flowers!) 

John Miller. Illustratio systematis sexualis Linnæi. London : published and sold by the author, 1777.

Hopefully your Thanksgiving preparations aren’t nearly as chaotic as the scene depicted in this humorous trade card! 

Vienna Pudding (Buffalo: Clay and Richmond, [ca. 1885]). Chromolithograph. 

Image depicts  a male server carrying pudding and spilling the tray as a dog runs under his feet. Another man, amused by the scene in front of him, carries a stack of plates and men and women seated at a dining table in the next room watch as the dessert spills.