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.
What type of reader are you? This image might make some cringe, but it is evidence of a well-loved book.
Cornelius Tacitus, The Works of Tacitus (London, 1753).
The
reader, Founding Father John Dickinson, precisely, deliberately, bent hundreds of page corners
to point to paragraphs of note. This evidence of use can provide the historian
valuable insight into the reader’s thinking, which would be lost if the corners
were unfolded. A typed note on the book tag ensures that a well-meaning user
won’t be tempted to “fix.”