Somehow, it’s September 3 already. Anyone else feel like time has stopped making sense this year? But hey, it could be worse - in 1752 there was no September 3 in Britain and the American colonies. 

Yes, you read that right. 

1752 was the year Britain switched to the Gregorian calendar, so the day after September 2 was September 14 and the eleven days in between just… disappeared. 

Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad… 

 An Act to amend an Act made in the last session of Parliament, (intitled, An Act for regulating the commencement of the year, and for correcting the calendar now in use.) [London: Thomas Baskett, 1752] 

From the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, on deposit at LCP.

Arthur Showell was born in Philadelphia in 1894 and worked as a laborer with the Adams Express Co. He was drafted into the military in 1917 at the age of 23 and served in the 368th Infantry, which was part of the African American 92nd Infantry Division known as the Buffalo Soldiers. 

African American soldiers during the First World War helped to lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement by raising awareness of systemic discrimination in the military and organizing against segregation at home.   

[Arthur Showell], ca. 1923. Gelatin silver print.

We hope you had as relaxing a weekend as the figures in these wholesome silhouettes!

From the Barbara A. Townshind silhouette album, 1804.

Here’s a lovely little 17th century tailpiece to #finis off the week. 

This FinisFriday brought to you by:Thomas Hobbes. The History of the Civil VVars of England. (London, 1679). 

We’ve got a serious soft spot for ribbon embossed cloth.  

Ribbon embossed cloth can be found on publishers’s bindings starting around the mid-1830s.  It was produced by passing the cloth through a hot rolling machine which impressed the design into the cloth. It was a more expensive, and harder to produce and work with, so wasn’t used much after the early 1840s.

The multi-volume set pictured here is The Family Library, published by Harper & Brothers ca. 1839.

In the latest Imperfect History blog post, Graphic Arts Curatorial Fellow Kinaya Hassane discusses the multiple interpretations of “The Irrepressible Conflict,” an 1860 political cartoon which satirizes Republican Party politics while also making subtle commentaries on race. Read more here: https://librarycompany.org/2020/08/24/one-lithograph-two-readings/

“The Irrepressible Conflict” or the Republican Barge in Danger (New York: Currier & Ives, ca. 1860). Lithograph. 

Miss standing in the crowd? Grab your stereoscope and look at this photograph! 

Chestnut Street crowded (United States: ca. 1900). Gelatin silver on stereograph mount. 

Image depicts view looking along Chestnut Street showing a crowd of spectators packing the street and sidewalks for an unidentified event. A large clock is visible across the street on the sidewalk.    

#OnThisDay in 1920, the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was ratified. 

This trade card capitalized on the momentum and popularity of the women’s suffrage movement while continuing to perpetuate Victorian era notions of womanhood and domesticity. 

Twelve good reasons why the Woman’s Suffrage Stove Polish is preferred to all others (United States: ca. 1880). Chromolithograph.    

Can you spot the subtle coloring on these daguerreotypes? 

1st image: [Portrait of an unidentified woman], ca. 1850. ¼ plate daguerreotype. 

2nd image: [Portrait of an unidentified woman], ca. 1850. 1/6 plate daguerreotype.

You didn’t think we would forget about #sharkweek, did you?

This illustration is from a juvenile book published in 1814, though it does not skimp on gruesome details (Can bite you clean in half! Six rows of enormous teeth!)  

Also, what it lacks in dorsal fins it makes up with some swoon-worthy block printed wrappers.  

The History of fish. (New-York: Samuel Wood,  1814.)