Library Company of Philadelphia
Our copy of Allitter, or The Melody of Language (New York, 1836) features a gorgeous example of ribbon embossed cloth. #PublishersBindingThursday
Strait, H.
Allitter, or the melody of language. New York: G. A. C. Van Beuren.
1836.
We’re gonna need a bigger broom…. The Library Company is CLOSED today due to snowy conditions!
This circa 1897 lantern slide shows the sons of the photographer, William Harvey Doering, bundled up and hard at work outside the family residence.
Black Entrepreneurship
The Great Migration created a more diverse and interracial urban population amongst the black community. Still considered outcasts, African Americans who migrated shaped their own new sense of identity. With that, the emergence of black industrial workers and black entrepreneurship prevailed throughout the cities. This would produce new churches and religions, an increase in political involvement, and an artistic presence that would include new forms of music, poetry, and drama.
Anthony Overton is only one of many who invested in the African American community by providing employment and products geared toward them. Overton was the first African American to own a major corporation. His Overton Hygienic Manufacturing Company, Victory Life Insurance Company, and Douglass National Bank all thrived during these years.
- Black Migrations is a mini exhibition curated by Jasmine Smith, African American History Subject Specialist and Reference Librarian.
Progress and achievements of the colored people… . Washington, D.C. : Austin Jenkins Co., c1917.
Songs and spirituals of a Negro composition… . Chicago : Progressive Book Co., c1928.
Happy Presidents’ Day! This lock of hair is from the head of founding father and first U.S. President, George Washington, cut by Washington’s barber, Martin Pierie, in 1781. The lock came to the Library Company in 1829.
A note pasted to the back of the frame reads: “Description of frame: 1. Oval from Washington’s mansion - Mt. Vernon; 2. Part of a chestnut tree planted by Washington which is the molding; 3. Beed around frame from Independence Hall, Philadelphia; 4. The ring from Carpenter’s Hall; 5. Upper right star Tree Lafayette planted; 6. Upper left star, Gen'l Anthony Wayne house; 7. Lower right star, Frigate Constitution; 8. Lower left star, Frigate Alliance; 9. Back from pew Washington worshipped in at Christ Church. I believe the above to be correct and true. Roxborough Feb. 18th, 1860 Joseph Crout.”
Lock of George Washington’s Hair. 1781. Framed: 4 ½ x 5 ½ x 7/8 inches.
For this President’s Day we re-share an old favorite.
Our copy of The Lover’s Companion: A Handbook of Courtship and Marriage (Philadelphia, 1850) features a helpful ring-bearing cherub
#AFineLibraryRomance
This title page stole our hearts with its lovely swirling font and charming silhouette #TitlePageAppreciation
Black Migrations
This year’s Black History Month theme is Black Migrations: highlighting the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities in the twentieth century. This exhibition curated by our African American History Subject Specialist, Jasmine Smith, showcases the impact of World War I and the Great Migration and how it transformed black identity and black entrepreneurship.
Involvement in World War I
African Americans would experience the Great Migration as a result of World War I. On May 18, 1917, Provost Marshal General, Enoch H. Crowder, would administer the Selective Service Law. This law required all men in the United States to register for military services. African American men and women used this opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty and worthiness for equal treatment and would have a significant impact on the war’s outcome. Crowder stated, “I believe that the Negro’s participation in the war, his eagerness to serve, and his great courage and demonstrated valor across the seas, have given him a new idea of Americanism and likewise have given to the white people of our country a new idea of his citizenship, his real character and capabilities, and his 100 per cent Americanism.”
Soldiers like Henry Johnson who single-handedly killed four Germans and wounded more than twenty others in a surprise night attack, Lieutenant James Reese Europe who provided courage in France with his musical jazz talents, and women such as Mrs. Juanita Hawkins and Lieutenant Hattie Oldham who volunteered in organizations like the Y.M.C.A and the Red Cross, demonstrated strong determination among African Americans.
- Jasmine Smith, African American History Subject Specialist and Reference Librarian.
Miller, Kelly. Kelly Miller’s History of the World War for Human Rights. Washington, D.C., 1919.
Dreaming that today’s snow was actually sand on a warm day by the sea…
This glass negative taken by Marriott C. Morris reminds us of our fondness for the changing seasons.
Today’s coloring page is brought to you by the letter S.
It is the last day of the 2019 #ColorOurCollections challenge, but we would love to see any coloring our followers have done. Please continue to share your pages with us!
To download and print the full coloring book follow: https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/LCP-COC-Portrait.pdf
We couldn’t resist including one of our favorite wet noses for #ColorOurCollections. This plate shows a dog dragging a mysterious (to us) object on the beach with ships sailing off shore.
To download and print the full coloring book follow: https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/LCP-COC-Portrait.pdf