It is the last week of the William Birch exhibition, and we are feeling nostalgic!

Anniversaries by their nature evoke interest in the past. Founder’s Week, the celebration of the 225th anniversary of William Penn’s founding of Philadelphia, served as a touchstone for packaging and selling views of “old Philadelphia” including those created by William Birch. From postcard sets to commemorative booklets, Birch’s city views were marketed with a nostalgic eye to the past.

Reproductions of Birch’s Celebrated Historical Views of Philadelphia…. Compliments of Underwood & Co. Philadelphia: R. M. Palmer, 1908. Library Company of Philadelphia. Gift of Louise Beardwood.

Numerous Philadelphia firms advertised their businesses by distributing a commemorative booklet containing all of Birch’s city views. The booklet’s introduction reads in part: “The costumes of the period, the general views of the buildings, street scenes, historical landmarks, then the show features of the city, etc., compared with the present, make the phenomenal strides in advancement now achieved seem almost incredible.” Additional text below some of the images, updated the viewer to the more recent history of a particular site.

Our copy of the American Tract Society’s Crumbs from the Master’s Table features gold and blind blocking on its palm-sized front cover. #MiniatureMonday 

Crumbs from the Master’s table. [New York] American Tract Society [between 1833 and 1848?].

Can you ID these “Mystery Mounds?” Feel a “Caption This” moment coming on?

Yes, please! Comment or snap a picture and post with  #LCPlarderuninvaded  #LCPfoodporn.

This photograph of a [sumptuous?] looking meal will be on display with many other mid-century mysteries in the mini exhibit : Larder Uninvaded : Food Porn of the 1950s

We own several copies of Bailey’s Festus (Boston, 1851) that feature this gold-blocked image on their front covers, but this is the only copy we could find with the blocking on its spine. Perfect for this month’s #SpineTingling challenge! #PublishersBindingThursday

Bailey, Philip James.  Festus : a poem.  Boston : Benjamin B. Mussey & Co. 1851.

We are excited to be leading an #ArchivesPHL social media challenge! Bring your collections to life by publishing GIFs every Wednesday of October using the hashtag #animatedarchive.

This circa 1880 trade card features some playful bubbles that needed a little help to find their bounce.

Yates & Co. Clothing. circa 1880. Newbold Trade Card Collection. 

The jubilee memorial of the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium Pennsylvania and adjacent states. (New York: Ernst Kaufmann, 1898). Chromolithograph. Library Company of Philadelphia. Gift of Dr. Don Yoder and William Woys Weaver-The Roughwood German-American Collection.

Although none of the artists whose work is reproduced on this broadside received any credit, it is William Birch’s depiction of the Lutheran Church from The City of Philadelphia that is the central vignette commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first Lutheran church body in North America.

The William Birch : His Life, His Views of Philadelphia, and His Legacy online exhibition is now live! Please visit  https://librarycompany.org/birch/

We love this joyful candid image captured by Marriott C. Morris in October, 1907, during a canoeing trip in New Jersey with friends and family. #MorrisMonday

Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer. [Two women preparing food], canoeing, Egg Harbor River, NJ [graphic]. October 12-14, 1907. 1 photograph: film negative; 3 x 4 in.     

It’s time for a very Philly edition of #FoodieFriday! This circa 1880 trade card shows the proper level of excitement for soft pretzels.

Canfield’s condensed milk. Freedman Collection of Trade Cards. P.2015.55.73

We’re joining @pemlibrary and @um_spec_coll for this month’s #SpineTingling challenge! First up is the gold-blocked spine title on our copy of Phantom Flowers: A Treatise on the Art of Producing Skeleton Leaves (Boston, 1864).   

#PublishersBindingThursday

Phantom flowers : a treatise on the art of producing skeleton leaves. Boston : J. E. Tilton. 1864

Philadelphia not only was a center for fashion but for fashionable furniture that was made locally. Join us November 2, 2018 for the opening Stylish Books : Designing Philadelphia Furniture to learn more about how Philadelphia furniture met form and function in the 18th and 19th centuries.  

Stylish Books : Designing Philadelphia Furniture - on display November 2, 2018 - April 26, 2019. Opening reception, November 2, 5pm - 7pm. To learn more visit HERE.