About the Philadelphia on Stone Digital Catalog

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The Philadelphia on Stone Digital Catalog contains over 1300 lithographs, related ephemera, and prints documenting Philadelphia commercial lithography between 1828 and 1878 derived from the surveys conducted at eight collaborating institutions between May 2007 and May 2010. Lithographs listed in Nicholas Wainwright’s Philadelphia in the Romantic Age of Lithography (1958), lithographs not listed in Wainwright portraying the built environment of Philadelphia, and advertisements for and printed views of Philadelphia lithographic establishments form the core content of the records and images contained in this catalog.

 

Although the bulk of the prints were issued from 1828 to 1878 in accordance with the parameters of the project, prints dated to about 1900 and of a more aesthetic nature have also been included in the catalog. These works serve as points of reference because of unique content, exceptional graphic design, or the lithographer. The prints frequently depict the built environment of Philadelphia, but also broadly represent the visual culture of the city. Genres and subjects include advertisements, architecture, benevolent institutions, bird’s eye and panoramic views, book illustrations, business and industries, Centennial Exhibition, certificates, churches, city and landscapes, Civil War, commercial streets, Fairmount Park, fashion, fires and firefighting, fraternal organizations, Independence Hall, residences, and schools. Lithographers represented include Kennedy & Lucas, Childs & Inman, P. S. Duval, John T. Bowen, Wagner & McGuigan, Thomas Sinclair, L. N. Rosenthal, Alphonse Bigot, Eugene Ketterlinus, Theodore Leonhardt, Ferdinand Moras, Maurice Traubel, George S. Harris, Lehman & Bolton, and Breuker & Kessler.  

 

The catalog records are fully searchable by artist (author), title, date, subject, and keyword. The records also contain the names of the holding institution of the prints and respective call numbers. In addition, checklist numbers, i.e., POS numbers have been included to aid in searching. Three categories of POS numbers have been created:

 

POS – Lithographs cited by Wainwright and those not cited by Wainwright that document the built environment of Philadelphia dated 1828-1878

 

POSA – Advertisements for Philadelphia lithographers in all print mediums

 

POSP – Lithographs and ephemeral materials that document the built environment of Philadelphia after 1878 or that serve as points of reference because of their content.

 

To search the digital catalog by POS number, proceed to the main search page. In "A word or phrase" enter the POS number, including a space between the text and number (e.g. POS 7). Then select the "exact" button and press enter or "Go" to complete the search. If the POS number contains a period, such as POS 472.3, search for the number without the period, e.g. POS 4723.

 

Please note that some lithographs listed in Wainwright were not located during the current survey and have been included in the catalog with the note “not located.”

 

The complementary Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers may also be accessed through the LCP Digital Asset Repository. The dictionary contains the names of over 500 lithographers, artists, printers, and publishers active in the trade from 1828 to 1878, and occasionally to the turn of the century. The more historically prominent lithographers such as Childs & Inman, P. S. Duval, Thomas Sinclair, and Wagner & McGuigan and lesser known figures such as Alphonse Bigot, John F. Finkeldey, and Thomas Hunter as well as journeyman in the trade are included among the men and a small number of women described.