Crania Americana  And the Archive of Scientific Racism Exhibition Viewing

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 5:30 PM ET

In-Person Event | Free

Please join us for a Beyond Glass Cases exhibition viewing and reception for Crania Americana and the Archive of Scientific Racism, curated by former Library Company Fellow Paul Wolff Mitchell. This exhibition comprises part of Project Obtuse, a collaboration between the Library Company, Mitchell, and Jicarilla Apache artist Zachariah Julian, whose composition will premiere the following evening. Together, Mitchell and Julian examined the work of Samuel George Morton (1799-1851), whose papers reside, in part, at the Library Company. Morton is known today as among the most influential architects of scientific racism in the United States, both for his publications – most notably Crania Americana (1839) – and for his collection of nearly one thousand human skulls from across the world, amassed and measured during his lifetime to supply the “data” for these works. In this exhibition, Mitchell contextualizes the work of Morton and explores how Morton’s thinking developed and how his theories still affect us today. During this opening reception and viewing event, guests will have the opportunity to meet Mitchell and Julian and ask questions about their work.

Beyond Glass Cases is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

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Project Obtuse Performance

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 5:30 PM ET

Free, In-Person Event | Hosted at the Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine St, NOT at the Library Company

We hope you will join us at the Asian Arts Initiative for the premiere performance of Project Obtuse. In Project Obtuse, Jicarilla Apache artist Zachariah Julian uses color, sound, and movement to confront a dark chapter in the history of Indigenous peoples in America. To inform and inspire his composition, Julian, along with scholar Paul Wolff Mitchell, examined the work of Samuel George Morton (1799-1851), whose papers reside, in part, at the Library Company. Morton is known today as among the most influential architects of scientific racism in the United States, both for his publications – most notably Crania Americana (1839) – and for his collection of nearly one thousand human skulls from across the world, amassed and measured during his lifetime to supply the “data” for these works. For Project Obtuse, Julian worked with Mitchell to explore how Morton’s thinking developed and how his theories still affect us today. Through composition and performance, Julian will shift our gaze away from the chapter written by Morton and his colleagues and toward a thriving present and future that Indigenous Americans write for themselves. The performance will be followed immediately by a panel discussion with Julian and Mitchell, led by Library Company Curator of Printed Books Rachel D’Agostino.

Beyond Glass Cases is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

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Book Launch: Edward Duffield, Clockmaker

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 6:00 PM ET

Free, In-Person Event | Hosted at the American Philosophical Society,
427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106,
NOT at the Library Company

The American Philosophical Society Press will host a launch for the first book length study of Philadelphia clockmaker Edward Duffield on September 18, 2024.

Author Bob Frishman will discuss the life and work of Edward Duffield (1730–1803), a colonial Philadelphia clockmaker whose elegant brass, mahogany, and walnut timekeepers stand proudly in major American museums and collections. Duffield, unlike other leather-apron ‘mechanics,’ was born rich and owned a country estate, Benfield, and many more properties. He was deeply involved in civic and church affairs during crucial years in American history—his lifelong close friend, Benjamin Franklin, was staying at Duffield’s Benfield estate when Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams first discussed the Declaration of Independence. Sally, Franklin’s daughter, brought her family there for extended periods during the Revolution and Franklin’s wife, Deborah, was best friends for 50 years with Duffield’s mother-in-law. Duffield was even one of three executors of Franklin’s will.

In this lavishly illustrated book, Bob Frishman catalogs and describes 71 known Duffield clocks and instruments and reveals how, during the mid-18th century, they largely were not fabricated from scratch by isolated individuals. He contends that Duffield and his fellow clockmakers were not furniture-makers; they were mechanical artisans whose complex metal machines rang the hours and steadily ticked inside wooden cases made by others. Existing books on Philadelphia clocks have focused on these artifacts as furniture, including their woodwork, cabinetmakers, and decorative aspects. However, Frishman, a professional horologist for nearly four decades, brings his vast expertise to bear on this first comprehensive study of Duffield’s life and work.

Bob Frishman is a shareholder with the Library Company of Philadelphia. In the Logan Room you will find a Duffield clock, donated by Richard and Pamela Mones, that is included in the book.

This event is co-sponsored by the Library Company of Philadelphia with the American Philosophical Society

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Library Company History & Exhibitions Tour

Friday, October 4, at 11:00 AM

In-Person Event

Join us for a guided tour of the Library Company’s first-floor exhibition galleries. Learn more about the history of the de facto first Library of Congress and oldest colonial cultural institution in the United States. Guests will also learn more about art and artifacts on display in the Logan Room, and as well as hear about the collection materials showcased in our rotating exhibition space.

Space is limited, so please sign up for only one tour time per person. Tickets are available for all First Fridays in October through December.

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The Adventurous Life of Amelia B. Edwards: Egyptologist, Novelist, Activist

Charlotte Cushman Society Lecture featuring Dr. Margaret C. Jones

October 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET

Virtual Event | Free

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Lineage Exhibition Opening

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 5:30 PM ET

In-Person Event | Free

We hope you will join us for the public exhibition opening of Lineage, a Beyond Glass Cases exhibition curated by Mark Thomas Gibson. Through four large scale paintings, Mark Thomas Gibson’s Lineage examines the proposition of “the future of humanity” proposed by Samuel Jennings’ 1792 painting Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences (or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks).

The paintings are informed from Library Company holdings depicting the figure Liberty and listening sessions with Philadelphia high school history teachers; high school students from the social justice media program POPPYN; community leaders attending the political education program Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction; and volunteers from the Paul Robeson House and Museum. The works represent the session participants’ envisioned futures for humanity. Gibson’s paintings are composed within the western narrative painting tradition and seek to reorient viewers to understand our fictional relationship with our perception of history and potential outcomes.

Beyond Glass Cases is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

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