Philadelphia on Stone in ImPAC

Following the excitement of the Philadelphia on Stone exhibition that opened in March 2010 and the submission of the manuscript of the illustrated book in May 2010, Project Assistant Linda Wisniewski focused on completing a final component of the project: the mounting of the Digital Catalog and the Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers.

Three years of research and survey work, between May 2007 and May 2010, yielded the Digital Catalog of approximately 1,350 records for lithographs, related ephemera, and prints compiled from the collections at the eight collaborating institutions. Illustrated by their respective digital surrogates, the catalog records are keyword searchable by artist (author), title, date, and subject, as well as browseable by repository.

The Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers contains more than 560 entries for artists, lithographers, printers, and publishers who worked in commercial lithography in Philadelphia between 1828 and 1878. The biographical entries include 155 images depicting portraits and advertisements of the more prominent lithographers, as well as views of their establishments gathered from the survey of the Library Company’s and partnering institution’s collections.

Many of the catalog records and biographical entries link to multiple digital images indicated by multiple digital file names in the record. To access these images, enlarge the visible thumbnail. Items from the Library Company of Philadelphia collections will contain the code “LCP” in the digital file name and items from the collaborating institutions will contain their respective code.

Although the official period of the grant-funded project, sponsored by the William Penn Foundation has ended, Philadelphia on Stone will continue its programming into the fall. On Friday October 15, 2010, at the close of the exhibition, the Library Company’s Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) and the Visual Culture Program (VCP@LCP) will sponsor the conference, Representations of Economy: Lithography from 1820-1860. Information about the symposium and registration can be found on our website.