Negative/Positive

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The way we experience photographs today is very different from the way people experienced them 120 years ago.  We press the shutter on our digital cameras without concern; if the photograph doesn’t turn out it can easily be deleted.  We…

“Ghosts Everywhere, and of Every Color”: Spectral Visions at the Library Company

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The catalog entry for Spectropia; or, Surprising Spectral Illusions (New York, 1864) piqued the interest of Library Company Fellow Jessica Linker, who is researching women science practitioners in early America. Upon examination, she discovered…

Marriott C. Morris Collection Online

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Over the next year, more than 1600 glass negatives, photographic prints, film negatives, and lantern slides by Philadelphia photographer Marriott Canby Morris (1863-1948) will be processed, digitized, and used to create a permanent online exhibition. …

The Marriott C. Morris Photograph Collection

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A young woman leans against a painted brick wall, her back straight and her hair dark hair pulled into a knot at the top of her head. She holds a baby in her arms wrapped snugly in a knitted blanket. The baby’s left hand is a blur of motion;…

Light from Dark: woodcuts old and new

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A woodcut speaks in a language that is abstracted, abbreviated, encoded and timeless. With a sharp blade, the artist removes wood from the surface of a smooth wooden plank, paring away what is not needed.  What is left is a raised design…

A View of the Past

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It is always interesting to learn how researchers use the material we make available to them at the Library Company. Obviously, many academics visit us to examine books, documents, and images for use in scholarly publications, but our researchers…

Hunting for Werewolves at LCP

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Today we think of werewolves as a pretty common trope from the Wolfman to Twilight. However, they are just one species in the supernatural cannon. The Library Company holds a host of books dealing with witchcraft, sorcery, spirits and ghosts,…

Catalogers: Art Historical Detectives

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  The Elms, an etching by Augustus Kollner, initially seemed like it would be a relatively straightforward work to catalog. The artist’s name, title and date, 1844, were all printed beneath the image.   However, in…

Mellon Scholars Program: Tools for Success

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In a series of occasional blog posts, participants in our Mellon Scholars Internship and Workshop programs will introduce themselves, discuss their experiences at the Library Company, and share their goals for pursuing careers in the field of…

Mellon Scholars Program: A Training Arena for Budding Historians

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In a series of occasional blog posts, participants in our Mellon Scholars Internship and Workshop programs will introduce themselves, discuss their experiences at the Library Company, and share their goals for pursuing careers in the field of…

Mellon Scholars Program: Igniting a Scholarly Journey

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In a series of occasional blog posts, participants in our Mellon Scholars Internship and Workshop programs will introduce themselves, discuss their experiences at the Library Company, and share their goals for pursuing careers in the field…

“Sew on Your Own Buttons, I’m Going for a Ride!”

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The Library Company of Philadelphia’s current exhibition That’s So Gay: Outing Early America showcases books, photographs, and graphic material that address gay identity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beyond attempting to identify…

Philly-DH@Penn and The Collinson Book

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Philly-DH@Penn is an annual event consisting of workshops, “unconferences,” and lightening talks. The event attracts a wide audience ranging from academic faculty and students to GLAM (Gallery, Library, Archive, Museum) institution staff…

Amy Matilda Cassey’s Friendship Album

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There are few insights into the lives of free wealthy African American women in antebellum Philadelphia as unique as those made possible by the Amy Matilda Cassey Friendship Album. A friendship album is similar to a scrapbook in that it…

Tales from the Mystery Drawers, Part 1: The World of Tomorrow

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The Print Room at the Library Company of Philadelphia is a very organized place. Each box is labeled and lovingly tucked back into its proper slot after a research session. Each drawer is carefully inventoried and organized by subject matter,…

Mellon Scholars Program: Exploring the African Diaspora

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In a series of occasional blog posts, participants in our Mellon Scholars Internship and Workshop programs will introduce themselves, discuss their experiences at the Library Company, and share their goals for pursuing careers in the field of…

The Library Company Goes 3D

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With the resurgence in 3D viewing technologies in recent years, the Library Company has dared to revive this long-lived pastime through recent exhibitions and collaborations.  3D photographic imaging has existed since the 1840s with mid…

World War One Posters and a Philadelphia Connection

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An article in the 1918 Thanksgiving issue of The Red Cross Bulletin described this poster even more enthusiastically:The Jessie Willcox Smith Photograph Collection in the Print and Photograph Department is not the only place to find the…

Canoeing the Pine Barrens

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Though a desolate landscape, Philadelphians have long been drawn to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for various reasons such as relaxation, trade, and industry.  The Marriott C. Morris collection of photographs includes views of amateur…

So Who Really Made the First American Flag?

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Every school student has been taught that George Washington and his committee tasked Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, a milliner whose business was located between 2nd and 3rd on Arch Street, with the creation of the first American flag. Supposedly, the…