Introducing Artist-in-Residence Jessica Lentz

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This summer, the Library Company will host Moore College of Art student Jessica Lentz as the Visual Culture Program’s artist-in-residence intern. A junior majoring in 3D Fine Arts with experience in sculpture, Ms. Lentz will design…

Capitalism by Gaslight Conference June 6-7

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Inspired by the Library Company's current "Capitalism by Gaslight” exhibition, this conference will showcase innovative research being done by historians of capitalism and its culture. The 15 papers presented by scholars from around the country…

May Events

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Members-Only Annual Meeting & Public Lecture Tuesday, May 15, 5:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Join us for our Annual Meeting (5:00) followed by a talk by Wendy Woloson, guest curator of “Capitalism by Gaslight” (5:45). Dr. Woloson will discuss…

Royal Female Magazine Acquired

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Very seldom do we have the opportunity to add to our 18th-century periodicals. Many are already on our shelves, the Library Company having acquired them when they were first issued. The titles not on our shelves are notably scarce today. Thus,…

Shareholder Spotlight: Anne Wetzel

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Anne Wetzel, the current owner of Library Company Share #1630, grew up with the Library Company in the family. Her father, Carroll R. Wetzel who was President of the Board of Trustees from 1975 to 1982, “talked about it all the time.”…

LCP Awards Five Post-Doctoral Fellowships for 2012-13

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The Library Company is pleased to announce the recipients of five post-doctoral fellowships for 2012-13.  Four of them are one-semester National Endowment for the Humanities Fellows, and the fifth is a two-semester Program in Early American…

Upcoming Events

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Members-Only Annual Meeting & Public Lecture Tuesday, May 15, 5:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Join us for our Annual Meeting (5:00) followed by a talk by Wendy Woloson, guest curator of “Capitalism by Gaslight” (5:45). Dr. Woloson will discuss…

Welcome Print Department Intern Lydia Bello

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The Print Department is greatly benefiting from the help of college interns this winter and spring. Currently, the department is fortunate to host Lydia Bello, a Bryn Mawr College senior, who will spend approximately eight hours a week throughout…

An Influential African-American Painter Remembered

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If you missed Curator of African-American History Phil Lapsansky’s op-ed piece in the Inquirer last month, you may not know the extent of the influence of Robert Douglass, Jr., whose painting of Washington crossing the Delaware hung…

A Rogue in the Sunlight: The Life and Death of James Fisk

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We discovered James Fisk (1834-1872) in the course of developing our current exhibition “Capitalism by Gaslight.” Unlike most of the petty criminals, con artists, and other shady characters featured in the show, Jim Fisk swindled…

Lost and Found: The Library Company Acquires Three Books from Benjamin Franklin’s Library

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The reconstruction of Benjamin Franklin’s private library obsessed our former Librarian Edwin Wolf 2nd for 44 years. That obsession took hold of him at the estate sale of Franklin Bache (a Franklin descendant) at Freeman’s in 1947. Bache…

March Madness: Early American Advertising Conference

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The evolution of modern advertising in this country continues to garner attention from the scholarly community and the popular media, as well as to influence contemporary visual culture. Paying homage to this ongoing fascination with how we…

19th-Century Advertising on Exhibit

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Inspired by the upcoming Before Madison Avenue conference, an exhibition highlighting our varied and wide-ranging 19th-century advertising collections will open in our small gallery on February 21. Coordinated with the topics of conference panelists,…

Spring Events

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Before Madison Avenue: Advertising in Early America Visual Culture Program Conference, Wednesday, March 15, and Thursday, March 16 Speakers at this conference will present new research on advertising in North America before the rise of the…

Investigating 19th-Century Criminal Enterprise on WHYY

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Curator Wendy Woloson talks with WHYY's Peter Crimins about the Library Company's current exhibition "Capitalism by Gaslight: The Shadow Economies of 19th-Century America." Visit the WHYY website to read the full article.

Help Put Us on the Map!

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In 2011 the Library Company received a bequest that included 96 rare and extraordinary maps from the estate of Robert L. McNeil, Jr. In 2012 the Library Company will make high resolution digital images of those documents and catalog them…

Readex to Digitize Afro-Americana

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This Spring, Readex, a division of the NewsBank Company, will launch a digital edition of Afro-Americana, 1535-1922: From the Library Company of Philadelphia.  This unique online resource will provide researchers with more than 12,000 searchable…

LCP Joins the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA)

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The Library Company has become a member of the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA). An initiative of the Library of Congress, the NDSA is charged with ensuring the stewardship of our nation’s digital archive as well as employing…

New Exhibition Looks at 19th-Century Criminal Enterprise

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“Capitalism by Gaslight: The Shadow Economies of 19th-Century America,” which opens January 17, shines light on underground urban commerce in early America.  Drawing on books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, prints, photographs, and ephemera…

Spring Events

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Capitalism by Gaslight: The Shadow Economies of 19th-Century America (on view until August 24) Exhibition Opening Reception, Tuesday, January 24, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Drawing on books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, prints, photographs, and…