Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

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Library Company staff are often asked to name their favorite things in the collection, and their answers frequently include the kinds of delightful surprises from deep within the stacks that only those with decades of experience can provide.…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part One: Charles Knowlton’s Fruits of Philosophy

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This is the first of a series of blog posts by Library Company staff about their favorite things in the collection.  Picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite child, except that we have half a million to choose from.  But here goes. Charles…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

GlobalPhilly 2013

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The Library Company is participating in GlobalPhilly 2013, an exposition celebrating Philadelphia as a world city from September 15 through November 1. A project of the Global Philadelphia Association, the exposition includes more than 100…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Glimpses of Black Women’s Work

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Although women’s work is often invisible or overlooked, our mini-exhibition Glimpses of Black Women’s Work, curated by Krystal Appiah, uncovers the working lives of a few 19th-century black women. The section Laboring for a Living examines…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Library Company Events Online

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If you were not able to attend our 2013 spring events in person, you can find podcasts and exhibitions on our website!   The mini exhibition on view through February, The Emancipation Proclamation: One Step Toward Freedom, is now accessible…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Philadelphia on Stone Wins Newman Award

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The Library Company’s Philadelphia on Stone: Commercial Lithography in Philadelphia, 1828-1878, published in 2012, received the Ewell L. Newman Book Award at the May annual meeting of the American Historical Print Collectors Society. This…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

19th-Century Views of Philadelphia Now in World Digital Library

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The Library Company has contributed the collection of graphic materials digitized for the recent Philadelphia on Stone lithography history project to the World Digital Library (WDL). This rich collection showcases 19th-century Philadelphia…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Hot Town, Summer in the City…of Philadelphia

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While I enjoy my internship at the Library Company’s Print Department and work days are never dull, there is something special about the mythic summer weekend, the fleeting two-day space of freedom immortalized in film and song.  Every Thursday…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

O Canada

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Erika Piola, Associate Curator of Prints and Photographs, recently traveled to Montreal, Quebec to attend the annual meeting of the Print Council of America (PCA), June 19-21, 2013. The Council, an organization of graphics curators, professors,…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

My First Weeks as the LCP Print Department Intern

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Returning my tomes on medieval medicine to the library, clearing my computer of the multiple drafts of papers and paragraphs cluttering Word document folders, and having taken my last trip to the Quaker and Special Collections at Haverford…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Juneteenth 2013

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"African American Women in the Era of Emancipation"    The Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia hosted its annual Juneteenth Freedom seminar on Friday, June 21, 2013. The theme, "African American Women…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Let’s Get the Lead Out, or Why Paints and Drugs Do Mix

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Philadelphia was home to many early chemical and paint companies. The nineteenth century found these two industries to be integrally related by virtue of the fact that alcohol was a prime ingredient in both. One paint company, the John Lucas…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Print Department Welcomes Summer Intern Kat Poje

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The Print Department is again fortunate to have some extra help for the summer. Kat Poje, a rising sophomore at Haverford College, is assisting in the processing of the Raymond Holstein Stereograph Collection thanks to the  college’s…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Philadelphia on Stone Wins Award

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In May Curator of Prints and Photographs Sarah Weatherwax attended the annual meeting of the American Historical Print Collectors Society (AHPCS).  Held this year in Cincinnati, the group’s annual gatherings include lectures and behind the…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Off to the Fair

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As Co-Director of the Visual Culture Program, I am always on the lookout for new materials to add to the library’s visual culture collections. Ephemera has become a particular focus of my treasure hunting in the last year. Although online…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Dr. Ellen Gruber Garvey: Writing With Scissors

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May 21, 2013 Lecture  Presented at the 282nd Annual Meeting of the Library Company of Philadelphia Dr. Ellen Gruber Garvey discussed the history of scrap-booking based on her recent book Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

282nd Annual Meeting

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282nd Annual Meeting of The Library Company of Philadelphia May 21, 2013 2013 Annual Meeting from Library Company on Vimeo.
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Abolitionist Women at Pennsylvania Hall

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As noted in a previous post, this year marks the 175th anniversary of the dedication of Pennsylvania Hall. Constructed as a forum for free discussion of abolitionism and other reform movements, the building was inaugurated on May 14,…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

John Van Horne to Step Down in 2014

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Library Company Director John Van Horne has announced that he will retire in May 2014 after almost thirty years at the helm. When he took over leadership of the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1985, special collections libraries operated…