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

World War One Digital Humanities Project Begins

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The Library Company has recently become a participant in the Great War in the Delaware Valley Project, a digital humanities collaboration currently existing between Villanova University, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

LSTA Grant Funds Digitization of Library Company of Philadelphia’s African Americana Graphics Collection

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Through the generous support of a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), over 800 prints, photographs, and pieces of ephemera documenting the African American experience will be digitized and added to the Library Company’s…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Six: Men in Jaunty Aprons

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We had not yet added our visual material holdings to our online catalog when I discovered this print in our portrait collections through the tried and true hunt and peck method. I was immediately smitten when I came across this trimmed and annotated…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Five: Uzbek Connection

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Last summer, the International Visitor’s Council in Philadelphia asked the Library Company to host a group from Uzbekistan visiting the US for a State Department-sponsored program on library conservation.  On July 23, I welcomed a delegation…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

282nd Annual Dinner

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On Tuesday, November 19, the Library Company will hold its 282nd Annual Dinner. The event includes a reception at the Wells Fargo History Museum, dinner at the Union League, and a presentation by Michael F. Suarez, S.J., one of the rare book…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Philadelphia Ephemera Acquired

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The Library Company has acquired the Joe Freedman Collection of Philadelphia Ephemera. Compiled over many decades by a distinguished collector with a discerning eye for historical significance, the Freedman Collection comprises nearly 900…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Conference on Colonial Economies

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On October 24 and 25, the Library Company will present the 13th Annual Conference of the Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES). This year’s topic, “Ligaments: Everyday Connections of Colonial Economies,” focuses on the…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Documentary Filmmaker Gives A Gift of Light

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Since 2009, the Library Company has been assisting documentary filmmaker Rick Feist with a project entitled Thomas Paine: Revolution in America, which explores the life and writings of Founding Father Thomas Paine. Paine’s revolutionary…
Exposed sewing.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Four: Learning from a Damaged Book, Margarita Philosophica (Basel, 1508)

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

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Three: William Jennings’s Ralph, Sara, and Bill Jennings at Fern Rock Camp

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How does one pick a favorite from a collection of nearly 100,000 graphic items? (I refused to even consider selecting a favorite from our book, manuscript, or art and artifact collections in order to make the task at least a little bit more…
From The Book of trades, or Library of the useful arts. Part I.  Published by Jacob Johnson, and for sale at his book-store in Philadelphia, and in Richmond Virginia.  1807

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Two: The Book of Trades

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One of my favorite books in the Library Company’s collection is The Book of Trades (Philadelphia: George S. Appleton, 1851). Produced in many English-language editions in the 19th century, the book of trades reflects a trend in early childhood…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Collaborative Ephemera Conference Opens Tomorrow

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The broad program starts with a reception and tour of the corresponding exhibition Remnants of Everyday Life:Historical Ephemera in the Workplace, Street, and Home on the evening of September 19. Participants will learn more about the Library…
Robert Newell, American Mechanic, Arch Street below 8th, Philada., albumen print stereograph, ca. 1864.

Getting Creative with Ephemera

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Ephemera!, a mini exhibition showing original work inspired by Remnants of Everyday Life: Historical Ephemera in the Workplace, Street, and Home, will be on view at the Library Company through December 2013. Curators Concetta Barbera, who…
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…