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…
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…