LCP Acquires a History of London Belonging to Peter Collinson
All News, LCP News
At the recent New York Book Fair we were fortunate to be able to acquire an important copy of William Maitland’s gorgeous folio History of London belonging to the Library Company’s original purchasing agent Peter Collinson (1694-1768)…
Introducing Artist-in-Residence Jessica Lentz
All News, LCP News, VCP News
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
All News, LCP NewsInspired 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
All News, LCP NewsMembers-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…
How to See a Story: Representations for Children in Nineteenth-Century American Visual Culture
All News, Podcasts(April 12, 2012)
Visual Culture Program Fellow Catherine Walsh discussed the ways in which children learned to construct visual narratives by thinking about a variety of sources, including textbooks, primers and readers, illustrated…
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
All News, LCP NewsMembers-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
All News, LCP NewsVery 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.”…
Root Beer and Ice Cream: Culinary Trade Cards at the Library Company
All News, Beyond the Reading RoomHow do you decide what food to buy? Despite all intentions, everyone’s shopping habits are influenced by the constant presence of advertising. From billboards to newspaper inserts, colorful images try to tell us that their product tastes better,…
Visual Essay of the Before Madison Avenue Conference, March 15-16, 2012
All News, Beyond the Reading Room, VCP News
The recent conference co-sponsored by VCP at LCP about the visual culture of early American advertising not only inspired thought-provoking discussions, it also inspired the library’s digitization technician and artist Concetta…
How Did People Learn about the World before the World Wide Web?
All News, Beyond the Reading RoomWith the “Arab Spring” in the headlines over the past year, many people have needed a look at the map to figure out where these events were occurring. A quick Google search might start to fill us in nowadays, but how knowledgeable were people…
Good Things Come in Small Packages
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Despite their small size, the visual content of vignettes often provides narratives equal to those of large-format prints. The advertisements of Philadelphia wood engraver Hugo Sebald (1825-1903), given by longtime donor David Doret,…
Exploring Ephemera
All News, Beyond the Reading RoomAs an intern in the Print and Photograph Department, I work frequently with the Library Company’s ephemera collection. Ephemera – a term first defined by Maurice Rickards in 1988 as the “minor transient documents of everyday life” –…
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…
Marking African American History Month
All News, Beyond the Reading RoomIn 1926, Carter G. Woodson initiated Negro History Week, which during the bicentennial was expanded to Black History Month. Created to celebrate the achievements of African Americans, Black History Month also recognizes the central role played…
Curator’s Favorite: The Hugo Sebald Collection
All News, Beyond the Reading Room, Curator's FavoritesAngry Birds
All News, Beyond the Reading Room, Bookbinding ResearchThis book cover has such interesting gold stamping. The unusual design of the four corner brasses incorporates images of animals in the swirls and curlicues.
The birds look so determined as they fly under the ornaments!
I…