Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Interns Happily Invade the Print Department

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The Print Department is greatly benefiting from the help of college interns this winter and spring. In early January between semesters, Haverford College sophomore Jon William Sweitzer-Lamme volunteered his time in the department processing…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Things that Make You Go “Hmmm”

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When I first began working at the Library Company more than a decade ago, one of the first Print Department treasures I handled was the silhouette attributed to Raphaelle Peale showing the noted African American silhouettist Moses Williams.…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Library Company Collections on Flickr

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I’m an intern at the Library Company, working here for the first two weeks of January in the Print Department, doing various tasks relating to the Library Company’s collections of lithographs, drawings, cartoons, photographs, and other…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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.
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

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…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Six Degrees of Shellenberger

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Do you remember the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?" I’ll bet you do, and I’ll bet you did not always need six steps to trace a relationship to this Philly native. I often make similar connections between historical figures in my work…
Four rare books in need of boxing.

The Ubiquitous Corrugated Clamshell Box – An Anniversary

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Not many people realize that the corrugated clamshell box (as shown above) was actually developed here at the Library Company. As many of you know, these boxes are very useful in rare book libraries because they are an efficient way to protect…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Carey Conference Part Two at Trinity College

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The Dublin half of the two-part “Ireland, America, and the Worlds of Mathew Carey” conference co-sponsored by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Program in Early American Economy and Society,…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

International Photography Curators Visit LCP

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About twenty-five members of Oracle, an international group of photographic curators, visited the Library Company on November 8. Oracle’s annual meeting had been held in Blue Bell, a Philadelphia suburb, the week before, and attendees…
Two examples of papier-mâché bindings laid out in an exhibition case, 2010. Jennifer Rosner, Chief of Conservation.

The Art of the Library Company

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The inspiring talents of a number of Library Company staff members are on display at the entrance to the Reading Room through mid-February.  The "Art of the Library Company" exhibition presents a sample of recent work by six current staff…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

James Rush and the Siamese Twins

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Recently, I was preparing a display of materials for a visitor who had a particular interest in Shakespeare.  Library Company benefactor James Rush (1786-1869), son of Declaration of Independence signer and famed doctor Benjamin Rush (1746-1813),…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Traipsing Through the Woods of Tacony

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Researcher Joseph Jones recently approached us looking for images of several estates once located in the present-day Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia.  We were able to locate an image of the Lardner family farmhouse, shedding…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

Large Pages into Small Spaces

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The three conservators in the McLean Conservation Department (Jennifer Rosner, Andrea Krupp, and Alice Austin) are all active members of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers.  On November 5 and 6, 2011, they hosted a…
Sampler book laid out to show unique folding pattern.

A Bond by Any Other Name….

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“What a striking street scene!” was my first thought on seeing the Philadelphia Traction Company bond sent to me on approval from the New England ephemera dealer George LeBarre Galleries. Given my interests as a print curator, I hardly…