Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

The Stuff of Everyday Life at the Library Company

, ,
  After two years of dedicated work, the Library Company has completed an extensive National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)-funded project to catalog, conserve, and selectively digitize our uncataloged collections of 18th-…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

African Americana and Frank H. Taylor Collections Now on ImPAC

,
Three of the rarest and most popular resources for African American research in the Print and Photograph Department are now accessible in our digital collections catalog.  The 19th-cenutry African American women's friendship albums by Amy…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Welcome Krystal Appiah

,
We are very pleased to announce that Krystal Appiah started as the Library Company's African Americana Specialist and Reference Librarian on June 11.  She comes to the Library Company from the Maryland State Archives, where she improved access…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

“Old Ironsides” in 2012

,
During my recent trip to Boston to attend the Digital Directions conference, I was fortunate to visit the USS Constitution docked at the nearby Charleston Navy Yard after the closing session.  Knowing that we had various USS Constitution…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

What’s Your Type?

,
Recently the Print Department acquired three Centennial Cabinets, sets of quirky souvenir cards printed in color on site at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Manufacturers Empire Press Co., Degener & Weiller, and Greenwood & Batley…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Binding Books with Ingenuity and Efficiency

, ,
Lippincott, Grambo & Co. offered The Iris, An Illuminated Annual for 1851 in six different binding styles, two of which are shown above. At the top is what they advertised as “Turkey Morocco beveled, inlaid with Papier Maché”…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

LCP Acquires a History of London Belonging to Peter Collinson

,
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)…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Introducing Artist-in-Residence Jessica Lentz

, ,
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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Capitalism by Gaslight Conference June 6-7

,
Inspired 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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

May Events

,
Members-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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

How to See a Story: Representations for Children in Nineteenth-Century American Visual Culture

,
(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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Shareholder Spotlight: Anne Wetzel

,
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.”…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Upcoming Events

,
Members-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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

LCP Awards Five Post-Doctoral Fellowships for 2012-13

,
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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Royal Female Magazine Acquired

,
Very 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,…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Root Beer and Ice Cream: Culinary Trade Cards at the Library Company

,
How 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,…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Visual Essay of the Before Madison Avenue Conference, March 15-16, 2012

, ,
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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

How Did People Learn about the World before the World Wide Web?

,
With 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…
Full calf, “sunk panel” on The Iris: An Illuminated Souvenir for 1851. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

,
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,…