Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Christopher Looby, “The Paradox of Philadelphia Gothic”

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(October 29, 2008)   Audio Download (MP3)   In the first half of the 19th century, Philadelphia spawned a literary tradition of Lurid Crime, Weird Hallucination, Brooding Supernatural, and Sheer Horror - largely the work of three…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

The Library Company Celebrates its Newest Exhibition: Philadelphia Gothic

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On October 29 our gallery, Reading Room, and Logan room were overflowing with guests who came to catch the first viewing of “Philadelphia Gothic: Murders, Mysteries, Monsters, and Mayhem Inspire American Fiction, 1798-1854,” and to hear…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

The Library Company Visits Temple University Libraries

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On October 22 a group of Library Company members traveled north of Center City to partake in an intimate tour of some very special collections housed within Temple University Libraries. The pictures were taken in the Urban Archive department…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Thomas Slaughter, The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman

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(October 14, 2008)  Audio Download (MP3)   John Woolman (1720-1772), a Quaker tailor from New Jersey, had an extraordinary commitment to attaining self-purification through the rejection of slavery, war taxes, and rampant consumerism.…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Library Company Receives Grant for Preservation

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The Library Company has received a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to upgrade our environmental monitoring equipment. The grant funds will be used to purchase new dataloggers, a light meter, and a wireless receiver…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Mayor Nutter Visits The Library Company

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2008 Mayor Nutter at LCP from Library Company on Vimeo.
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Juneteenth Event: Featuring Richard Newman

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(June 19, 2008)  Audio Download (MP3)  Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers by Richard S. Newman is a long-overdue biography of Richard Allen (1760–1831), founder of the first…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

2008 LCP Annual Dinner: Dr. Richard J. Blackett

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(May 5, 2008) Audio Download (MP3)  Richard J. Blackett is a historian of the abolitionist movement in the U.S. and particularly its transatlantic connections and the roles African Americans played in it. He is the author of Building…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Stone Lithography Demonstrations at Deer Tree Press

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There is an element of magic in the creation of a lithographic print. The process is based on a simple principle familiar to any cook or observer of urban mud puddles – oil and water do not mix. However, in practice there is nothing straightforward…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

Talking Prints: a Conversation With Donald Cresswell & Christopher Lane

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(April 3, 2008)  Audio Download (MP3)   The Library Company’s Visual Culture Program got off to a rousing start with our April 3rd program, “Talking Prints: A Conversation with Donald Cresswell and Christopher Lane.” Seventy-five…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

2007 LCP Annual Meeting

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Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

2007 LCP Annual Dinner: Dr. Francois Furstenberg

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Audio Download (MP3)   Former Library Company Fellow François Furstenberg speaks about his book, In the Name of the Father: Washington’s Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation, released in paperback by The Penguin Press.  François…
Fig. 1. John H. Webster, Jr., [Stouton, Webster family residence, Kensington and Indiana Avenues, Philadelphia, Pa.], ca. 1890. Glass plate negative.

New Grant Funds Library Company’s Exploration of Philadelphia’s Colorful Past

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Long before circulars jammed our mailboxes and glossy advertisements for every department store in the city came sliding out of the Sunday paper, lithography was the word—and the image—on the street. Invented in the late 1700s, lithography…