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Related Art & Artifacts at the Library Company

The Art & Artifacts Collection contains a number of objects related to the history of the Library Company of Philadelphia, including architectural features and components from previous buildings; furnishings and works specifically created for the Library; depictions of the Library Company’s buildings or interiors; portraits and busts of directors, librarians, and shareholders; and objects that came from the Union Library Company and the Loganian Library. The items listed below include pieces from the Library Company’s founding in 1731 to 1881.

For more information about the Art & Artifacts Collection, please see the Library Company’s digital library at https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3AAART1

Architectural Features and Building Components

  • OBJ 007 – William Thornton. Cornerstone of Library Company building at Fifth and Chestnut Streets. The cornerstone was formerly embedded in the base of the statue of Benjamin Franklin (OBJ 596). Installed on August 31, 1789.
  • OBJ 038 – Candle Lantern. Formerly hung at the entrance of the Fifth Street building and rehung at the Ridgway Library at Broad and Christian Streets. Purchased by the Library Company from Poultney & Wilson in 1791.
  • OBJ 054 – Coins from the cornerstone. Eights coins and medals from 1773 to 1788 that were deposited in the Cornerstone of the Fifth Street building in 1789 and were removed on the demolition of the building in 1888.
  • OBJ 529 – Urn. Part of balastrade around the roof the Library Company’s Fifth Street building, 1789-1888.
  • OBJ 596 – Francesco Lazzarini. Benjamin Franklin. Statue of Franklin originally placed in a niche over the entrance to the Fifth Street building in 1792. Gift of William Bingham, 1792.
  • OBJ 597 – Robert North. Stone Marker for the Statue of Benjamin Franklin. Made in 1792 to accompany OBJ 596. Purchased by the Library Company, 1792.
  • OBJ 601 – Addison Hutton. Model for the Ridgway Library.  Made in circa 1870 for comparative purposes in choosing the architecture for the Ridgway Library at Broad and Christian Streets.
  • OBJ 828 – Tombstone of Dr. James Rush and Phoebe Ann Ridgway Rush. Dr. Rush’s will instructed that he and his wife Phoebe be buried in the Ridgway Library at Broad and Christian Streets. The tombstone was moved to the Library Company’s building at 1314 Locust Street in 1966.

Furnishings and Works Specifically Created for the Library Company

  • OBJ 001 – John Child. Tall Case Clock. Purchased by the Library Company from John Child in 1835.
  • OBJ 014 – Joseph Henzey, Sr. Windsor Chairs. Set of eleven chairs for the Fifth Street building. Purchased by the Library Company from Henzey, 1792.
  • OBJ 016 – Library Tables. Set of two tables. Purchased by the Library Company, circa 1740.
  • OBJ 250 – Samuel Jennings. Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks. The first painting by an American-born artist to address the issue of slavery. Gift of Samuel Jennings, 1792.
  • OBJ 283 – John Harrison. Air Pump Case. Commissioned by the Library Company to house an air pump, 1738-1739.
  • OBJ 516 – Library Company Fire Buckets. Six leather buckets inscribed, Library Company of Philadelphia, with a ornamental scroll above and a sunburst below. Purchased by the Library Company, 1797.
  • OBJ 650 – Suggestion Box. Metal box painted with the face of a lion and the words, “Gentlemen are Requested to deposit in the Lion’s Mouth the titles of such Books as they may wish to have Imported” underneath. Made for the Library Company, circa 1750.
  • OBJ 874 – Philip Syng. Seal of the Library Company of Philadelphia. Brass seal engraved with the Library Company’s emblem and motto, “Communiter Bona profundere Dêum est,” which translates as “To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.” Made for the Library Company, circa 1731-1733.
  • OBJ 913 – Frank Furness. Library Step-Stool. Made for the Library Company’s Juniper and Locust Street Library branch, which was designed by Frank Furness and opened on February 24, 1880. Gift of David M. Doret and Linda G. Mitchell in memory of Robert Lindsley and Eric de Hoogh, 2019.

Depictions of the Library Company

  • OBJ 235 – George Bacon Wood. Library Building on 5th Street. Oil on wood painting made in 1880 and depicting the interior of the Fifth Street building. Gift of Dr. William Pepper, 1893.
  • OBJ 607a – J. & W. Ridgway. Library Company Blue Plate. Blue and white transferware plate made in circa 1814 to 1830 and depicting the Fifth Street building surrounded by a border of medallions of roses and leaves. Gift of Donald H. Cresswell, 1997.

Portraits and Busts of Directors, Librarians, and Shareholders

  • OBJ 040 – Thomas Sully. Dr. Thomas Parke. Made in 1822. Parke was a director from 1778-1835. Purchased by the Library Company’s Board of Directors, 1822.
  • OBJ 041 – Thomas Sully. Zachariah Poulson. Made in 1843. Poulson was the Librarian from 1785-1806 and a director from 1812-1844. Commissioned by the Library Company’s Board of Directors, 1843.
  • OBJ 043 – Anne Leslie. Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the Librarian from 1733-1734, a director from 1731-1757, 1762-1764, and Secretary from 1746-1757. Gift of Eliza Leslie, 1858.
  • OBJ 111 – Samuel Bell Waugh. Henry Wharton. Made in 1881. Wharton was a director from 1862-1880. Purchased by the Library Company’s Board of Directors in 1881.
  • OBJ 165 – William Rush. Benjamin Rush. Plaster bust. Rush was a director from 1792-1793. Bequest of Dr. James Rush, 1869.
  • OBJ 180 – James Lambdin Reid. Benjamin Franklin. Made in circa 1880. Franklin was the Librarian from 1733-1734, a director from 1731-1757, 1762-1764, and Secretary from 1746-1757. Purchased by the Library Company, 1880.
  • OBJ 239 – Thomas Sully. Joseph Fisher, Optician. Made in 1828. Fisher became a shareholder in 1817. Bequest of Joseph Fisher, 1864.
  • OBJ 261 – James Reid Lambdin. John Jay Smith. Made in circa 1880. Smith was the Librarian from 1829-1851 and Treasurer from 1840-1857. Gift of Lloyd Pearsall Smith on behalf of himself and his brothers, Robert P. and Horace J. Smith, 1883.
  • OBJ 263 – Jacob Eichholz. Benjamin R. Morgan. Made in 1823. Morgan was Secretary from 1792-1825 and a director from1825-1840. Gift of Mrs. Robert W. Leaming, 1889.
  • OBJ 266 – John Neagle. William Mackenzie. Made in 1829. Mackenzie became a shareholder in 1786. Commissioned by the Library Company, 1829.
  • OBJ 308 – George Washington Norris. George W. Norris was a director from 1840-1874. Source unknown.
  • OBJ 526- Jean-Jacques Caffieri. Benjamin Franklin. Plaster bust made in circa 1779-1784. Franklin was the Librarian from 1733-1734, a director from 1731-1757, 1762-1764, and Secretary from 1746-1757. Gift of Walter Franklin, 1805.
  • OBJ 561 – William Rush. Philip Syng Physick. Plaster bust made before 1813. Physick became a shareholder in 1791. Source unknown.
  • OBJ 666 – Thomas Sully. George Campbell. Made in 1856. George Campbell was the Librarian from 1806-1829 and a director from 1836-1855. Gift of Edwin Wolf 2nd, 1960.
  • OBJ 667 – Jacob Eichholtz. John Markoe. Made in circa 1815. Markoe became a shareholder in 1831. Gift of Mary De Witt Pettit, 1965.
  • OBJ 683 – John Markoe. Watercolor miniature. Markoe became a shareholder in 1831. Gift of Dr. Mary Dewitt Pettit, 1965.
  • OBJ 845 – John Neagle. Mathew Carey. Made in 1825. Carey became a shareholder in 1808. Gift of Mrs. H. Lea (Mary) Hudson, 1991.
  • OBJ 879 – Francois Dumont. Snuffbox with Portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Made in 1779. Tortoiseshell snuffbox with a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the lid. Franklin was the Librarian from 1733-1734, a director from 1731-1757, 1762-1764, and Secretary from 1746-1757. Gift of Stuart Karu, 2009.
  • OBJ 885 – James Peale. Zachariah Poulson. Made in 1808. Poulson was the Librarian from 1785-1806 and a director from 1812-1844. Purchased by the Library Company, 2011.
  • OBJ 895 – Jean Baptise Weyler. Benjamin Franklin Portrait Miniature. Made in circa 1785. Franklin was the Librarian from 1733-1734, a director from 1731-1757, 1762-1764, and Secretary from 1746-1757. Purchased by the Library Company, 2013.

Objects from the Union Library Company

  • OBJ 159 – Seal of the Union Library Company. The Union Library, founded in 1746, merged into the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1769. Acquired when the Union Library merged with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1769.

Objects from the Loganian Library

  • OBJ 142- Edmund Darch Lewis. Stenton, the Seat of the Founder of the Loganian Library, A.D. 1728. Made in circa 1867. Commissioned by the contributions of 25 individuals in 1867 for the Loganian Library.
  • OBJ 255 – Thomas Sully. James Logan. Made in 1831. The Library Company directors commissioned Thomas Sully to replace the portrait of James Logan that was destroyed in a fire in the Loganian Library on Jan. 6, 1831. Commissioned by the Directors of the Library Company, 1831.
  • OBJ 258 – James Lambdin Reid. William Penn. Made in circa 1844. Gift of John Jay Smith, 1845.