Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

Mellon Scholars Program: Exploring the African Diaspora

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In a series of occasional blog posts, participants in our Mellon Scholars Internship and Workshop programs will introduce themselves, discuss their experiences at the Library Company, and share their goals for pursuing careers in the field of…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

The Library Company Goes 3D

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With the resurgence in 3D viewing technologies in recent years, the Library Company has dared to revive this long-lived pastime through recent exhibitions and collaborations.  3D photographic imaging has existed since the 1840s with mid…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

World War One Posters and a Philadelphia Connection

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An article in the 1918 Thanksgiving issue of The Red Cross Bulletin described this poster even more enthusiastically:The Jessie Willcox Smith Photograph Collection in the Print and Photograph Department is not the only place to find the…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

Canoeing the Pine Barrens

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Though a desolate landscape, Philadelphians have long been drawn to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for various reasons such as relaxation, trade, and industry.  The Marriott C. Morris collection of photographs includes views of amateur…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

So Who Really Made the First American Flag?

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Every school student has been taught that George Washington and his committee tasked Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, a milliner whose business was located between 2nd and 3rd on Arch Street, with the creation of the first American flag. Supposedly, the…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

Except New Jersey

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In fall 2013 the Library Company seized upon the tremendous opportunity to acquire the Joe Freedman Collection of Philadelphia Ephemera. A boon to our visual culture holdings, I have recently had the privilege to begin to process…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

The French High Commission’s Visit to Philadelphia

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On April 2, 1917, nearly three years after World War I had broken out in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson appealed to the United States Congress to declare war on Germany. President Wilson cited two reasons for seeking a congressional declaration…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

Tamar Stone: Book Artist

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In honor of Women’s History Month, we have invited Tamar Stone to write a guest entry for us. I make artist books. These are one-of-a-kind pieces that use antique textiles to speak to various issues that women faced in the past. My…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

Happy Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd

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  There have been prints depicting George Washington with his family since the 1790s, when self-taught artist Edward Savage produced one based on the painting he completed in 1796. Especially numerous in the years surrounding the Civil…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Fourteen: Antoine Simon Le Page du Pratz’s The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina

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My favorite thing to show visitors is a copy of Antoine Simon Le Page du Pratz’s The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina (London, 1774). It is the one-volume English translation and abridgement of the three-volume…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Twelve: John Jay Smith’s Manuscript Memoir

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My favorite thing of the moment is a hefty, three-volume manuscript memoir and scrapbook made by our former Librarian John Jay Smith (1798-1881). Through it I discovered that the man in the portrait with the white beard and red fez had a wonderful…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Eleven: “Teaching with Capital Success”

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Like many of my colleagues, I find it impossible to choose just one favorite thing from our collection. Nevertheless, I’d like to shine a spotlight on a humble but intriguing item, an annual report. Since I trained as an archivist, it’s…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Nine: Thanksgiving 1864 – A Spectacle of Giving

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Today, November 26, 2013, is the 150th anniversary of what many regard as the first official national celebration of Thanksgiving, as proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln. In fact, Lincoln proclaimed many days of national thanksgiving during his time…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Eight: Marriott C. Morris Photograph Collection

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One of my Print Department favorites is the Marriott C. Morris collection of photographic prints and negatives. Morris (1863-1948) was an amateur photographer who lived in Philadelphia, and the more than 1,500 photographs in this collection…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Seven: Happy Birthday, Marines!

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As Curator of Printed Books, trying to identify a favorite item in the Library Company’s collection feels like being asked to pick a favorite from among my children.  The fact is that my favorite item in the collection is the collection.…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Six: Men in Jaunty Aprons

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We had not yet added our visual material holdings to our online catalog when I discovered this print in our portrait collections through the tried and true hunt and peck method. I was immediately smitten when I came across this trimmed and annotated…
Screenshot from ImPAC Portraits of American Women collection.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, Part Five: Uzbek Connection

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Last summer, the International Visitor’s Council in Philadelphia asked the Library Company to host a group from Uzbekistan visiting the US for a State Department-sponsored program on library conservation.  On July 23, I welcomed a delegation…