The Library Company

We hope you will join us for December’s Fireside Chat: “The Driver’s Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery,” featuring historian and author Randy Browne REGISTER HERE: support.librarycompany.org/thedriversstory

We hope you'll join us for A Black Speculative History Course next week! Learn more and register here: support.librarycompany.org/blackspeculati…

Have coffee with me this morning! My piece on the @librarycompany is out now in @SmithsonianMag. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to contribute to one of my favorite magazines.

Happy International Women's Day from the Library Company! We hope you'll join us at any of our three Women's History Month events. Register and learn more here: support.librarycompany.org/grandoldwomen support.librarycompany.org/embroideringth… support.librarycompany.org/boundandboarded

Calling all historians and scholars... we want your work! Consider submitting to our special issue on Joy and Pleasure for the JER. @MHS1791 @librarycompany @MAAHMuseum thepanorama.shear.org/2024/01/08/cfp…

Forget Me Not, c. 1843, by #SarahMappsDouglass (American, 1806-82). Held by the @librarycompany of Philadelphia, in the Martina Dickerson Album; source, “Visual Feasts: The Art of Sarah Mapps Douglass,” by Erika Piola, artherstory.net/visual-feasts-… #artherstory #womenartists

Happy Black History Month from the Library Company of Philadelphia! We hope you'll join us for Jubilee's Experiment: British Emancipation in the Caribbean and Black History in America, presented by Dr. Dexter Gabriel. Register here: support.librarycompany.org/jubileesexperi….

Absalom Jones, who in 1787 formed the Free African Society and founded The Historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, pictured in this @librarycompany print, died #onthisday in 1818. Learn more about Jones in our #BlackFounders Virtual Tour: bit.ly/46trOCf

March is right around the corner, which means so is the Ephemera Society of America's annual conference. This year's theme is Conflict/Resolution and includes talks on Civil War ephemera, movable works with political messages, and protest typography. ephemerasociety.org/ephemera-44/

Did you ever pass notes in class? Or maybe write notes in your textbook that your bestie sitting next to you could read? We love finding evidence of use in our collections, and this book is quite a gem! With a homemade chemise and notes throughout, there's so much to explore.

Deadline approaching! Apply for a short-term or dissertation fellowship at @librarycompany and/or @historicalpa by February 15! Details: ow.ly/xiXk50Qtz40

It's Friday, and you know what that means. Time for some end of the week endpapers, this week featuring these shiny gold lovelies found inside a posh (and plush!) edition of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co circa 1898.

19thC valentines are recognized as tokens of love, prized for their intricate designs. The comic valentine, however, communicated very different sentiments. Curious? Join us for "Love Me, Love Me Not: Emotion & Identity in 19thC Valentines" on 2/7, 1:30pm. ow.ly/yzGp50QpeqP

Apply for a short-term or dissertation fellowship at @librarycompany and/or @historicalpa by February 15! Details: ow.ly/xiXk50Qtz40

These cards from our original catalog were created before library hand was adopted at library schools ca 1885. Created by Melvil Dewey & Thomas Edison, library hand was a handwriting style taught to ensure uniformity & legibility in card catalogs. Happy National Handwriting Day!

Rebecca Clifford was still a minor when she purchased Library Company share #315 in 1789, so the directors noted that “the usual Security should . . . be given.” (As it turns out, we know she lost at least one book!) ow.ly/IG3o50Qq9Hl #shareholderspotlight #LCP300

We're back with more Philly postcards, featuring views of public transit. We know that doesn't sound terribly scenic but maybe these will change your mind. Window display in subway stations; Elevated R.R. from 32nd St, West Philadelphia; Interior of an elevated car. All ca. 1910

Congratulations, you've survived the first full work week of 2024. Now go enjoy that long weekend. Marriott C. Morris, [Children sledding, 131 W. Walnut Lane] February, 1908.

We hope your feet are dry and your commute this morning uninterrupted! Philadelphia got over 2 inches of rain last night, and neighboring counties saw even more. Marriott Morris. [Spring Lake and Villa Park tram stuck in a flooded area, near Sea Girt, NJ] (ca. 1889?).

Greetings from Philadelphia! Did you know that we have hundreds of postcards of Philadelphia in our digital collections? And thousands more that haven't been digitized yet. Here's one of our favorites, published ca 1920 by the Photo and Art Postal Card Company, NY.