The Library Company of Philadelphia

The Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company is an independent research library specializing in American history

Library Company shareholder Elizabeth Hewson Caldwell (1774-1851) took over the share originally purchased by her husban...
01/24/2025

Library Company shareholder Elizabeth Hewson Caldwell (1774-1851) took over the share originally purchased by her husband David Caldwell (1770-1835), but she also had a strong connection to one of the Library Company’s founders: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Elizabeth’s grandmother had been Franklin’s landlady in London, and her mother became a close friend of Franklin’s. Check out our blog (link in bio!) for more about the Caldwell and Hewson family’s connections to the Library Company. https://librarycompany.org/2025/01/23/shareholder-spotlight-elizabeth-hewson-caldwell/

Image 1 and 2: The Library Company owns two books that once belonged to Elizabeth Hewson Caldwell, including this copy of a work by Sir Isaac Newton. Elizabeth inscribed the title page with her maiden name Hewson, and also signed the inside cover with her married name Caldwell. Sir Isaac Newton, Opticks: Or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light (London, 1730). Gift of Frances M. Bradford.
Image 3: Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, David Caldwell. Engraving on paper. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon.

Calling all artists, writers, teachers, historians and creative scholars! The Innovation Fellowship program hosted by th...
12/20/2024

Calling all artists, writers, teachers, historians and creative scholars! The Innovation Fellowship program hosted by the Library Company of Philadelphia aims to engage non-academic scholars who want to conduct research in the print, graphics, manuscript, and art and artifacts collections held by the Library Company.

If you are interested in applying, please find the link to the application in our bio.

Shareholder Dr. William Pepper (1843-1898) was a physician and university administrator, among other things, and helped ...
12/17/2024

Shareholder Dr. William Pepper (1843-1898) was a physician and university administrator, among other things, and helped to establish the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1891. His support for an “absolutely free” library did not change his personal involvement with the subscription-based Library Company. He took over the Library Company share purchased by his father, Dr. William Pepper (1810-1864), and the share later passed to his grandson. Check out our blog (link in bio!) for more about the Pepper family’s connections to the Library Company.
https://librarycompany.org/2024/12/12/shareholder-spotlight-dr-william-pepper/

Image 1: Portrait of Dr. William Pepper (1810-1864) from Thomas G. Morton and Frank Woodbury, The History of the Pennsylvania Hospital (Philadelphia, 1897).
Image 2: The younger Dr. Pepper gifted his membership ticket to the first Pan-American Medical Congress to the Library Company. Pepper had helped organize the congress and served as its president. The first Pan-American Medical Congress membership ticket (Washington, D.C., 1892). Gift of William Pepper.
Image 3: After operating in several previous locations, the Free Library of Philadelphia opened its Central Branch at 19th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1927. Central Library, Free Library of Philadelphia postcards [graphic] (circa 1927). Photolithograph.

We hope you will join us for December’s Fireside Chat: “The Driver’s Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Sla...
12/12/2024

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

just two days before Thanksgiving? Ok - we love cake here at Library Company! We also love our collection of nineteent...
11/26/2024

just two days before Thanksgiving? Ok - we love cake here at Library Company! We also love our collection of nineteenth century cook books including this gem by Eliza Leslie published in 1858. Leslie was born in Philadelphia and attended one of the first cooking schools established in America by Elizabeth Goodfellow. Leslie took copious notes during her classes and published them with many of the recipes she learned in several cookbooks during her lifetime including "The American family cook book : containing receipts for cooking every kind of meat, fish, and fowl, ... And also Seventy-five receipts for pastry, cakes, and sweetmeats."

For Transgender Day of Remembrance, we'd like to share some instances of q***r joy. These photos, from a collection of g...
11/20/2024

For Transgender Day of Remembrance, we'd like to share some instances of q***r joy. These photos, from a collection of gender non-conforming people held in our Graphic Arts Department, were taken circa 1910 to 1947. We do not know how the people depicted would have identified if they were alive today. However, we can still celebrate these memories of gender exploration and play.

Library Company shareholder Margaret Morris (1737-1816) opened a medical and apothecary practice in Burlington, NJ, afte...
11/18/2024

Library Company shareholder Margaret Morris (1737-1816) opened a medical and apothecary practice in Burlington, NJ, after moving there as a widow in 1766. She is also remembered today for keeping a rich account of the Revolutionary War that was later published by a descendant. Check out our blog (link in bio!) for more about the Morris family’s connections to the Library Company. https://librarycompany.org/2024/11/15/shareholder-spotlight-margaret-morris/

Image 1: Share Record Book B, volume 172, Library Company of Philadelphia records (MSS00270).
Image 2: Margaret Morris, Private Journal, Kept During a Portion of the Revolutionary War, for the Amusement of a Sister (Philadelphia, 1836). Gift of Mrs. S. Marguerite Brenner.
Image 3: Morris Smith, Morris, Margaret Hill, 1737?-1816. ([Philadelphia], [1854?]). Engraving.

The Program of Early American Economy and Society is pleased to host author Seth Rockman for a book talk regarding his m...
11/14/2024

The Program of Early American Economy and Society is pleased to host author Seth Rockman for a book talk regarding his most recent publication, “Plantation Goods: a Material History of American Slavery.” Join us on December 11th at 5:30 PM at the Library Company.

Register Here: https://ow.ly/4FOY50U7oUP

We've reached an important milestone in the NEH-funded Library Company Papers Project: we have finished processing the L...
11/08/2024

We've reached an important milestone in the NEH-funded Library Company Papers Project: we have finished processing the Library Company’s institutional records from 1731 through 1881, and the finding aid for the collection is now online and available for researchers! https://librarycompany.org/2024/11/07/finding-aid-now-available-for-library-company-institutional-records/

Image: Minutes of the Committee for Fixing the Value of Lost Books, Volume 111, Library Company of Philadelphia records (MSS00270).

We hope you will join us for November’s Fireside Chat: “Slavery, Free Labor, and the Nation’s First Labor Movement: Phil...
11/06/2024

We hope you will join us for November’s Fireside Chat: “Slavery, Free Labor, and the Nation’s First Labor Movement: Philadelphia’s Workingmen,” featuring historian Sean Griffin.
REGISTER HERE: support.librarycompany.org/PhiladelphiasWorkingmen

This book on gardening would be a handy reference for ! Extend your growing season by building a walled pit or hot-bed ...
11/06/2024

This book on gardening would be a handy reference for ! Extend your growing season by building a walled pit or hot-bed and refer to the chapter on The Kitchen Garden to learn growing tips and tricks, and about the importance of eating fresh vegetables for good health and well-being.

The annual staff Halloween party was spooktacular as always! Stay safe tonight everyone and Happy Halloween from the Lib...
10/31/2024

The annual staff Halloween party was spooktacular as always! Stay safe tonight everyone and Happy Halloween from the Library Company!

Diables stereographs, also known as Journey into Hell stereographs, were among the most popular tissue stereographs issu...
10/31/2024

Diables stereographs, also known as Journey into Hell stereographs, were among the most popular tissue stereographs issued from 1868 to 1874. They often depicted earthly sins that could lead one to hell, and reveal their coloring when held up to a light.



1 photographic print : translucent paper on stereograph mount, hand-colored ; 9 x 17 cm.

This harlequinade, or turn-up book, features a mermaid, a griffin, and other scenes that transform as the reader unfolds...
10/28/2024

This harlequinade, or turn-up book, features a mermaid, a griffin, and other scenes that transform as the reader unfolds its flaps, revealing hidden images to create new ones. The book is made from a single sheet of paper folded to 15 x 10 cm.

If you've ever been on a ghost tour in New Orleans, you've likely stopped at 1140 Royal St to hear a version of the stor...
10/24/2024

If you've ever been on a ghost tour in New Orleans, you've likely stopped at 1140 Royal St to hear a version of the story this 1889 book tells. In 'Strange true stories of Louisiana,' George Washington Cable details the crimes of Madame LaLaurie, and the spirits left behind at the house on Royal. Cable was friends with Mark Twain, and was well known for writing novels that addressed racial injustice in many forms. The Library Company of Philadelphia holds a few of his works, including 'The Grandissimes,' 'Bonaventure,' and 'Old Creole Days.'

William H. Mumler is often credited with taking the first spirit photograph: an image of a living person in which a dece...
10/23/2024

William H. Mumler is often credited with taking the first spirit photograph: an image of a living person in which a deceased person also appears. Famously, he took a portrait of the widow Mary Todd Lincoln that features the “ghost” of Abraham Lincoln.

With October marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of James Logan (1674-1751), we wanted to take a moment to review...
10/21/2024

With October marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of James Logan (1674-1751), we wanted to take a moment to review the Library Company’s long relationship with the Loganian Library. Check out our blog (link in bio!) for more about how Logan’s personal book collection grew into a public resource that eventually became part of the Library Company. https://librarycompany.org/2024/10/04/looking-back-at-the-loganian-library/

Image 1: Thomas Sully, James Logan (Philadelphia, 1831). Oil on canvas.
Image 2: Loganian Library ([1797?]. Ink and wash drawing.
Image 3: George Bacon Wood, Library Building on 5th Street (Philadelphia, 1880). Oil on wood. Gift of Dr. William Pepper, 1893.

We’re pretty sure this medium didn’t actually talk to Benjamin Franklin, but who are we to judge?This volume lists commu...
10/18/2024

We’re pretty sure this medium didn’t actually talk to Benjamin Franklin, but who are we to judge?
This volume lists communications with many spirits, all of whom attest to Christian ideas about the afterlife and how earthly lives should be lived.



Spiritual communications. Presenting a revelation of the future life, and illustrating and confirming the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. / Ed. by Henry Kiddle.
New York, 1879.

Address

1314 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA
19107

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:45pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:45pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:45pm
Thursday 9am - 4:45pm
Friday 9am - 4:45pm

Telephone

+12155463181

Website

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Videos

Some before and after shots of the Longacre Collection being processed. Progress!

Well that's a flex. Charles Corless, Glen Riddle, Pa. The best cow milker in the world. [Glen Riddle, Pa.?, ca. 1880] #woodcutWednesday #tradecards #advertising

End of the year always feels a bit like a blur, right? This whirlwind of #endoftheweekendpapers is from a sample book of paste papers produced by Bird & Bull Press. TGIF! #decoratedpaper #pastepaper

Happy Halloween!! Try to keep your head on straight today. Todten-Tans (Dance of Death). Basel, 1744. Engravings by Jacques-Anthony Chovin, after Matthieu Merian. #danceofdeath #opticalillusions #halloween #spookyseason

"Imperfect History: Curating the Graphic Arts Collection at Benjamin Franklin’s Public Library" explores the development of the Library’s graphics art collection as it relates to historical and cultural biases within American history, frankly examining the prints, photographs, original works of art on paper, and other graphics that epitomize the evolution of a pivotal public library. More information and the link to register for the virtual opening on 9/20 through the link in our bio. #LCPimperfecthistory #Luceproject #LCPprints

Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga is free and open to the public through April 10, 2020. Stop by 1314 Locust to see the full length making-of documentary alongside original artwork and historical materials from our collections. #BensLibrary #LCPinsider #GhostRiver #RedrawingHistory

#OnThisDay in 1775, the first official U.S. flag, the Grand Union, was flown over the USS Alfred. This metamorphic pamphlet, which was designed for visitors to the Betsy Ross House here in Philadelphia, lets viewers observe the history and evolution of American flag designs. The History of Our Flag (Philadelphia: Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 1937). Illustrated pamphlet. Images depict different stages of a fold-out pamphlet. Each image shows different stages of the evolution of the American flag. #BensLibrary #LCPprints #SpecialCollections #IGLibraries #librariesofinstagram

We're featuring more #NaturePrints for the second week of the #LibraryLeaves Challenge! Oerii, Joannis. Specimen herbarii typico-vivi … . [Europe : s.n., 1759.] http://pacscl.exlibrisgroup.com:48992/F?func=direct&doc_number=000113673 #BensLibrary #LCPchallenge #LibraryChallenge #ChallengeWednesday #Leaves #1750s #18thCentury #RareBooks #SpecialCollections

Charging into Monday like... Elliston P. Morris Jr. and hobby horse, 6706 [Cresheim Rd., Pelham]. Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer. June 1902. 1 photograph: gelatin silver print; 3 x 4 in. #MorrisMonday #BensLibrary #LCPprints #SpecialCollections #IGLibraries #LibrariesofInstagram

For this week’s #ToolsOfTheLibraryTrade challenge we bring you FOAM! Foam is the gentle support your books need in times of binding stress. Foam doesn’t make a sound and is perfect for a quiet reading room. Foam comes in many sizes and supports books from the miniature to folio. Choose Foam and you’ll also have a pillow for those research break cat naps. Book pictured: Arndt, Johann, 1555-1621. Wahres Christenthum. Philadelphia [Pa.], : Gedruckt und verlegt bey Benjamin Fräncklin und Johann Böhm., 1751. http://ow.ly/Dbp850vMitf #foam #ToolsOfTheLibraryTrade #lcprarebooks #1750s #lcpinsider #specialcollections #IGlibraries #librariesofinstagram

We often think of temperature control when we think of housing special collections. What about our extra special and also, spontaneously combustible collections?? At the Library Company we house nitrate and safety negatives in freezers to keep them stable. To access the negatives, boxes must acclimate to room temperature for 24 hours before being handled. To return to the freezer, curators must bake the boards inside the box (I mean literally bake cardboard in the oven!) to remove humidity before storing. #ToolsOfTheLibraryTrade #NitrateNegatives #LCPprints #LCPphotographs #specialcollections #LCPinsider #IGlibraries #LibrariesofInstagram

Hamilton, the Musical opens next week at the Forrest Theatre and we are excited to share our collections that correspond with the show! Curated by our Curator of Printed Books, Rachel D’Agostino uses Hamilton’s song lyrics to drive this mini exhibition. Come check it out, then see the show! Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr Dueling Pistols (Aldo Uberti for U.S. Historical Society, ca. 1976). On loan from Erik Almquist. These .54 caliber, muzzle-loading, flintlock-action pistols are working reproductions of those used by Hamilton and Burr on July 11, 1804, in the duel that lead to Hamilton’s death two days later. The original pistols are owned by J.P. Morgan Chase, which traces its founding to Aaron Burr and his Manhattan Company (see the case across from this one for more on that dodgy endeavor). #LCPexhibits #hamiltonthemusical #alexanderhamilton #duelingpistols #aaronburr #1800s #1970s #specialcollections #broadway #IGlibraries #librariesofinstagram

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