#LCPevents

[librarycompany]

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, there's still time to register for our upcoming seminar, Victorian Sweets: Exoticism & Agrarianism in Local Confectionery!  

Using 19th-century advertisements, photos, packaging, and broadsides from the Library Company of Philadelphia’s rich collections, experts from The Franklin Fountain & Shane Confectionery will explore the written & visual culture of the 19th-century confectionery trades. 

 And yes, there will be dessert.

[librarycompany]

This week we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. The moon, a beautiful, desolate, and mysterious sphere that pushes and pulls at our tides has been a subject of fantasy and science alike, as well as an inspiration for exploration. 

TONIGHT Rebecca Kamen will talk about her recent art and video project in collaboration with artist Tim Chrepta. PLOT celebrates lunar exploration and the Parkes Observatory radio telescope to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. 

There is still time to register: https://librarycompany.org/…/plot-in-celebration-of-the-50…/

Johannes Hevelius, Johannis Hevelii Selenographia : Sive, Lunae Descriptio … (Gedani: Autoris sumtibus, typis Hünefeldianis, 1647).

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At the time of its publication, McKenney and Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836-1844) was the most elaborately illustrated book ever printed in the United States. Originating as a portrait collection of Native leaders assembled by the U. S. War Department in the midst of efforts toward indigenous removal, History signaled an emerging relationship between the state-sanctioned and commercial production of images in the antebellum United States. 

 On Thursday, October 3, 2018-2019 Visual Culture Fellow Julia Grummit will discuss the social, political and material histories of the book, focusing on its production from treaty signings that took place in Anishinaabe and Dakota lands in the 1820s, its printing at Philadelphia lithography studios, and its distribution into the hands of subscribers. Grummitt will draw attention to connections between an expanding republic of print production and circulation and the expansion of the United States’ continental empire. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mckenney-and-halls-great-national-work-with-julia-grummit-tickets-72072527871

[librarycompany]

There’s still time to register for our upcoming seminar, Mirror of a City: Images of Philadelphia, 1780-1950, taking place September 26, October 10, and October 24.

Join Library Company curators Sarah Weatherwax and Erika Piola for this three-part seminar, in which attendees will examine the pivotal role of Philadelphia in creating the visual culture of the nation as a center for printmaking, photography, and collecting. Sessions will explore the social, cultural, and technological influences affecting Philadelphia image making; the known, hidden, and forgotten image makers; and the changing aesthetics of the physical city, as well as tastes of those who notably collected all manner of Philadelphia imagery. Seminar attendees will also gain knowledge about the evolution of the Library’s graphic collections, as well as have hands-on experiences with specimens of early photography, including daguerreotypes and stereographs.

The Library Company is pleased to announce that we have some scholarship funds available to help defray costs of students, teachers, artists, and employees at peer institutions. Check out the event site for more information.

[librarycompany]

There’s still time to register for PLOT: a talk in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission!

Join us next Tuesday, July 16, to hear artist Rebecca Kamen talk about her recent art and video project in collaboration with artist Tim Chrepta. PLOT celebrates lunar exploration and the Parkes Observatory radio telescope to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. She will discuss the research and development of PLOT and the significance of art as a vehicle for observing and capturing the moon prior to the advent of the camera. 

Kamen’s new interpretive artworks that transform historic lunar research into sculptural form will be discussed as well as exhibited. The PLOT project video created for an Australian Apollo 11 anniversary exhibition will also be shown.

Learn more and register here.

Johannes Hevelius,  Johannis Hevelii Selenographia : Sive, Lunae Descriptio  ... (Gedani: Autoris sumtibus, typis Hünefeldianis, 1647).

[librarycompany]

We’re sharing a bonus #PeakofOurCollections adjacent image to promote an upcoming event at the Library Company:

PLOT: IN CELEBRATION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE APOLLO 11 MISSION

Join us on July 16 to hear artist Rebecca Kamen talk about her recent art and video project in collaboration with artist Tim Chrepta. PLOT celebrates lunar exploration and the Parkes Observatory radio telescope to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. She will discuss the research and development of PLOT and the significance of art as a vehicle for observing and capturing the moon prior to the advent of the camera. Kamen’s new interpretive artworks that transform historic lunar research into sculptural form will be discussed as well as exhibited. The PLOT project video created for an Australian Apollo 11 anniversary exhibition will also be shown.

Learn more and register here.

The featured image is from James Nasmyth’s The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite (London, 1874), and shows the “Back of a hand & shrivelled apple to illustrate the origin of certain mountain ranges by shrinkage of the globe.”

James Nasmyth, The Moon:  Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite … (London: J. Murray, 1874). Second edition.

[librarycompany]

Last week, we shared an image from our Amy Matilda Cassey album. This week, you can see it in person as part of our upcoming exhibition, From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures: Black Creative Re-Imaginings. 

Join us this Friday, May 24, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EDT,  for the opening of this exhibition, which will include a performance by Mezzo-Soprano, Marquita Raley-Cooper. She will perform songs from the Library Company collections.

You can learn more and register for the opening here. 

[librarycompany]

Register today for our upcoming symposium, Stylish Books: Designing Philadelphia Furniture.

This symposium is related to our current exhibition, Stylish Books: Designing Philadelphia Furniture, which examines the Library Company’s collection related to furniture making in Philadelphia, illustrating the influence of books and showing style changes over time. 

The symposium will further explore and expand on how printed books impacted and inspired furniture design and style. Participants will enjoy talks from expert scholars and have an opportunity to view the exhibition. We hope to encourage and stimulate thought and conversation on this topic.

The symposium will take place at the Library Company or Philadelphia on April 3, 2019, 8:15am-12:45pm. Join us for an exciting day of research and discovery!

[librarycompany]

From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures: Black Creative Re-Imaginings. On display May 24 - October 18, 2019. Please join us for the opening reception on May 24 at 530pm!

The emergence of Afro-futurism as a relatively new construct in Africana Studies and Black History allows the Library Company of Philadelphia to pay homage to a black past and show how black historical artists envisioned a glorious black future. By displaying fragments of early Black Americans’ past from their drawings, love letters, poems, songs, speeches, and protests, this exhibition will help visitors grapple with the place of black creative genius in the quest for a people’s liberation.

Curated by: Jermaine Dennis, Kimani Magloire, Tamara Potts-Covan, Julian González,  and Carolina Acosta

Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens, Director of the Program in African American History.

Jasmine Smith, African Americana Specialist and Reference Librarian

[librarycompany]

Opening today! 

From Negro Pasts to Afro-Futures: Black Creative Re-Imaginings

Stop by today, or join us tonight for the opening reception 530pm-7pm. Visit the following link for more info: https://librarycompany.org/portfolio-item/from-negro-pasts-to-afro-futures/

[librarycompany]

Philadelphia not only was a center for fashion but for fashionable furniture that was made locally. Join us November 2, 2018 for the opening Stylish Books : Designing Philadelphia Furniture to learn more about how Philadelphia furniture met form and function in the 18th and 19th centuries.  

Stylish Books : Designing Philadelphia Furniture - on display November 2, 2018 - April 26, 2019. Opening reception, November 2, 5pm - 7pm. To learn more visit HERE.  

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The Library Company Celebrates Gay History Month!

The Library Company’s Gay History Month event—a highlight of the fall calendar—featured University of Tulsa professor Don James Brown, who made the case that Sarah Orne Jewett’s 1885 novel A Marsh Island was the first gay American novel. Jewett—herself in a same-sex relationship when the novel appeared— is often hailed as a local colorist for her portrayals of Maine communities. In A Marsh Island, the main character, a painter from New York City, spends extended time with a rural family while he recuperates from an injury. Dr. Brown noted the multitude of elements which would have signaled to the late 19th-century reader that the young man is gay, starting with his incompatibility with rural living (“queer metronormativity”). We are intrigued, and happy to have a copy of the book on our shelves.

We had a full house for the event. Among the many people who attended was Todd Snovel, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. Mr. Snovel brought greetings from Harrisburg and at the beginning of the program read, in part, Governor Wolf’s proclamation designating October 2018 as LGBTQ History Month.

Thanks to our partnership with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company’s new Charlotte Cushman Society, we can look forward to planning Gay History Month events in future years. To support our ongoing work encouraging the study of LGBT history, please become a member of the Charlotte Cushman Society. Contact Raechel Hammer, Chief of Development, at rhammer@librarycompany.org or 215-546-3181 x142 to learn more.

[librarycompany]

Illustrations on trade cards often had nothing to do with what businesses sold.   However, they were highly coveted as collectors’ keepsakes. This trade card advertising LeMaistre’s embroideries, lace and fine accessories shows Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on the top of the world! 

[J.W. LeMaistre trade cards] [graphic]. [United States], [ca. 1880]

Dr. Ronald C. White will be highlighting Gen. Grant and his context in the 21st century at the Library Company’s 4th Annual John Van Horne Lecture on June 22, 2017. You can learn more about the event HERE.

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The fourth annual Library Company lecture in honor of John C. Van Horne is happening TONIGHT! 

The Library Company houses a large collection of Civil War ephemera, books, broadsides and prints illustrating the Union and Confederate politics, military, and families during the war. This includes a multitude of portraits showing one of the most famous faces of the Civil War, Union General Ulysses S. Grant, who led the North to victory and later became our 18th president.

Dr. Ronald C. White will be digging deeper into Grant’s legacy and how his life and values fit into the 21st century. You can learn more about this event HERE. We hope to see you at the Union League! 

[librarycompany]

You may recall book conservator, Alice Austin, showing off this ca. 1850 handmade tunnel book depicting the Thames Tunnel thoroughfare, posted in September 2015. Since then, Alice has continued her research on tunnel books and will be presenting on the subject at The Living Book Symposium on Thursday, May 18, 2017! 

Catch Alice, Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, and Russell Maret, type designer and private press printer, as they share their unique perspectives on the book. For more info, visit the event page HERE. Hope to see you  there! 

[Handmade tunnel book showing an enclosed thoroughfare] [graphic]. Published  ca. 1850. Description  1 item:  watercolor and pencil;  folded to 9 x 9 cm (3.5 x 3.57 in.) (accordion format)

[librarycompany]

This delicate incire paper-cutting lives inside our copy of Leisure Hours (1844), right where the reader placed it. Come check out this and other items found in books on view now in our main gallery as part of our current exhibition, The Living Book: New Perspective on Form and Function. 

Andrews, E. A. (Ethan Allen), 1787-1858. Leisure hours: : a choice collection of readings in prose. / By Prof. E.A. Andrews.. New illustrated edition. Boston: : T.H. Carter & Co. and B.B. Mussey., 1844. [3], 6-340 p., [5] leaves of plates :  ill. ;  20 cm