Philadelphia on Stone in ImPAC

Following the excitement of the Philadelphia on Stone exhibition that opened in March 2010 and the submission of the manuscript of the illustrated book in May 2010, Project Assistant Linda Wisniewski focused on completing a final component of the project: the mounting of the Digital Catalog and the Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers.

Three years of research and survey work, between May 2007 and May 2010, yielded the Digital Catalog of approximately 1,350 records for lithographs, related ephemera, and prints compiled from the collections at the eight collaborating institutions. Illustrated by their respective digital surrogates, the catalog records are keyword searchable by artist (author), title, date, and subject, as well as browseable by repository.

The Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers contains more than 560 entries for artists, lithographers, printers, and publishers who worked in commercial lithography in Philadelphia between 1828 and 1878. The biographical entries include 155 images depicting portraits and advertisements of the more prominent lithographers, as well as views of their establishments gathered from the survey of the Library Company’s and partnering institution’s collections.

Many of the catalog records and biographical entries link to multiple digital images indicated by multiple digital file names in the record. To access these images, enlarge the visible thumbnail. Items from the Library Company of Philadelphia collections will contain the code “LCP” in the digital file name and items from the collaborating institutions will contain their respective code.

Although the official period of the grant-funded project, sponsored by the William Penn Foundation has ended, Philadelphia on Stone will continue its programming into the fall. On Friday October 15, 2010, at the close of the exhibition, the Library Company’s Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) and the Visual Culture Program (VCP@LCP) will sponsor the conference, Representations of Economy: Lithography from 1820-1860. Information about the symposium and registration can be found on our website.

New Online Exhibition

Introduction

Philadelphia can claim many “firsts.” The birth of American lithography is one first that is not well known. Following years of experimentation by others, Philadelphia artist Bass Otis produced the first American lithograph in 1819. A flat-surface printing process on porous limestone invented in Germany circa 1798, lithography was the first new printmaking method to be discovered in 300 years. It was the first cost-effective method for printing in color, allowed long print runs and larger sizes, and facilitated more versatile and innovative design styles than engraving. Intrepid American artists and printers explored lithography as a new commercial printing process during the 1820s. Lithographic establishments emerged in New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston, and finally in 1828 in Philadelphia. Nineteenth-century Philadelphia lithographers produced prints of all genres, in all sizes, for the domestic and business consumer, including parlor prints, sheet music, advertisements, book illustrations, billheads, and certificates that often contained images depicting the city. Philadelphia on Stone examines the history of the first fifty years of commercial lithography in Philadelphia. This exhibition explores the history and technology of the printmaking process, the professional and personal lives of premier and journeymen lithographers, and the impact of their work on 19th-century and contemporary visual culture.

Juneteenth

Please join us on Monday, June 21st at 6:00pm for our Juneteenth celebration. This year’s panel discussion will focus on the past eight years of controversy surrounding the discovery of the slave quarters and the nine slaves who served President George Washington at his Philadelphia home at 6th & Market Streets. Panelists include St. Joseph’s University historian Randall M. Miller; architectural historian Edward Lawler; and Philadelphia lawyer Michael Coard. Moderating the discussion is Temple University Journalism professor and award-winning columnist for the Philadelphia Tribune Linn Washington. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to lpropst@librarycompany.org or call 215-546-3181.

Seeing Shylock: Images of Pawnbroking in Three Centuries

Thursday, April 22, 2010

6:00 p.m.

Wendy A. Woloson, independent scholar and consulting historian, will discuss her new book, In Hock: Pawning in America from Independence through the Great Depression. This illustrated talk traces the history of pawnbroking in America from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, following the rise of the business form the dawn of capitalism through the industrial and consumer revolutions. Sponsored by the Library Company’s program in Visual Culture (VCP @ LCP).

This event is free and open to the public at 1314 Locust St. Please RSVP to lpropst@librarycompany.org or call 215-546-3181.

Philadelphia on Stone: The First Fifty Years of Commercial Lithography in Philadelphia, 1828-1878

Philadelphia on Stone: The First Fifty Years of Commercial Lithography in Philadelphia, 1828-1878, explores the history of 19th-century Philadelphia lithography and its impact on contemporary visual culture. Philadelphia on Stone explicates the history and process of lithography, documents the professional and personal lives of premier and journeymen lithographers, and includes lithographs from the collections of the Library Company and several other institutions whose collections were surveyed. In addition, the work of contemporary lithographers Kip Deeds and Roberta Delaney will be on display to represent the continuing influence of this trade on the printed arts.

Join us for the exhibition opening reception on Thursday, March 25 from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. featuring a talk at 6:15 by Nancy Finlay, editor of Picturing Victorian America: Prints bythe Kellogg Brothers of Hartford, 1830-1880 and Curator of Graphics at the Connecticut HistoricalSociety. Please RSVP to this event by emailing lpropst@librarycompany.org or calling 215-546-3181.

The Library Company is pleased to acknowledge generous funding of the Philadelphia on Stone project from the William Penn Foundation.

Philadelphia on Stone is an Independent Project of Philagrafika 2010, Philadelphia’s international festival celebrating print in contemporary art.