#lcpphotographs

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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. 

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Let’s escape into the weekend!

This photograph (ca. 1890) by Philadelphia photographer R.R. Haug shows the procedure for a fire drill. In buildings that were often narrow, with spiral staircases and multiple stories, a chain ladder out a window was the best solution. However, we cannot imagine climbing down a chain ladder in a corset and skirts, can you?

Haug, Robert R. [Fire escape ladder practice [graphic] : Pauline Doehler’s Dry Goods and Notions] Philadelphia, ca. 1890. 1 photographic print :  gelatin silver ;  24 x 19 cm. (9.5 x 7.5 in.), on mount 30 x 26 cm. (12 x 10.25 in.)

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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.

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It is National Bike Month and we wanted to celebrate by showing this lantern slide shot by William Harvey Doering of a woman standing next to her bicycle in Long Island, N.Y. (1900). There is nothing like riding a bike on a cool Spring day, and for women in 1900, cycling was a piece of independence. 

Doering, William Harvey, 1858-1924, photographer. [Woman standing with bicycle in front of hedge near path, Long Island, N.Y.] [graphic]. ca. 1900. 1 slide: lantern; 8 x 11 cm.(3 x 4 in.)

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And the prize for best hammer pants goes to... Marriott C. Morris, Jr! We can see the benefit of these bloomers and their built in cushion for newly mobile toddlers.

Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer. Elliston P. Morris Jr. and Marriott C. Morris Jr., 6706 Cresheim Rd [graphic]. [October] 1902. 1 photograph: gelatin silver print; 3 x 3.5 in.

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Have a hankering for pie today? It’s easy, just come on down to Horn and Hardart. We recommend the cherry!

Photo Illustrators (Firm). [Slice of pie]. Philadelphia: 20th century. 1 photographic print:  gelatin silver;  8 x10 in.

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This month we are joining the #IGlibraries challenge #buildingblocks first by highlighting the old Ridgway Building located on Broad and Christian Streets. The building housed our collections and reading room from 1878 to the 1960s when we moved to our current building. Though it no longer houses Library Company collections, the Ridgway Building still serves those who wish to learn as the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.  

Library Company of Philadelphia. Ridgway Building. ca. 1940. 

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#TBT to Broad Street, Philadelphia in May of 1917, less than a block from the Library Company’s current location on Locust Street. The city doesn’t look too different from this vantage point today, except the cars and that the top of City Hall tower is actually lighter than the rest of the building (after a good cleaning of course).

Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920, photographer. Broad St. looking North from Locust St., Flag Day, May 9, 1917. 1 photograph: gelatin silver (8 X 10 in.)