Photograph Collections from the Library Company now on PhillyHistory.org

The Library Company has recently partnered with PhillyHistory.org, providing several photographic collections to its website. Run by the Philadelphia Department of Records, PhillyHistory.org includes photographs and maps from the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Department of Records, the Philadelphia Water Department, and the Philadelphia Office of the City Representative. The Library Company is honored to be the first non-government organization to join the consortium.

To enrich the primarily late-19th-century and 20th-century photograph collections previously found on the website, the Library Company has contributed three collections depicting views of mid-19th-century Philadelphia by the photographers James McClees, Frederick De Bourg Richards, and Montgomery P. Simons.

PhillyHistory.org is a unique website where users can search for photographs and maps by location, neighborhood, or keyword and also by maneuvering a map to see available images pinpointed by geographic location. Users can also purchase photographic reproductions through the website. By including these images on PhillyHistory.org, the Library Company hopes to introduce the photographs to new audiences and to make the images available via smart phone technology, another exciting feature of PhillyHistory.org.

This is just the beginning of the collaboration as the Library Company intends to upload more collections in the near future. Please visit www.phillyhistory.org where you will find the Library Company’s collection by clicking: www.phillyhistory.org/librarycompany. As a result of our collaboration, one of our images was recently showcased on the University of the Arts Libraries News blog featuring PhillyHistory.org as the “Digital Library of the Week,” which can be found by clicking here: https://my.uarts.edu/blog/libraries/2010/08/27/digital-library-of-the-week-philly-history/

Library Company Images Now on SepiaTown Website

The Library Company has uploaded several images from the Print and Photograph Department onto SepiaTown, an interactive website where visitors can view historical images from all over the world based on geographic location. SepiaTown’s homepage centers in on New York City but we hope to draw enough attention to Philadelphia to make it their new opening page!

The Library Company has selected a variety of prints and photographs depicting Philadelphia in various time periods spanning from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. A unique feature of SepiaTown is a then/now feature (see the link near the upper right corner of the screen) juxtaposing the recent google street view with the historical image, often a stark contrast.

We hope this international site will broaden the Library Company’s audience and expose our collection to new viewers. To see the Library Company’s collection, either search for a Philadelphia location by keyword or maneuver the map over Philadelphia. SepiaTown’s homepage can be found by clicking here: http://www.sepiatown.com

Article by Librarian James Green Available Online

Librarian James Green has published an article in the September Readex eNewsletter entitled “Supplementing Early American Imprints: The Extraordinary Collection of Michael Zinman.” The article describes how the Zinman Collection has significantly expanded the Library Company’s holdings of pre-1801 American imprints.

Read more on the Readex website:
http://www.readex.com/readex/newsletters.cfm?newsletter=156&article=159U

Library Company’s Collection of African Americana Featured in Philadelphia Inquirer

In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article staff writer Tom Stoelker highlighted the Library Company’s collection of African Americana and profiled curator of African American History Phil Lapsansky. Click here for the full article:

More Library Company Collections Added to the Athenaeum’s Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Website

In coordination with the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, the Library Company has recently added collections to the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) website. Unlike previous records supplied by the Library Company, the newly uploaded collections include digital images of the original photographs, further enhancing the records. Recently uploaded collections include the William and Frederick Langenheim Stereograph Collection, the McAllister & Brother Church Photograph Collection, and the James McClees Philadelphia Photograph Collection, with more to follow.

For those researching Philadelphia buildings, architects, or neighborhoods, this website is a rich resource with over thirty-four institutions contributing data. The Library Company plans to digitize images of several other collections that are listed in PAB, thereby enhancing this ever-growing website. The Library Company thanks Walter Rice of R&R Computer Solutions, who has uploaded our material onto the website. To see the Library Company’s collections on PAB’s website, please visit this link:

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/in_display_collections.cfm/480904 You will need to register as a user in order to view records on PAB, but there is no fee to do so.