Spring Events

Capitalism by Gaslight: The Shadow Economies of 19th-Century America (on view until August 24)
Exhibition Opening Reception, Tuesday, January 24, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Drawing on books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, prints, photographs, and ephemera in the Library Company's collection, guest curator Wendy Woloson explores underground urban commerce in the 19th century in our current exhibition. From pick-pocketing to gambling, counterfeiting to prostitution, “Capitalism by Gaslight” describes the myriad ways people participated in an earlier, shadowy realm of commerce that required a surprising degree of creativity, cunning, and financial acumen.

Black Gotham: African American Family History in the 19th Century

Wednesday, February 15, Reception at 5:30 p.m., Program at 6:00 p.m.

Carla L. Peterson, Professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author of Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in 19th-Century New York City, will speak about Philadelphia’s 19th-century African American elites. Black Gotham is Peterson's riveting account of her quest to reconstruct the lives of her 19th-century ancestors.

Members-Only Tour of Girard College and Mother Bethel AME Church

Thursday, February 16, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Join us for a guided tour of Founders Hall, Girard College’s original classroom building, by Director of Historic Resources Elizabeth Laurent, and visit the museum collections and Girard archives housed in this National Historic Landmark. Following lunch (provided), there will be a guided tour of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded by Bishop Richard Allen in 1816. Call 215-546-3181 for more information about costs and transportation.

Before Madison Avenue: Advertising in Early America

Visual Culture Program Conference, Wednesday, March 15, and Thursday, March 16

Speakers at this conference will present new research on advertising in North America before the rise of the modern advertising agency (late 1870s). Co-sponsored by the Center for Historic American Visual Culture at the American Antiquarian Society. Free of charge for Library Company members, $50 for the general public, and $25 for students.

Freedom’s Cap: The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War

Tuesday, March 27, Reception at 5:30 p.m., Program at 6:00 p.m.

The history of the modern U.S. Capitol, the iconic seat of American government, is also the history of America’s most tumultuous years. As the majestic new building rose above Washington’s skyline, battles over slavery and secession ripped the country apart. Author Guy Gugliotta will speak at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Co-sponsored by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Teachers may receive Act 48 credit. 

Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Orality in 19th-Century American Visual Culture

Thursday, April 12, Reception at 5:30 p.m., Program at 6:00 p.m.

Visual Culture Program Fellow Catherine Walsh explores the text-image relationship in how viewers saw, described, and “read” original art and popular print depictions of storytelling.

Members-Only Annual Meeting & Public Lecture
Tuesday, May 15, 5:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.

Join us for our Annual Meeting (5:00) followed by a talk by Wendy Woloson, guest curator of “Capitalism by Gaslight” (5:45). Dr. Woloson will discuss legitimate but marginal ways that people earned money in the 19th century and will focus on seamstresses, rag pickers, beggars, dog catchers, newsboys, and street sellers.

Capitalism by Gaslight Symposium
Thursday, June 7, and Friday, June 8
This two-day symposium will highlight the many ways Americans earned livings through economic transactions made beyond the spheres of “legitimate” commerce and explore the crucial importance of the shadow economy to the development of commercial and industrial capitalism in 19th-century America. Co-sponsored by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies. Thursday, June 7, at 3355 Woodland Walk; Friday, June 8, at the Library Company.

Making Freedom in the Atlantic World

Saturday, June 16, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.                                                 

A one-day conference exploring the process and impact of emancipation across the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. The conference celebrates Juneteenth, commemorating the news that slavery had ended. The program will include a panel discussion featuring Gary Nash, Roseanne Adderly, Jasmine Cobb, and Edna Medford; a roundtable discussion on collecting Afro-Americana; and a keynote address by James Stewart of Macalester College.

For more information  please visit http://www.librarycompany.org/events/index.htm or call 215-546-3181.