Old Philadelphia in Early Photographs 1839-1914


Book Description

215 rare vintage views — from first daguerreotype made in America (1839) to eve of World War I — capture the charm of yesteryear: panoramas, street scenes, landmarks, Lincoln's visit, 1876 Centennial Exposition, more.




Historic Houses of Philadelphia


Book Description

"Historic Houses of Philadelphia" brings the region's most impressive museum homes to life with maps, touring information, and historical notes on 50 distinctive homes. 160 photos, 150 in color.




Philadelphia in Photographs


Book Description

Philadelphia, America's first capital, is hostorically the most important city in the United States. It was here that William Penn insisted on "liberty of conscience" for his colony, that the founding fathers signed the Constitution, that the United States' first museums and centers of learning were founded, and the wheels of teh nation's industry began to turn. Philadelphia in Photographstakes a visual tour of the city, its beautiful parks, and natural surroundings. Beginning in the Old City, with attractions such as Elfreth's Alley—the United States' oldest residential street—and the Betsy Ross House, where the first Stars and Stripes is said to have been sewn, it visits all of Philadelphia's most celebrated locations. Within its pages are the stories of men such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin who helped forge a new nation. Philadelphia in Photographsincludes spectacular images that take in the elegance of Society Hill with its quaint cobblestone lanes, the pastoral pleasures of Fairmount Park, the righ culture of Parkway and the Avenue of Arts, as well as sights further afield, such as Frank Lloyd Wright's amazing architectural prayer, the Beth Shalom Synagogue. As rich in beautiful photography as the city is in history,Philadelphia in Photographsis a superb celebration of the city of brotherly love.




Historic Sacred Places of Philadelphia


Book Description

This opulent volume, by the author and photographer of the acclaimed Historic Houses of Philadelphia, will serve as a guide through the architectural and religious traditions of Philadelphia, complete with maps, telephone numbers, and web sites.




Historic Photos of Philadelphia


Book Description

Historic Photos of Philadelphia captures the City of Brotherly Love"" past through photographs from the city's finest archives. From the Civil War period, to the turn of the century, to the building of a modern metropolis, Historic Photos of Philadelphia follows life, government, education, and events from its extensive history. This book captures unique and rare scenes through the original lens of about 200 historic photographs. Published in striking black and white photography, these images communicate historic events and every day life of two centuries of people building a unique and prosperous city.""




Philadelphia Stories


Book Description

Philadelphia Stories is a kind of family album. As in their earlier volume, Still Philadelphia: A Photographic History, 1890-1940, Miller, Vogel, and Davis have collected photographs of ordinary lives and daily events from 1920 to 1960 that have shaped the collective memory of people in the Philadelphia area. Through a series of photo essays, Philadelphia Stories evokes the mood of an era that embraced the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and the complacent prosperity of the 1950s. Contemporary photos document physical changes in the metropolitan area: the developing skyline, the streets of rowhouses, the expanding suburbs. Details on homelife, food prices, school activities, local politics, shopping, social mores, and neighborhood customs chronicle experiences that are in many ways distinct to Philadelphians but also indicative of dramatic social, political, and economic shifts in the United States over forty years. Using photojournalism as the dominant style of documentary photography—and consciousness making—the book also features three prototypical family albums. These collections of snapshots taken by local residents to record weddings, holidays, and other family events not only depict how people saw themselves at various times but reveal the kinds of memories they wanted to keep. While major national events create the context for this social history, the book focuses on the daily lives of Philadelphians: as they cope with the Depression, participate in New Deal programs, buy automobiles and television sets, grow Victory Gardens, hold air raid drills, visit the Freedom Train, move to the suburbs, cling to old neighborhoods, and maintain tradition amid flux.Philadelphia Stories celebrates the recent past in the words and images of those who experienced it. It is a family album for all who know and love the city. Author note: Fredric M. Miller is Curator of the Urban Archives Center, Paley Library, Temple University.Morris J. Vogel is Professor of History, Temple University.Allen F. Davis is Professor of History, Temple University.




Historic Photos of the Main Line


Book Description

The history of the Main Line began in 1832 with the building of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railway, which opened the area to Philadelphia and points west for the movement of people and freight. Along that line would rise the communities of Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, and Paoli. The images collected in Historic Photos of the Main Line combine to form a remarkable portrait of this unique array of communities. Included among many other vignettes and numerous subjects are the Devon Horse Show, visits by presidents Taft, Wilson, and Coolidge, the Autocar Company of Ardmore, the 1900 Class of Wynnewood Public School, I. A. Cleaver’s General Store, Villanova University, the General Wayne Inn, Narberth’s oldest house, and of course, the railroads. In stunning black-and-white photography, this handsome book details the historical growth of the Main Line from its early days up to recent times. Spanning two centuries and nearly 200 images, the book follows the growth of this history-rich region, offering a compelling look into the past for any longtime resident of the area and every history buff of the Main Line.




Historic Architecture in West Philadelphia, 1789-1930s


Book Description

West of the Schuylkill River, what was once Blockley and Kingsessing Townships is now West Philadelphia. Here is a comprehensive look at the rich architectural history of neighborhoods in and around University City and biographies of the architects who made it possible. In more than 500 images, see this area of the "City of Brotherly Love" transition from humble beginnings as a collection of sprawling farms and dusty hamlets to a streetcar suburb for upwardly mobile types looking to escape the old city and a haven for esteemed educational institutions. Packed with archival images, maps, and color photos, the book covers Cedar Park to Powelton Village, chronicling the charm and elegance found in West Philadelphia's architecture, much of which is still on public display. Examples include Second Empire, Victorian, Queen Anne, Collegiate Gothic, and Italianate styles. This is a global and historic review ideal for architects, urban planners, historians, and of course residents of Blockley and Kingsessing.




Mütter Museum


Book Description

The first book on the Mütter Museum contain artful images of the museum's fascinating exhibits shot by contemporary fine art photographers. Here, the focus is on the museum's archive of rare historic photographs, most of which have never been seen by the public. Featured are poignant, aesthetically accomplished works ranging from Civil War photographs showing injury and recovery, to the ravages of diseases not yet conquered in the 19th century, to pathological anomalies, to psychological disorders. Many were taken by talented photographers between the 1860s and the 1940s as records for physicians to share among colleagues and to track patients' conditions, and demonstrate various techniques used in medical photography including the daguerreotype, micrography, X ray, and traditional portrait-style photography. As visual documents of what humans endured in the face of limited medical knowledge, these extraordinary and haunting photographs demonstrate how far medicine has advanced.




Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition


Book Description

Held in Philadelphia from May 10 through October 10, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition celebrated the 100th anniversary of American independence. Philadelphia hosted 37 nations in five main buildings and 250 additional structures on 285 acres of land. The celebration looked backward to commemorate the progress made over the 100-year period, and it announced to the world that American invention and innovation was on a par with that of our foreign counterparts. Patriotism abounded, as did messages of industrial and commercial prowess that promised a brighter future for all. Over nine million people attended this awesome consumer spectacle, an event that set the tone for a long series of world's fairs yet to come.