Posts in “rare-book-department” (119)
Blog Articles
Move over, London! England’s capital city may count Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot among its resident gumshoes, but only Philadelphia can be called the true birthplace of the modern… continue reading #MysteryMonday: Get Clued in to Edgar Allan Poe and More
By written by Alix G. April 10, 2017 2
Do you love The Da Vinci Code ? Have you ever wished you could uncover a secret code in a medieval manuscript? Exciting news! Your wish may come true! Take a look at the image of a 15th-century… continue reading Mysterious Manuscripts and "Mirror Writing"
By written by Diane B. March 9, 2017 1
The Rare Book Department 's Judaica includes a beautifully written and lavishly hand-decorated Spanish Hebrew Masoretic Text bible . Commissioned in 1496 in Lisbon, Portugal, the book is… continue reading Librarian Traces Family Roots Through Historic Bible
By written by Caitlin G. February 24, 2017
His wasn’t an auspicious beginning and his end remains shrouded in mystery... 208 years ago today, Edgar Allan Poe was born to actors David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe, in… continue reading Celebrate Poe's Life with Our Rare Book Collection
By written by Allison F. January 19, 2017 1
Philadelphia is a wild and weird city. There’s so much to love, to hate, to love to hate, and to hate to love. There’s also so much that we, as every day Philadelphians, have somehow… continue reading Philadelphia: City of the Uncanny and the Arcane
By written by Sarah M. January 5, 2017
This One Book, One Philadelphia season takes us back in time to the Civil War era, as we travel and travail alongside fictional southerners Inman and Ada in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain .… continue reading #OneBookWednesday: The Civil War on Display
By written by Kathy H. January 20, 2016
To celebrate the landmark papal visit to Philadelphia, the Rare Book Department at Parkway Central Library has opened a new exhibition of rare religious texts. Running through January 30,… continue reading Sacred Stories: The World's Religious Traditions
By written by Janine P. August 31, 2015
Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. It is a day of feasting and rejoicing, commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to annihilate… continue reading Purim and a Medieval Cutting in the Free Library of Philadelphia
By written by Joe S. March 4, 2015
The Free Library of Philadelphia is proud to present Framing Fraktur , a three-month celebration of historic Pennsylvania German folk art and its relationship to contemporary art, opening today… continue reading Announcing Framing Fraktur!
By written by Michelle S. March 2, 2015
![Oscar Wilde. Autograph Manuscript [fragment] of the Ballad of Reading Gaol; Canto III with comment, ca. 1897. Gift of Mrs. Richard Gimbel.](https://libwww.freelibrary.org/images/blog/FLPBlog/orig/Reading Gaol_1.jpg)
We’re excited to share our newly digitized Oscar Wilde manuscripts, part of the rich collection of literary manuscripts and first editions in the Rare Book Department. The draft of The… continue reading Oscar Wilde Manuscripts
By written by Samantha M. November 25, 2014 3
bardolatry n. idolatry or excessive admiration of William Shakespeare 1 There is an exhibition going on in the Rare Book Department right now that you really need to see. It’s called… continue reading Bardolatry in the Rare Book Department
By written by Janine P. April 9, 2014
Last night, the Free Library of Philadelphia celebrated the grand opening of the new William B. Dietrich Gallery in the Rare Book Department at Parkway Central Library . Made possible by a… continue reading Free Library Opens the New William B. Dietrich Gallery at Parkway Central Library
By written by Michelle S. January 30, 2014
John Derstine Souder (1865-1942) was raised on a Mennonite farm near Telford in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was a storekeeper, postmaster, and poultry dealer before retiring. … continue reading John Derstine Souder’s Fraktur in the Henry Stauffer Borneman Pennsylvania German Collection
By written by Del-Louise M. December 9, 2013
“I must do what is right for me,” he muttered under his breath while gathering up his tools and shuttering the shop window. Jacob Eichholtz was living a double life, and it soon… continue reading I Must Do What Is Right For Me ~ The Jacob Eichholtz Book of Sketches and Painterly Advice
By written by Del-Louise M. November 14, 2013 1
The first part of the story of the Browne Hours was posted on Thursday, October 24 th . For the first part, read here . Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was killed by four knights… continue reading The Browne Hours, Part II
By written by Katharine C. November 5, 2013
A Book of Hours takes its name from the so-called “Little Hours of the Virgin,” a collection of eight prayers that is derived from the Divine Office—the canonical hours observed… continue reading The Browne Hours
By written by Katharine C. October 24, 2013
I was only a little girl when my Grammy had me kneel before her in their little church. She anointed my forehead with oil, and laid her hands on me. I was sick, but I can’t… continue reading MAGICAL CHARMS ~ MEDICAL CURES
By written by Del-Louise M. October 15, 2013 3
The doorbell rings. I walk through the hallway to answer it. Although I’ve done this walk repeatedly over the years, this time something is different. This one book catches the corner of my… continue reading A Book Rediscovered
By written by Joe S. October 3, 2013 2
If you have a moment, I’d like to introduce you to Carl Friederich Egelmann, or Charles Frederick Egelmann as he came to be known in America. He was born in Neuenkirchen, Germany on… continue reading The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands ~ Carl Friederich Egelmann (1782-1860)
By written by Del-Louise M. July 17, 2013 8
Sometimes it really is the little things in life that matter. This I learned recently while trying to identify the record keeper of Borneman Ms 152 from the Henry Stauffer Borneman… continue reading It’s the Little Things in Life That Matter ~ The Jacob Anthony Grist Mill Ledger, 1842-1868
By written by Del-Louise M. June 27, 2013