Permission to reproduce material from Athenaeum collections must be granted in writing and is at the discretion of The Athenaeum staff. All permission is granted on a per-use basis. Images may not be altered (aside from cropping) without special permission. The user of supplied reproductions assumes all responsibilities for citing sources properly, and using images in conformity with existing copyright laws, and may be required to supply The Athenaeum with a copy of any publication or project in which the images appear. The Athenaeum reserves the right to refuse to reproduce any item in its collections.
For information on ordering reproductions of Athenaeum drawings, please see http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html.
McClachey building and 69th St Terminal Title and Trust Co
McIllhenney, William, Jr. (c.1779-1853),
William McIlhenney, Jr., (c.1779-1854), scholar and attorney at law educated at the University of Pennsylvania, became the Athenaeum's third librarian in 1820. He served the Athenaeum well and was its popular librarian for thirty-four years. During his tenure the collections were greatly expanded and the present building was erected. On the back of the canvas: "Post mortem portrait of the late Wm. McIlhenney for thirty-four years the librarian of the Philadelphia Athenaeum. Painted for the Athenaeum by John Neagle. Phila. June 30, 1855."
Dr. James Mease (1771-1846) was a prominent Philadelphia physician, scientist and author with wide-ranging intellectual interests. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1792; served as a hospital surgeon during the War of 1812; corresponded regularly with notable figures in the United States and abroad; and published on topics including medicine, agriculture and geology. In 1814 he published the first-known ketchup recipe to include a tomato base, effectively transforming the sauce that had previously existed in various forms to the now familiar condiment. Dr. Mease was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, and a founding member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In 1814 he helped found the Athenaeum of Philadelphia; among the original 139 charter shareholders, Dr. Mease held share number 7, and served as the Athenaeum’s first vice-president. In 1800, Dr. Mease married Sarah Butler, the daughter of South Carolina Senator Pierce Butler. They had two sons who later changed their last names from Mease to Butler as a prerequisite for inheriting their grandfather Senator Butler’s vast fortune. One of the sons, Pierce Butler, married the renowned English stage actress Fanny Kemble. Dr. James Mease died in Philadelphia in 1846.
Permission to reproduce material from Athenaeum collections must be granted in writing and is at the discretion of The Athenaeum staff. All permission is granted on a per-use basis. Images may not be altered (aside from cropping) without special permission. The user of supplied reproductions assumes all responsibilities for citing sources properly, and using images in conformity with existing copyright laws, and may be required to supply The Athenaeum with a copy of any publication or project in which the images appear. The Athenaeum reserves the right to refuse to reproduce any item in its collections. For information on ordering reproductions of Athenaeum drawings, please see http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html.
Medal embossed with right profile of Napoleon
Round medal with two decorated faces; embossed right profile of Napoleon, "Premier consul de la republique Fran. Bonaparte." Written on Napoleon's shoulder "Andrieu F."; Opposite side depicts a woman and reads "Paix de luneville, lexx pluviose an IX."
Medal with low relief figure of Napoleon
Round medal with low relief figure of emperor Napoleon baptizing a baby commemorating "Baptem Du Roi de Rome, MDCCCXI." Smaller writing "Andrieu Fecit (?)." Other side of medal has a relief profile of the emperor Napoleon's Head. "Bronze" stamped on edge of medal.
Bas-relief of medallion of Napoleon Bonaparte by Boizot. Original in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Painted gold. Signed and dated.
Medical Laboratory,University of Pennsylvania
1 of a set of 6 similar menu illustrations
Menu illustration (high school reunion program?)
Menu illustration (high school reunion program)
Brass figure of the Roman god Mercury carrying a caduceus (a staff entwined by two snakes) and wearing winged sandals and a petasus (winged cap). Mercury stands balanced on one foot upon a column of air emanating from the wind god Aeolus, atop a frieze of putti (cherubim or cupids) supported by a marble base. A brass label is attached to base of figure: "Diskos Handicap 1898-1899."
after the original by Jean de Bologne, c. 1580
French bronze statue of Mercury as patron god of medicine and healing, on a round Italian marble base and bronze plinth. Mercury carries the caduceus (a staff entwined by two snakes) and wears winged sandals and a petasus (winged cap); stands balanced on one foot upon a column of air emanating from wind god Aeolus. Probably a 19th-century copy after Jean de Bologne, 1564.
Merit Sets peerless series guage in millimetres and inches
Metropolitan Opera House of Philadelphia
Milo (woman with birds)/Portion of illustration with two women and lettering
Mimic Linen Writing Tablet (illustrated cover)
Hollow plaster cast of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, trade, the arts, and strategic warfare. The Romans identified her with the Greek goddess Athena. Although Minerva is often portrayed wearing a helmet, in this sculpture she is seen without a helmet; instead, a narrow band encircles the front top of her head, and her wavy tresses are gathered in the back. The bust was deposited at the Athenaeum in November of 1814 with several other plaster castings by the sculptor. When moving out of the American Philosophical Society (where the Athenaeum had been renting rooms) and into their own new building in 1847, the Athenaeum for some reason left the bust of Minerva behind. It was finally returned to the Athenaeum in 1961.
Miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte
Miniature oval portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, in black frame. Signed "by Mrs. Plantou" on lower left face of front.
Oval miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte standing in front of a red chair, in black frame, signed "Reney" on lower right face of front.
Oval miniature three quarter length portrait of Napoleon I, signed Lemaitre, French, 19th century. Ivory backed with vellum; set in oval gilt brass easel frame with glass cover.
Framed miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte. After the painting "Napoleon in His Study" by Paul Delaroche, 1838. Painting on ivory. Brass frame; glass glazing. There are two small black marks near the lower right edge that look like the letters "VI" (?). The frame is not perfectly round; it is slightly oval-shaped.
Miniature replica of the marble slab adorning Joseph Bonaparte's tomb
Black-leather-covered box with hinged lid and two latches, interior lined with purple velvet and satin. Box contains miniature replica of the marble slab adorning the tomb of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte (1768-1844) consisting of rectangular red marble slab inset with black stone slab bordered with yellow marble; center black slab in inset with words "Joseph Napoleo Bonaparte In Pace" in gold lettering; top surface and sides of slab are polished.
Miscellaneous hand and figure sketches/Burbank Shasta Daisy
Miss Anne Charlotte Lynch to Sarah Josepha Hale
Botta, Anne C. Lynch (Anne Charlotte Lynch), 1815-1891
Moonlight on the Schuylkill at boat houses
A melancholy Lydia Ann Moore, aged 33, is the subject of this portrait painted by Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904). Heade executed other commissions for this Trenton family, painting Lydia's husband Charles, and his brother Imlah, who together operated a flour, grain, and oil factory under the name, I. & C. Moore.
Born in Lumbersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Heade is best known for his paintings of tropical birds and flowers. These subjects he studied directly while on painting expeditions to South America, and West Indies, British Columbia, California and Florida during the 1860s and 1870s. In 1885 this peripatetic artist, naturalist and sometime poet settled in St. Augustine, Florida where he lived the last two decades of his life.
Moorish Coffee Booth, Acker Quality Shop
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L.M. Camden, Jr., at home (announcement)
Mrs. C. A. Hopkinson to Sarah Josepha Hale Correction - appears to be Sarah Josepha Hale to Mrs. C. A. Hopkinson.
Mrs. C. A. Hopkinson to Sarah Josepha Hale Correction - possibly Sarah Josepha Hale to Mrs. C. A. Hopkinson
Mrs. C. A. Hopkinson to Sarah Josepha Hale
June 18, [1860s] Edit : Likely 1863, as it mentions sympathy regarding her daughter
Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell M. D. to Sarah Josepha Hale