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Photo, Print, Drawing The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons.

About this Item

Title

  • The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons.

Summary

  • This document is a membership certificate for the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. The society was founded in 1787 by prominent Philadelphia citizens, including Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush, with the aim of correcting abuses in the city jail. The lithograph contains a vignette with a portrait bust of Bishop White, the long-time president of the organization, and a bird's-eye view of the buildings and grounds of Eastern State Penitentiary. The paragraph at the bottom describes this institution, also known as Cherry Hill State Prison, as "the Model Prison of' The Pennsylvania System of Prison Discipline' or "Separate System'" of incarceration in which "each convict occupies a single cell or workshop." Other features described are the construction, dimensions, and utilities of the building, including "seven corridors of cells," "heat by hot water," and "water in each cell." The prison was built in 1823--36 after the designs of John Haviland, and was located at 2101--99 Fairmount Avenue. The prison grounds are surrounded by a brick wall with a Gothic-style entrance gate, and the grounds include garden plots. Undeveloped land and cityscape, including Girard College, border the prison building. The print is by James Fuller Queen, a Philadelphia lithographer and pioneer chromolithographer who produced many views of the city.

Names

  • Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886 Artist.

Created / Published

  • Philadelphia : P.S. Duval & Son's Lithography, 1855.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1836 to 1855
  • -  Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania
  • -  Girard College
  • -  Lithographs
  • -  Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons
  • -  Portraits
  • -  White, William, 1748-1836

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Digital catalog number: POS 597"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 print : lithograph ; 15 x 25 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: The Library Company of Philadelphia.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Philadelphia on Stone

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670417

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Queen, James Fuller, 1820 Or 21-1886 Artist. The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1855. Philadelphia: P.S. Duval & Son's Lithography. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670417/.

APA citation style:

Queen, J. F. (1855) The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1855. Philadelphia: P.S. Duval & Son's Lithography. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670417/.

MLA citation style:

Queen, James Fuller, 1820 Or 21-1886 Artist. The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. Philadelphia: P.S. Duval & Son's Lithography. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670417/>.