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Photo, Print, Drawing Roper's Gymnasium. 274 Market Street, Philadelphia.

About this Item

Title

  • Roper's Gymnasium. 274 Market Street, Philadelphia.

Summary

  • This circa 1831 print is an advertisement for the gymnasium operated by James Roper on the 800 block of Market Street in Philadelphia. The illustration shows the interior of the facility, in which men exercise in front of a crowd of spectators. On the right, three men perform moves on a balance beam next to a wall with a rack from which boxing gloves and squash rackets hang. Beside the beam, two men wearing boxing gloves are talking near the pommel horse. In the front center and left of the room, two pairs of men are fencing; one pair are wearing fencing masks. Others in the gymnasium pull weights attached to the ceiling of the building, test their strength on the parallel bars, climb vertical and inclined ropes, hang and climb from exercise ladders, straddle and perform pull-ups on horizontal poles, and dangle upside down from a trapeze. Spectators, including several men and a few women in winter clothing, watch from around the room. Roper established the gymnasium circa 1831. Around 1833 it relocated to the 800 block of Walnut Street. The lithograph is by Edward Williams Clay, a Philadelphia native, who was a prolific caricaturist as well as a portrait painter, engraver, and chronicler of the city.

Names

  • Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857 Artist.

Created / Published

  • Philadelphia : Childs & Inman's Press, 1831.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1831
  • -  Advertising
  • -  Fencing
  • -  Gymnasiums
  • -  Lithographs
  • -  Physical fitness
  • -  Spectators

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Digital catalog number: POS 659"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 print : lithograph ; 24 x 39 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

  • 2021670197

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

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

Clay, Edward Williams, Artist. Roper's Gymnasium. 274 Market Street, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1831. Philadelphia: Childs & Inman's Press. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670197/.

APA citation style:

Clay, E. W. (1831) Roper's Gymnasium. 274 Market Street, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1831. Philadelphia: Childs & Inman's Press. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670197/.

MLA citation style:

Clay, Edward Williams, Artist. Roper's Gymnasium. 274 Market Street, Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Childs & Inman's Press. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670197/>.