Top of page

Photo, Print, Drawing Dickson and Company. Watches, Fine Cutlery, Jewelry.

About this Item

Title

  • Dickson and Company. Watches, Fine Cutlery, Jewelry.

Summary

  • This print from around 1840 is an advertisement for Dickson & Company, located at 14 North Fifth Street (on the corner of Commerce Street and between Market and Arch Streets) in Philadelphia. A sign over the side doorway of the five-story building proclaims "Dickson and Co. Importers of Watches Clocks Jewellery & Plated Ware." Merchandise, particularly plated ware and tea kettles, is visible in the large display windows of the storefront building, as well as on shelves inside the store, seen through an open doorway. Crates are piled on the sidewalk at the corner, and a horse-drawn dray passes by in the street. Dickson & Company was renamed from Dickson & Harper in 1840. The business operated from 5th and Commerce under the new name until 1841. This print is by Thomas S. Sinclair, one of the premier Philadelphia lithographers of the 19th century, particularly in the field of chromolithography. Sinclair was born around 1805 in the Orkney Islands of northern Scotland, and trained in lithography in Edinburgh. He immigrated to the United States around 1830 and worked in New York and later Philadelphia, where, as noted in the 1850 census, he and his wife Magdalena had nine of their ten children. After settling in Philadelphia, he worked at the lithographic shop of John Collins before assuming the establishment and starting his own firm at 79 South Third Street. A practical lithographer throughout his career, Sinclair produced all genres of lithographs, including maps, advertisements, city and landscape views, sheet music covers, portraiture, political cartoons, certificates, and book illustrations.

Names

  • Sinclair, Thomas S., circa 1805-1881 Printer.

Created / Published

  • Philadelphia : Sinclair's Lithography, 1840.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1840
  • -  Advertising
  • -  Cities and towns
  • -  Clock and watch industry
  • -  Clocks and watches
  • -  Horse-drawn vehicles
  • -  Horses
  • -  Implements, utensils, etc
  • -  Jewelry
  • -  Jewelry stores
  • -  Merchants
  • -  Storefronts
  • -  Stores and shops
  • -  Street scenes
  • -  Teapots
  • -  Wagons

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Digital catalog number: POS 182"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 print : lithograph ; 25 x 20 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

  • 2021670236

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

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

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

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:

Sinclair, Thomas S., Circa Printer. Dickson and Company. Watches, Fine Cutlery, Jewelry. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1840. Philadelphia: Sinclair's Lithography. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670236/.

APA citation style:

Sinclair, T. S. (1840) Dickson and Company. Watches, Fine Cutlery, Jewelry. Pennsylvania United States of America Philadelphia, 1840. Philadelphia: Sinclair's Lithography. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670236/.

MLA citation style:

Sinclair, Thomas S., Circa Printer. Dickson and Company. Watches, Fine Cutlery, Jewelry. Philadelphia: Sinclair's Lithography. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670236/>.