Views of Old Philadelphia:
The Brightbill Postcard Collection
from THE LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA

THE FOUR SERIES

Brightbill wrote these series descriptions as an introduction to his collection. A fuller explanation of Series I may be found in the Explanations of Codes in Inventory. The descriptions of the other three series are a useful, albeit brief, introduction to some of the other resources available at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Contact the Library Company for more information on Brightbill's Real Photo, Pamphlet, or Oversized Postcard collections.

THE FOUR SERIES

Series I: Postcards by Subjects

Series II: Studio Real Photo Postcards

Series III: Pamphlets

Series IV: Oversize, Folding, Postcards

 

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I: Postcards by Subjects

Postcards by Subject. This series contains the bulk of the Brightbill Philadelphia Postcard Collection. Most cards are early Twentieth Century, sleeved in four-opening mylar sleeves, and each sleeve is assigned a code number such as found in the following:

Series I contains the bulk of the Brightbill Philadelphia Postcard Collection. Most cards are early Twentieth Century, sleeved in four-opening mylar sleeves. Each sleeve is assigned a code number such as the one found in the following sample:

ex. 101A01 --
"101" = Subject; "A" means cards are in color; "01"means this is sheet no.1

ex. 101B01 --
"101" = Subject; "B" means cards are black and white, real photos, sepia, monotonal, or cyanotype; "01"means this is sheet no.1

ex. 101L01 --
"101" = Subject; "L" means cards are linen or chrome; "01"means this is sheet no.1

A description of each card is found in the inventory except for the "L" subseries. The entry for a card will contain:

1. Code number

2. Text from the front of the card, when text is from the verso of the card it is enclosed by "<>" signs, added description by the donor is indicated by being enclosed in "[]"

3. Printer/Publisher codes (see Appendix I for list of codes and addresses)

4. Publication numbers or series information, usually from verso of postcard, when numbers are on front of card they are enclosed in "<>"

5. Copyright information

6. Artist information

7. Physical peculiarities of postcard including:

BB = Bottom Border
TB = Top Border
LB = Left Border
RB = Right Border
EB = Equal Borders
GB = Gold Borders
WB = Wood Appearance Border
USB = Un-split back
RP = Real Photo
TOB = Text on Back
EMB = Embossed
HC = Hand colored

Series II: Studio Real Photo Postcards

A small group of real photo postcards generally of individuals which were produced by Philadelphia area photographic studios. The inventory contains a list of the studios and the number of cards along with addresses. [note: the list of studios and addresses may be found in Appendix I]

Series III: Pamphlets

Miscellaneous pamphlets which were published using postcards or which explain events for which postcards appear in the collection. Pamphlets are not individually listed in this inventory.

Series IV: Oversize, Folding, Postcards

Miscellaneous oversize postcards which are not individually listed in this inventory.