Vol 57, No 2 (1996)

February


Cover Page
Pictured is "Fuschia," a floral watercolor painted in 1846 by Philadelphia's African American educator, antislavery activist, and artist Sarah Mapps Douglass. It is part of the Library Com­pany of Philadelphia's Afro-Americana Collec­tion, one of the most comprehensive in the country with about 11,000 titles spanning 400 years from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Founded by Benjamin Frank­lin in 1731, the Library Company is a research library with diverse holdings of over 450,000 books, 150,000 manuscripts, and 80,000 graph­ics documenting American history and culture. This month the library is opening "An African American Miscellany," an exhibition featuring rare books, prints, photos, paintings, and manu­scripts relating to African American history and culture.Topics will include Africa, slavery, abo­lition, emancipation, and African American ac­tivists, intellectuals, and artists.