THE
FOUR SERIES
Mr. 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 about the Real Photo, Pamphlet, or Oversized
Postcard series in the Brightbill collection.
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
EB -- Equal Borders
EMB -- Embossed
GB -- Gold Borders
HC -- Hand colored
LB -- Left Border
RB -- Right Border
RP -- Real Photo
TB -- Top Border
TOB -- Text on Back
USB -- Un-split back
WB -- Wood Appearance Border
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.