On View
Slavery and Freedom Gallery
Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom
Printed by
Price, Philip Jr., American
Used by
Lyons, Hannah Amelia, American
Date
1830-1836
Medium
ink on paper with string
Dimensions
H x W: 13 x 8 in. (33 x 20.3 cm)
Caption
Hannah A. Lions’s School Copy Book, 1831
Attending school in Philadelphia, Hannah Lions copied down her math, history, and poetry lessons in this notebook. Her family saved this book as "proof that there were some educated [black] people way back when."
Slavery and Freedom Exhibition
Description
A school copy book printed by Philip Price in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and used by Hannah Amelia Lyons. The book has paper covers bound on the proper left side. A length of knotted pink string extends from the top edge of the binding, serving as a bookmark. Several engravings are printed on the front and back covers. On the front cover is a portrait of John Adams entitled "Late President of the United States," above an allegorical scene and space for the owner to sign the book, followed by the printer's name. The back cover has an image of an eagle flying over open waters between two ships and clasping a banner reading "SHIPPED" in its beak. Below the eagle is a floral sprig on the left and a grouping of masonic symbols on the right, with a thin scrollwork border below them. Below the border is a shield with an eagle inside it holding a banner reading "E Pluribus Unum". Below the shield are two separate allegorical scenes. The interior pages contain various school exercises including mathematics and poetry, with inscriptions dating from 1830 to 1836. On the front cover, within a printed box at bottom center is "THE PROPERTY OF" with the signature [Hannah A. Lyons / 1832].
Place printed
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Documents and Published Materials
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Type
workbooks
Topic
Children
Education
Free communities of color
U.S. History, 1815-1861
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Hope Evans Boyd
Object number
2012.124.2
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd59de47c7b-7578-47eb-99eb-960f8ab39d57

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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