August 9th is National Book Lovers' Day! This unofficial holiday was first celebrated in the 1980s on the first Saturday in November, but shifted to today's date in the mid-1990s (though some people insist on observing both dates, and we're totally ok with that!).
This ca. 1900 glass negative image of a reading woman is part of the Hagley Library’s collection Thomas C. Marshall photographs (Acc. 1990.270) collection. The family’s patriarch, Israel W. Marshall (1850-1911), founded the Marshall Brothers Paper Mill in Yorklyn in 1890. The wealth generated by this family business allowed his son, Thomas Clarence Marshall (1885-1969), to become a man of many hobbies, including photography.
In addition to other subjects, the Hagley’s collection of his photographs contains images like this one, documenting the Marshall family and their friends. Other subjects include more photographs of Auburn Heights, the Marshall Brothers Paper Mill, Marshall’s collection of Stanley Steamer automobiles, and various locations and events in and around Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania. To view a large selection of images from this collection online now, visit its page in our Digital Archive by clicking here.