This richly illustrated collection of scrapbooks was assembled by Samuel Castner, Jr. Most items date to the 19th century, though a few items, dating up to 1962, were added after the scrapbooks were donated to the Free Library. The scrapbooks contain various items of Philadelphiana: photographs, prints, watercolors, drawings, postcards, booklets, newspaper and magazine clippings, and other printed and manuscript materials. The scrapbooks are organized by location, building type, or theme. Artists represented in the collection include William and Thomas Birch, Cephas G. Childs, Augustus KoĢllner, the Langenheim brothers, and Frank H. Taylor. The collection also includes photographic prints of selected images from volumes 2-22 and negatives of selected images from the entire run of scrapbooks.
