Baby Prince

Baby Prince, circa 1880, v1974.7.126; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191 ; Brooklyn Historical Society.

The photo of the week depicts “Baby Prince” and an unidentified woman going on a stroll through the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn sometime around 1880. This photograph, along with many other photographs from the Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, is particularly charming and noteworthy because it truly gives us a glimpse into an earlier, less developed time in Brooklyn. This is one of my favorite photographs from the collection because it doesn’t feel overly posed and formal—just a passing moment in the day of the photographer.

Adrian Vanderveer Martense (1852-1898) was an amateur photographer and also a descendent of the early Dutch settlers in Brooklyn. The Martense family resided in Flatbush which was one of the original six towns of Brooklyn. The Martense family remained in their home for many generations until 1889, when Flatbush began transitioning from a farming community into a suburb. There is no clear reason why this change occurred but there is speculation that the introduction of the streetcar and the purchase of land for parks and other green spaces played a part in this transition.

The Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection contains lantern slides and photographs taken by Martense from 1872 to 1889. The subject of his photography was primarily Flatbush, but his photographs also include friends and neighbors in Flatbush, like in this photograph. To view more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org