Brooklyn Theater Fire in Wikipedia
Our thoughts seem to be turning in a melancholy direction. Before we level our attention towards happier matters, let me note the publication of a new Wikipedia article, written by our friend Garry Osgood, on the Brooklyn Theater Fire of 1876. It is fashionable to be suspicious of Wikipedia as a source, but let me assure readers that they can have every confidence in Garry's work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Theater_Fire Garry distills a clear and detailed account of the horrific events of the evening from the published sources, especially our own Brooklyn…
Two cemeteries
The victims of the Brooklyn Bridge Disaster in 1883 mentioned in Leslie's last post had been celebrating "Decoration Day," the holiday we now call Memorial Day. At a time when the dead of the Civil War lived on in memory, people would visit the borough's cemeteries to lay flowers upon the graves of their loved ones. Decoration Day at Cypress Hills is the subject of more than one print in our collection of illustrations from the 19th century magazines. While Green-wood Cemetery has received considerable media attention over recent years in part…
Minstrel History in Brooklyn
On a recent Saturday afternoon in the Brooklyn Collection, I found something in our Ephemera Collection that startled me. I was going through folders that focus on Clubs in Brooklyn. Some of them still exist today, like the Montauk Club of Park Slope. Many of the folders include programs of performances held at one club or another. One word jumped out at me as I looked at programs that were dated well into the 20th century: "Minstrel." It was almost like going through an old trunk full of treasures in the family…
A Little Analysis Practice
One of the challenges of working with novice researchers is that they fail to understand that history is an imprecise science. We can only work with the documents that exist. Until the time machine is invented (something I am anxiously awaiting), we will never know exactly what happened in the past. Many of my students are frustrated by this concept because they want to have exact answers and they want those answers now. I do my best to combat this need by showing them that analyzing documents can be a fun challenge, and that the stories documents tell can be fascinating…
What's in a name?
Ever since one of my graduate art professors instructed her students to physically or conceptually transform the telephone book, I’ve been fascinated by city directories. These lists of people--most of whom don’t know each other--are linked together by the simple fact that in one particular year, they all lived in the same village, city, or town. It is an archeological document of people, forever frozen in time. Our city directories run from 1796 to 1934, and you can consult them on microfilm in the Popular Library. What makes them a lot more interesting…
The Brooklyn That Never Was Part 1
I doubt that Brooklyn is more beset with projects that came to nought than any other borough--or is it? As we contemplate the slowdown, if not the demise, of the Atlantic Yards project, let us pause to consider some other ideas that got little further than the paper they were drawn on. My last post mentioned the Union Temple House. If you recall, I was transported back to 1929--Thursday October 24th to be exact-- and found myself floating in mid air next to the shell of the Flatbush wing of the Central Library, with pigeons using my head as their perch and my shoulders as--…
Belcher Hyde 1929
I am searching for an analogy that would best describe my relationship to the Belcher Hyde Desk Atlas of Brooklyn, of 1929. It is intense and ongoing, much like the relationship a serious language student has with a good dictionary. It is less messy than human relationships, because the atlas never answers back, never betrays, always gives me something when I turn to it, even if it is not exactly what I am looking for. Unlike my dogs, it never disobeys or embarrasses me, and while it lacks warmth it is constant and true. You would not call it beautiful, but you…
The Gregg Chapel
Here was a little puzzle which I knew could be best solved by taking my deskbound self out of the library and hitting the streets with a camera. But being more inclined to search through old atlases and surf web sites, I told myself I was doing essential background research. The Gregg Chapel was the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church's mission to the Italians of Gowanus in the early years of the 20th century. A Brooklyn Daily Eagle article dated August 5, 1913, describes the plans for the building on Fourth Avenue: "It will be of modern construction...On the…
The Romance of Cordage
While re-housing the Business and Industry section of the Brooklyn Ephemera Collection, I stumbled across this catalog and price list for Waterbury Cordage. I don't know why this little book seemed so interesting other than, a. I like the word "cordage" and b. the cover art is beautiful. I found myself reading about types of rope, learning how to make splices, and deciphering strange images of what I now know to be a cross-section of rope. My only knowledge of ropemaking comes from reading Moby Dick. I was curious to see what else I could find…
School History: Brownsville, 1913
My students at PS 165 might be sorry to hear that this headline appeared in the Eagle back in 1913, and their teachers will not be going anywhere. They might also be surprised to read of a time when their school was ruled by students, not teachers. In 1913, the principal of PS 165 in Brownsville reportedly tried "an interesting experiment." He decided to place disciplinary responsiblity in the hands of the students. Teachers were renamed Directors, and each class became a club with elected officers. The directors provided academic…
Axel Hedman, Architect
The streetscapes of Brooklyn are shaped by the work of countless builders and architects, some famous, some obscure. Some deserve their obscurity. But there are many too who may not have achieved fame, but whose fine work continues to anchor neighborhoods and arouse interest in passers-by. Axel Hedman is a name known to people who like to read guides to architecture and Landmark Designation Reports. Hedman's buildings are dotted through several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Born in Norrkoping, Sweden, in 1861, Hedman immigrated to the U.S. in 1880. He was naturalized in 1901…
Brooklyn By the Bay: Bensonhurst and Canarsie--upcoming event with Brian Merlis and Lee Rosenzweig
Brian Merlis, author of several illustrated books on Brooklyn neighborhoods, and co-author Lee Rosenzweig will discuss their latest two books on Bensonhurst and Canarsie, comparing and contrasting these two communities. Date and time: Saturday, December 6 at 2 p.m. Place: Brooklyn Collection, Central Library, Grand Army Plaza
Recipes from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Thanksgiving Menu
"Whether your Thanksgiving holidays mean a gathering of the relatives, the arrival of the college set or just the usual family circle, it's wise social strategy to be prepared for informal entertaining." Margaret Pettigrew, Eagle Staff Writer Most people groan when they have to conduct research on microfilm machines. I love it. Sure, it makes you a bit queasy and it is hard to walk in a straight line once you've finished, but it is well worth it in my opinion. I am fascinated by recipes from the early twentieth century. And the Brooklyn…
Same Old Purpose, Young New Faces
During a Brooklyn Connections class visit, students from Teachers Prep asked to look at historic images from their neighborhood, Brownsville. Pulling out this 1953 photograph from the Brooklyn Eagle, I hoped that a picture of young people would help students draw connections to their own lives. I had no idea how close those connections would be: "Hey! I know this place." "Look! It's the Rec Center!" "Isn't that the BRC??" "We hang out there all the time!" The Brownsville Boys Club was founded by a group of…
Ephemeral Brooklyn
Leaves underfoot and the closing of Astroland make one think of fleeting things. There are people who try to fix impermanent experience--among them, the the people who save everything. Ephemera collectors can be seen all around you if you know how to spot them. They subtly stuff a ticket stub into a pocket for safekeeping. They keep a free postcard from a place they want to remember. They keep a “Good for one day only!” pass from the park and look at it again with a smile. Maybe it will end up in a scrapbook, or perhaps it will…
Brooklyn Veterans History Project Panel Discussion
Brooklyn Public Library staff have been collecting oral histories from our borough's veterans. Join us in the Brooklyn Collection for a panel discussion with some of the participants as they recount stories and events that span different generations and conflicts, but are connected by a shared Brooklyn identity. The Veterans History Project is a collaboration between the Library of Congress, Channel 13 and numerous other institutions. Date and Time: Wednesday November 12, 2008 at 7:00pm. Location: Brooklyn Collection, Central Library, Grand Army Plaza
So what do you have here?
"Here" being the Brooklyn Collection, this frequently asked question could take hours to answer. The Brooklyn Collection has an extensive and varied collection of books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, ephemera, objects, and much more about Brooklyn history from its earliest days to the present. Providing access to these collections is one of our main goals, along with preserving the materials for future researchers. Our finding aids, lists, and card catalog are the key to discovering the secrets within the Brooklyn Collection. While a few of our finding…
1835 in an envelope
Nine straight-edged pieces of colored paper lay stuffed into an envelope in the bottom drawer of a map case until, one day, a curious Brooklyn Collection librarian took them out and pieced them together. In colors as bright as they day they were painted, Daniel Haskel’s Map of the City of Brooklyn from 1835 took back the shape it had lost after tearing along all of its folds at some unknown time in the past. At just 11 by 14 inches it was once a handy pocket map that showed downtown Manhattan as well as Williamsburgh and the newly chartered City of Brooklyn. The…
In Praise of Blue
For those of us used to seeing photographs in black and white, sepia or color, the cyanotype, or blueprint, comes as a surprise. The result of a printing process discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842, cyanotypes provide a simple developing process using two chemicals in a photosensitive solution that can be applied to paper or other material. A positive image can be produced by exposing the material to sunlight. When the paper is flushed with water after exposure, the Prussian blue salts remain in the paper giving the print its intense blue color. Although by far the bulk…