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Map of the Month – March 2013

Written by on March 21st, 2013

This month’s featured map was published by the German publishers Wagner & Debes circa 1900.  It likely reflects the high volume of German-Americans residing in Brooklyn at the time.  According to Montrose Morris of Brownstoner, by the end of the 19th century, German Americans were the most successful ethnic group in New York City.  In trying to date this particular map, we looked at the various clubs that are listed in the key at the bottom left, one being the Germania Club.  As Morris notes, the Germania Club was founded in 1859 and was originally located on Atlantic and Court Streets.  As the club grew, it acquired new land in order to build a bigger and better clubhouse that was finished in 1890 and located on Schermerhorn Street near Smith Street.  If you look carefully at the map, you will see that the Germania Club is located on Schermerhorn Street near Smith Street, indicating that the map was published after 1890.

 

Brooklyn. ca. 1900. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.

Brooklyn. ca. 1900. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.

 

(Click on the image to see more detail)

Interested in seeing more maps? You can view the BHS map collection anytime during the library’s open hours, Wed.-Fri., from 1-5 p.m. No appointment is necessary to view most maps. Our cataloged maps can be searched through BobCat and our map inventories through Emma.

Map of the Month is part of a project to catalog our map holdings, funded through the Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Collections program. If you would like to help us do more of this kind of work with our exciting map holdings, donate here.

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Hidden Collections, Library & Archives | 3 Responses »

Photo of the Week: Women’s Motor Corps in Flatbush

Written by on March 20th, 2013
The Women’s Motor Corps on a drill in Flatbush, 1918, v1973.6.701; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.

The Women’s Motor Corps on a drill in Flatbush, 1918, v1973.6.701; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I would recognize our local Brooklyn heroines with the above photograph.  It was only with the first World War that women became part of the war effort beyond domestic duties.  The Motor Corps was established by the National League of Women’s Services in conjunction with the Red Cross.  It was entirely voluntary and appealed to many female socialites in Brooklyn who had the time and the money to share.  Among the roles women could play, the Motor Corps was particularly challenging.  It required the most training and time: a chauffeur’s license, mechanics’ license, a typhoid inoculation, and a car! Their duties included transport and ambulatory services for troops in the local region and they were on call 24/7.

Interested in seeing more photographs from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery which includes a selection of our images.  To search our entire collection of images, visit BHS Othmer Library Wed-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m.

 

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Barclay’s Center – Where Brooklyn At: BHS

Written by on March 13th, 2013

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Photo of the Week: Ruby’s Bar

Written by on March 13th, 2013

[Pasqualle at Ruby's Bar watching the 1985 World Series], 1985, v1992.48.9; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1992.48; Brooklyn Historical Society.

[Pasqualle at Ruby's Bar watching the 1985 World Series], 1985, v1992.48.9; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1992.48; Brooklyn Historical Society.

A number of things in this photograph are compelling.  As a photographer, it’s the blinding light streaming in over Pasqualle’s head and the way it makes the shadows a contrasting comfort.  For the sports fans it must be the exciting play going on in the most important game of the season.  For mermaids, it’s a sober peek into the long-standing bar in Coney Island.

Rubin Jacobs opened Ruby’s in 1975 and it has since become a mainstay as the headquarters for both the Mermaid Parade and the Polar Bear Club.  The legacy goes on through Jacob’s children and grandchildren who now run the bar. This photograph is relevant also as we hear about beach communities bouncing back from the Hurricane.  Ruby’s not only weathered the last two hurricanes, but a near eviction by their landlord in 2010.  Thankfully, Ruby’s will be open again after March 22 according to their Facebook page.

Coney Island’s many shades have been well-documented by a host of great photographers throughout its history.  This comes from another great series by Anders Goldfarb, often seen bespectacled and bicycling throughout Williamsburg and Greenpoint with a 35mm SLR slung across his chest.  He shoots film and film only.  His prints are lovingly developed in bins of aromatic chemicals and have a hearty silvery sheen to them.  Anders entire series of Coney Island photographs may be viewed on our image catalog where his grainy style aptly represents his subjects.

Finally, in case you can’t remember or weren’t yet born in 1985, the Kansas City Royals spanked the St. Louis Cardinals 11 runs to nil in Game 7 to win the Series.

Interested in seeing more photographs from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery which includes a selection of our images.  To search our entire collection of images, visit BHS Othmer Library Wed-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m.

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11,713 Photos of the Week: Brooklyn Visual Heritage has Launched!

Written by on March 6th, 2013

We are happy to announce the Brooklyn Visual Heritage (BVH) website, http://www.brooklynvisualheritage.org. The website was created through Project CHART, a 3-year collaborative project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that began in 2010 between the Pratt School of Information and Library Science (Pratt-SILS), Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS), Brooklyn Museum (BM), and Brooklyn Public Library (BPL).

Project CHART supports a diverse group of Pratt-SILS students who take series of courses focusing on digital libraries and work with the staff of these distinguished institutions. Together, they have researched, cataloged, and digitized thousands of historical photographs of Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Visual Heritage website highlights only a portion of the visual collections at these Brooklyn institutions. Each image contains links back to the partner sites, where you can learn more and contact the staff at the individual institutions for help with your research.

This has been a great endeavor that has allowed us to pull together a portion of their image collections from three great cultural heritage institutions in Brooklyn. We invite you to explore and use this new online resource intended to serve scholars, historians and the general public of all ages, to engage with Brooklyn’s historic past and make connections to its present diverse and vibrant culture.

Here are some image highlights from the three institutions…enjoy!

v2007.042.2

[Woman standing at an intersection], 1977, V2007.042.2; 1977 Blackout Slide collection, V2007.042; Brooklyn Historical Society.

CRIM0093

Cocktail party balked, 1953, CRIM 0093; Crime Collection; Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

DODG0135

Ebbets Field welcome, 1944, DODG 0135; Brooklyn Dodgers collection; Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.

HF5841_Ad9_p06_tradecard01_recto.

Tradecard. Jos. O’Brien & Co., Dry & Fancy Goods. 151 to 159 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY. Recto, : [Advertising cards] [ 1883-1889]; Brooklyn Museum Libraries, Special Collections

S10_21_US_Brooklyn_Brooklyn_Coney_I

Views: U.S., Brooklyn. Brooklyn, Coney Island. View 012: Coney Island, about 1899, Lantern Slide Collection; Brooklyn Museum Archives.

V1988.35.5

[Female Factory Workers], 1915 ca., V1988.35.5; Eberhard Faber Pencil Company collection, ARC.028; Brooklyn Historical Society.

For even more images from the Brooklyn Historical Society photography collection please visit our online image gallery which includes a selection of our images.  To search our entire collection of images, visit BHS Othmer Library Wed-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m.

For more information on Brooklyn Visual Heritage you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter here:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-Visual-Heritage/132586790244481?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bklyn_Heritage

The website will be presented on at the upcoming 2013 ARLIS annual conference in Pasadena, California and also at the 2013 Museums and the Web conference in Portland, Oregon. Tula Giannini, Dean, Pratt-SILS will present the paper, Visualizing Brooklyn at the Electronic Visualization and the Arts Conference in London in June 2013.

Project CHART is funded through an IMLS grant sponsored by the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program.

 

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