Highlights of the photography collection include a tintype of Long Island's native son Walt Whitman, approximately 1,000 historical postcards of schools, Coney Island and other subjects, the Brooklyn Bridge from construction up to the present, the Old Stone House after reconstruction, and a broad compilation of Brooklyn neighborhoods photographed between the mid-1800's and c. 1955.

The library's recently-upgraded image database lists approximately 35,000 images which are available for use in the library. An additional 10-20,000 positives, negatives, slides, studio cards, and color transparencies have been sorted into subject categories: e.g., "Coney Island," "Brooklyn Dodgers," "Factories & refineries," and "Grand Army Plaza." To view the subject list, click here. For an appointment or more information, e-mail photos@brooklynhistory.org or call 718.222.4111 x224.

Collections include:
The Civil War Collection

The Civil War Collection is comprised primarily of portraits depicting Civil War officers, soldiers and related personages of the time in the form of cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, prints, albums, and reproductions.

To view the Civil War Collection, email photos@brooklynhistory.org.

The Portrait Collection

The Portrait Collection consists of photographs and printed matter, reproductions of drawings, engravings, and paintings, featuring people from Brooklyn and beyond ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries. They are organized alphabetically by last name of the person featured in each portrait.

To view portraits, email photos@brooklynhistory.org.

The Prospect Park Collection

A 1999 collaboration with the Brooklyn Prospect Park Alliance enabled more than 1,000 high-resolution scans of the Society's nineteenth century photographs of Prospect Park. A gallery of selected images is available for viewing at http://www.prospectpark.org/history_nature/archives/glimpse .

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Collection

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Collection includes over 100 images of the bank under construction from the first day of digging to the bank's opening.

To view The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Collection, email photos@brooklynhistory.org.

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