Women’s Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records, 1922-2004

Call Number: 2005.031

Extent: 3.5 Linear feet, In 3 record cartons and 1 oversize flat box.

This collection holds the records of the Women’s Alliance, an organization operating under the agency of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. The Women’s Alliance began as the Female Samaritan Society in 1838, several years after the Church’s founding. Members of the group took responsibility for all the physical housekeeping of the church, ran the church’s annual fundraising fair, and helped with parish duties such as visiting the sick and cooking for the congregation. After periods of inactivity in the twentieth century, the group was resurrected in 1973 as the Women’s Alliance, a primarily issue-oriented group concerned with social action and women’s rights matters.

The collection encompasses the period of the resurgence of the Women’s Alliance during the latter half of the twentieth century as a socially conscious and active organization. The inclusive dates span from 1922 to 2004, with bulk dates ranging from 1980 to 1998. The Women’s Alliance records consist primarily of organizational material, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and financial documents. There is also printed matter created or collected by the Women’s Alliance and material related to the causes of concern and group work of the Women’s Alliance. A number of records also reveal the group’s relationships with other female-oriented and religious organizations.

Names:

  • First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Women’s Alliance
  • Campobasso, Miriam
  • Hoogenboom, Olive
  • Lazarus, Katherine
  • Odessky, Marjory H.
  • Sage, Doris
  • First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Samaritan Alliance
  • First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
  • Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs

Subjects:

  • Women’s work (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
  • Feminism — New York (State) — New York
  • Pro-choice movement — New York (State) — New York
  • Social action — New York (State) — Kings County — History
  • Unitarianism — New York (State) — Kings County — History
  • Women and religion — New York (State) — New York
  • Women’s rights and spiritualism — New York (State) — New York

Types of material:

  • Clippings (information artifacts)
  • Correspondence
  • Minutes
  • Newsletters
  • Photographs
  • Sermons

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Brooklyn Dodgers photographs, 1949 – 1956

Call Number: V1987.001

Extent: 0.02 Linear feet, five items housed in one folder.

The Brooklyn Dodgers photographs consist of five black-and-white photographic prints dating from 1949 to 1956. The photographs are attributed to the news agency United Press International (UPI). Included are two photographs of Jackie Robinson–one of Robinson sitting alone in the dugout and the other capturing Robinson stealing home against catcher Yogi Berra during the opening game of the 1955 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. The collection also includes a photographic portrait of pitcher Hank Casey; a team photograph of the Dodgers in front of Borough Hall in Brooklyn after winning the National League pennant in 1949; and a photograph of Dodgers’ fans waiting on line to buy tickets for the World Series after the Dodgers won the National League pennant in 1956.

Names:

  • United Press International
  • Casey, Hugh Thomas, 1913-1951
  • Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972
  • Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team)

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • African American baseball players
  • Baseball fans — New York (State) — New York
  • Baseball players — United States
  • Baseball teams — New York (State) — Kings County
  • Baseball — New York (State) — Kings County

Types of material:

  • Black-and-white prints (photographs)
  • Photographs

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Prospect Park exhibit photography collection, 1877 to circa 1975

Call Number: V1974.036

Extent: 1.34 Linear feet, in one oversize box and one folder.

The Prospect Park exhibit photography collection contains 33 items and ranges in date from 1877 to circa 1975, with the bulk of materials dating from 1889 to 1897. The collection includes oversize photographs, prints, stereographs, and postcards. Items in the collection show scenes of Prospect Park, such as landscapes, statues, arches, bridges, lakes, and recreational activities, namely bicycling and ice skating. Also included is a photograph of Colored School No. 2 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Items in the collection were part of a Brooklyn Historical Society exhibit on Prospect Park in the late 1980s.

Names:

  • Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • Landscape photography — New York (State) — Kings County
  • Outdoor recreation
  • Parks — New York (State) — Kings County

Types of material:

  • Photographs
  • Picture postcards
  • Stereographs

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Brooklyn Heights, South Africa, and Germany photograph album, circa 1890s-1930s

Call Number: V1986.245

Extent: 0.08 Linear feet, in one folder.

One photograph album, dated circa 1890 to 1939. The album contains 59 items, including photographic prints, illustrations, and picture postcards. Brooklyn images in the collection consist of interior views of two homes on Henry Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. Also included are photographs and postcards of family voyages to Germany and South Africa, with group portraits, interior views of homes, churches, and cemeteries. Each image is accompanied by a description and identified by location.

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
  • Germany — Description and travel
  • South Africa — Description and travel

Subjects:

  • Cemeteries
  • Church buildings
  • Dwellings
  • Voyages and travels

Types of material:

  • Group portraits
  • Illustrations (layout features)
  • Interior views
  • Photograph albums
  • Photographs
  • Picture postcards

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Cartes-de-visite portrait album, circa 1870 to 1890

Call Number: V1981.010

Extent: 0.4 Linear feet, in one manuscript box.

The cartes-de-visite portrait album dates from circa 1870 to 1890 and contains 200 items. The portraits in this collection depict well-known American and British individuals of the 19th century and earlier, including various heads of state, musicians, actors, and authors.

Types of material:

  • Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
  • Photograph albums
  • Portraits

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Famous Brooklynites portrait collection, circa 1870 to 1925

Call Number: V1974.051

Extent: 0.1 Linear feet, in five folders and one medium format negative box.

The Famous Brooklynites portrait collection, spanning the period circa 1870 to 1925 and containing 47 items, is an artificially created collection comprised of portraits of famous Brooklynites. The portraits were selected from prints and negatives from the Image Collection by former director of the Long Island Historical Society Library (later the Brooklyn Historical Society), Clara Lamers. The collection was to be included in a project called the “Brooklyn Graphics Project.” The collection is comprised of photographic prints, nonphotographic prints, and clippings. Included in the collection are portraits of Henry Ward Beecher, Eunice Beecher, Seth Low, Hugh McLaughlin, Henry Cruse Murphy, Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, Alden J. Spooner, Henry R. Stiles, Martin Kalbfleisch, and Walt Whitman, among others.

Names:

  • Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887
  • Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1897
  • Kalbfleish, Martin, 1804-1873
  • Low, Seth, 1850-1916
  • Murphy, Henry Cruse, 1810-1882
  • Pierrepont, Henry Evelyn, 1808-1888
  • Spooner, Alden J., 1810-1881
  • Stiles, 1832-1909
  • Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History

Types of material:

  • Black-and-white prints (photographs)
  • Black-and-white prints (prints on paper)
  • Photographs
  • Portraits

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George Zlobin photograph collection, circa 1920 to 1940

Call Number: V1987.006

Extent: 0.06 Linear feet, 16 items in one folder.

The George Zlobin photograph collection contains 16 items dating from circa 1920 to 1940. Included in the collection are 15 black-and-white photographic prints of New York City related images and one black-and-white copy print of a rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge showing cars, delivery trucks, and pedestrians crossing the bridge heading towards Manhattan. The delineator of the rendering is C.A. Schultz. The photographic prints include several images of the Brooklyn Bridge, one view of the Manhattan Bridge, a view of the RMS Queen Mary in New York City waters, two images of Fiorello La Guardia, attending a public event– one with his son Eric and the other with his wife Maria, daughter Jean, and son Eric, possibly aboard the Queen Mary, and one image of a radio address on WNYC radio by a group of unidentified men, also possibly aboard the Queen Mary. Finally, the collection documents the Rockaway Beach Excursion Line, a ferry line that ran along Sheepshead Bay and Jamaica Bay with stops in Queens and Brooklyn. Images of ferry landing piers at Roxbury, Rockaway Point, and Breezy Point in Queens are included, as is a ferry house that was located at Emmons Avenue and Kenmore Place in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn. Images of many of the ferries are also included.

Names:

  • La Guardia, Fiorello H., 1882-1947

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Queens (New York, N.Y.)
  • Sheepshead Bay (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • Bridges — New York (State) — Kings County
  • Ferries — New York (State) — New York
  • Piers — New York (State) — New York
  • Ships
  • Transportation — New York (State) — Kings County

Types of material:

  • Black-and-white prints (photographs)
  • Photographs

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Stereoscope views of Brooklyn collection, circa 1865 to 1915

Call Number: V1978.024

Extent: 0.03 Linear feet, 7 items in one folder.

The Stereoscope views of Brooklyn collection is comprised of seven black-and-white stereographs documenting the built environment in Brooklyn, as well as several interior views of a home, circa 1865 to 1915. The collection includes two interior views of a home in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, located at 136 Joralemon Street. Also included is a view of Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights, a view of the statue of Henry Ward Beecher located in Borough Hall Park, a view of a drinking fountain in Prospect Park, an aerial view taken from the top of the 22-story World Building in Brooklyn looking down the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River at the cityscape of Manhattan, and a view looking down the length of the Iron Pier at Coney Island.

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Buildings, structures, etc. — Pictorial works
  • Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.) — Pictorial works
  • Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
  • Coney Island (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • Aerial photographs
  • Dwellings — New York (State) — Kings County

Types of material:

  • Exterior views
  • Interior views
  • Photographs
  • Stereographs

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Lynch family photographs, 1909 – 1909

Call Number: V1981.287

Extent: 0.01 Linear feet, in one folder.

Two copy prints, circa 1909, showing the the front porch of 113 Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, home of Dr. John J. Lynch and Jane Francis Lynch, and a portrait of Francis Jane Lynch.

Names:

  • Lynch family

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • Dwellings — New York (State) — Kings County

Types of material:

  • Copy prints
  • Portraits

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Downtown Brooklyn Development Association records, 1929 – 1971

Call Number: 1979.021

Extent: 3.75 Linear feet, in 9 document boxes.

This collection comprises the subject files of the Downtown Brooklyn Development Association. The association was founded in 1929 as a civic group concerned with the problems of the business and shopping center in downtown Brooklyn. The papers are news clippings, correspondence, brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, legislative documents, photographs, city plans and maps, and other items relating to organizations and causes with which the association was involved. The majority of the documents were produced by external bodies or individuals but were integral the association’s activities. The three subjects most comprehensively addressed are the development of the Brooklyn Civic Center (Cadman Plaza), the redevelopment of Fulton Street, and traffic and transportation.

Names:

  • Downtown Brooklyn Development Association
  • Blum, Robert E.
  • Bourke-White, Margaret, 1904-1971
  • Davenport, Henry J.
  • Moses, Robert, 1888-1981
  • Roscoe, Andrew S.
  • Stamm, Godfrey A.
  • Swift, Thomas A.
  • Abraham & Straus
  • American Red Cross
  • Better Business Bureau of New York City
  • Brooklyn Borough Hall (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn daily eagle
  • Brooklyn Law School
  • Brooklyn Public Library
  • Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Company
  • Citizens Budget Commission (New York, N.Y.)
  • Citizens Union Foundation (New York, N.Y.)
  • Citizens’ Zoning Committee, Inc
  • Independent Subway System (New York, N.Y.)
  • Interborough Rapid Transit Company
  • New York (N.Y.). City Planning Commission
  • New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Commerce and Industrial Development
  • New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Correction
  • New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Parks
  • New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Public Works
  • New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Traffic
  • New York (N.Y.). Landmarks Preservation Commission
  • New York Naval Shipyard
  • Pratt Institute
  • Regional Plan Association (New York, N.Y.)
  • Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

Places:

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (New York, N.Y.)
  • Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (New York, N.Y.)
  • George Washington Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
  • Holland Tunnel (New York, N.Y.)
  • Lincoln Tunnel (New York, N.Y.)
  • Park Slope (New York, N.Y.)
  • Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)
  • Throgs Neck Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
  • Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (New York, N.Y.)

Subjects:

  • Central business districts
  • City planning
  • Community centers — New York (State) — New York
  • Courthouses — New York (State) — New York
  • Ebbets Field (New York, N.Y.)
  • Local transit — New York (State) — New York
  • Parks — New York (State) — New York
  • Post office buildings — New York (State) — New York
  • Railroads, Elevated
  • Transportation
  • Urban renewal — New York (State) — New York

Types of material:

  • Blueprints (reprographic copies)
  • Brochures
  • Clippings (information artifacts)
  • Correspondence
  • Legislative hearings
  • Maps
  • Negatives (photographic)
  • Newsletters
  • Pamphlets
  • Photographs
  • Press releases
  • Resolutions (administrative records)
  • Speeches

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