Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: ARC.212
Extent: 28.0 cubic feet, in 75 boxes: 32 manuscript boxes, 38 flat boxes, and 5 small boxes.
The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection traces the career of the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, the well known 19th century preacher, and the history of Plymouth Congregational Church, of which Beecher was the first pastor. Plymouth Church was a major institution in 19th century Brooklyn, first gaining recognition on national and international levels as Beecher’s pulpit. Beecher was well known for his oratorical ability and for his vocal opposition to slavery and support of the Northern cause during the Civil War. He also spoke out on subjects ranging from women’s suffrage and evolution to organized labor and temperance. Beecher was a popular figure despite controversy that surrounded his activities, including a charge of adultery that resulted in a widely reported trial in 1875.
The collection relates principally to Beecher’s pastorate at Plymouth Church from 1847 until his death in 1887. Other materials, ranging through 1980, concern the church’s other pastors and the history of Plymouth Church itself, which consolidated with the Church of the Pilgrims in 1934. The papers provide insight into the church congregation’s various activities, illustrate the history of Beecher’s influence on his congregation and on 19th century congregationalism, and shed light on both the public and private life of a major American personality of the 19th century.
Names:
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887
- Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1897
- Beecher, William Constantine, b. 1849
- Durkee, J. Stanley, 1866-1951
- Fifield, Lawrence Wendell, b. 1891
- Hibben, Paxton, 1880-1928
- Hillis, Newell Dwight, 1858-1929
- Hunt, Rose Ward
- Tilton, Elizabeth M. Richards, b. 1834
- Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907
- Bethel of Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Henry Ward Beecher Literary and Debating Society (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Henry Ward Beecher Missionary Circle (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Institute (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Ellinwood, T. J., 1830-1921
- King, Horatio C., 1837-1918
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
- Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- United States — Religion
Subjects:
- Plymouth chimes (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Abolitionists — New York (State)
- Adultery — New York (State) — Kings County
- Antislavery movements — United States
- Authors, American
- City clergy — New York (State) — New York
- Clergy as authors
- Congregational churches — New York (State) — Kings County — Clergy
- Congregationalists — New York (State) — Kings County
- Lectures and lecturing — New York (State) — Kings County
- Pews and pew rights
- Reformers — United States
- Religious education of children — New York (State) — Kings County
- Religious institutions — New York (State) — Kings County
- Sunday schools — New York (State) — Kings County
- Trials (Adultery) — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Church newsletters
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Cylinder phonographs (phonographs)
- Photographs
- Picture postcards
- Scrapbooks
- Sermons
- Typescripts
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 Photography by James Dee The Brooklynite publication caters to Brooklyn society, photos of various socialites, humorous anecdotal stories, poetry, and artwork. The library holds the following issues:
- April 1926, vol 1., no. 1
- May 1926, vol 1., no. 2
- June 1926, vol 1., no. 3
- August 1926, vol 1., no 4
- September 1926, vol 1., no. 5
- October 1926, vol 1., no. 6
- November 1926, vol 1., no. 7
- December 1926, vol 1., no. 8
- January 1927, vol 1., no 9
- February 1927, vol 1., n0 10 (2 copies)
- April 1927, vol. 2, no. 1
- June 1927, vol 2, no. 2
- December 1927, vol. 2, no. 3
- January 1928, vol. 2, no. 4
- March 1928, vol. 2, no. 5
- April 1928, vol. 2, no. 6 (2 copies)
- October 1928, vol. 2, no. 10
- November 1928, vol. 2, no. 11
- January 1929, vol. 3, no. 1
- February 1929, vol. 3, no. 3
- March 1929, vol. 3, no. 3
- April 1929, vol. 3, no. 4
- May 1939, vol. 3, no. 5
- July 1929, vol. 3, no. 7
- August 1929, vol. 3, no. 8
- June 1930
- July 1930
Call Number: ARC.116
Extent: 4.6 linear feet, in one manuscript box and flat file storage.
The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings span the years 1888 to 2001, with bulk dates of 1927 to 1929. The collection documents the design, construction, architectural and infrastructural features, and daily work life in the now landmarked building at One Hanson Place in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Greene, particularly between its opening and the early 1960s. The collection is arranged into two series: Photographs and Architectural drawings.
Names:
- Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y. : Hanson Place)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Buildings, structures, etc.
- Fort Greene (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Art deco (Architecture)
- Bank buildings |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Buildings |z New York (State) |z Kings County |x Design and construction
- Holidays |z New York (State) |z Kings County
Types of material:
- Architectural drawings
- Black-and-white prints (photographs)
- Color prints (photographs)
- Color slides
- Drawings (visual works)
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View Collection Photographs
Call Number: 2011.002
Extent: 1.5 linear feet, in one manuscript box, four odd-size or oversize boxes, and two phase boxes.
The Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera collection is comprised of materials relating to and documenting the family and professional life of Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg, a Jewish-American Brooklynite whose life spanned nearly the entire 20th century. Eugenie Fribourg became a doctor at a time when the medical profession was dominated by men, and she remained active in the field for more than 60 years. The collection provides a rich visual document of Jewish-American family life in the early-20th century, historical photographic materials in various formats, 1940s French wine and spirits, and a visual history of various neighborhoods in Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Names:
- Merzbach family
- Fribourg family
- Brooklyn Hospital
- Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn
- Medical College of Virginia
Places:
- Brighton Beach (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Coney Island (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- France
- Los Angeles (Calif.)
- Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)
- Paris (France)
- Park Slope (New York, N.Y.)
- San Francisco (Calif.)
Subjects:
- Families |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Hospitals |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Jewish women physicians
- Jews |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Jews |z New York (State) |z New York
- Landscape photography |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Landscape photography |z New York (State) |z New York
- Photography |z France |z Paris.
- Photography |z New York (State) |z Kings County
- Photography |z New York (State) |z New York
- Portrait photography
- Wine labels
- Women physicians |z New York (state) |z Kings County
Types of material:
- Black-and-white prints (photographs)
- Bottle labels
- Cabinet photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Commemorative jewelry
- Correspondence
- Group portraits
- Identity cards
- Lockets
- Photographic postcards
- Portraits
- Studio portraits
- Tintypes (prints)
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Call Number: ARC.223
Extent: 2.09 linear feet, in one manuscript box and one oversize box.
This collection includes various materials relating to Abraham & Straus throughout the period 1865 to 1995. The majority of the items date from 1964 and 1965 and were compiled by Abraham & Straus employee Juli Daves in preparation for the store’s centennial celebration. These items include newsletters, a history of Abraham & Straus, news clippings, and correspondence between Juli Daves and Mrs. Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Archivist at the Long Island Historical Society (later the Brooklyn Historical Society), regarding research for the centennial. Other materials in the collection include store directories, souvenir shopping bags, employee newsletters, various printed ephemera, and a catalog dating from 1886, when the store was known as Wechsler & Abraham. A small number of photographs are also included and depict Abraham & Straus founder Abraham Abraham; Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Sidney L. Solomon; President Walter N. Rothschild, Jr.; and the Wechsler & Abraham store at its original Fulton Street location. The photographs have biographical and historical information attached to their versos. There is also an oversize print showing an aerial view of the flagship Abraham & Straus store at its location on Fulton and Hoyt Streets, along with other parts of Downtown Brooklyn, circa 1893. This print is housed separately in an oversize box.
Abraham & Straus was a major department store founded in Brooklyn by Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler in 1865. Originally called Wechsler & Abraham and located at 285 Fulton Street, the store was so successful that it moved to a new and larger location at the corner of Fulton and Hoyt Streets in 1885. The name of the store changed to Abraham & Straus in 1893 when the Straus family, partners of Macy’s department stores, bought out Wechsler’s interest in the store. By 1965, Abraham & Straus had become the third largest department store in the United States, with several branches in and surrounding the New York City area in addition to its flagship location at Fulton and Hoyt Streets. The store became part of Macy’s department stores in 1995. As of 2011, the original Abraham & Straus location on Fulton and Hoyt Streets continues to operate under the Macy’s name.
Names:
- Abraham & Straus
- Wechsler & Abraham
- Daves, Juli
Subjects:
- Business enterprises — New York (State) — Kings County
- Centennial celebrations, etc.
- Department stores — New York (State) — Kings County
- Department stores — New York (State) — Kings County — History
- Retail trade — New York (State) — Kings County
- Shopping centers — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Catalogs
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Directories
- Histories
- Newsletters
- Photographs
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Call Number: ARC.285
Extent: 0.33 Linear feet, in one manuscript box and one flat box
The Martense family papers include deeds, indentures, wills, estate administration documents, promissory notes, bills of sale for enslaved African-Americans, correspondence, and photographs and other images. The bulk of the documents date from the 1700s to circa 1876. The images date from circa 1870 to circa 1944. Deeds and other land transaction documents dating from the 1700s comprise the largest portion of the collection. The Martense family lived in Flatbush, now part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and most of the collection concerns that area. Correspondence in the collection dates from 1837-1839 and includes several letters sent to Gerrit Martense at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, N.J., by his family in Flatbush. Subjects of the letters include domestic and local matters. The letters, and other documents in the collection, also refer to dealings concerning one Juan Scorsur, an Italian immigrant to New York attempting to acquire real estate in Brooklyn while residing for an extended time in Cuba. In addition to multiple generations of Martenses, among the surnames found in the collection are Cornell, Hegeman, Lefferts, Remsen, Suydam, Terhune, Van Brunt, Van der Bilt, Van der Veer, and Waldron. The bulk of the collection is in English, but there are several documents in Dutch and one in Spanish. The photographs and other images, to the extent they are identified, are principally of members of the Wilbur family, into which a Martense married.
Names:
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- Decedents’ estates — New York (State) — Kings County
- Family life
- Genealogy
- Real property — New York (State) — Kings County
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Cabinet photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Correspondence
- Deeds
- Indentures
- Photographs
- Promissory notes
- Slave bills of sale
- Wills
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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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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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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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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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