“125th Street, Harlem’s principal shopping center, ranks with the best retail streets in the city.” So states a 1940 broadside flyer in the New-York Historical Society’s collections. This description of Harlem’s main retail artery, also known as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard,  has a timeless sound, even as the struggle to make it equitable in terms…

This post was written by Catherine Stephens, Enhanced Conservation Work Experience Assistant, Summer 2016. In Colonial America, broadsides were one of the fastest ways to spread news, rally support for a political cause, or to advertise for popular products and entertainments. These unassuming paper notices were printed in large quantities and were displayed publicly or…