New-York Historical Society

With the opening of the next section of the High Line this week we are reminded of the incredible transformation of the High Line from an abandoned relic of 20th Century transportation history to a restorative piece of the urban landscape. There are many sidebars to the story, but perhaps one of the more ironic…

Yes, sometimes even the best spaces need a little sprucing up! Please note that our library is officially closed for the summer for renovation and will re-open to the public on Saturday, September 10th. Until then, continue to follow the library collections on our blog. Library floor looking north from balcony, showing Librarian Alexander J….

After much publicity and anticipation, a predicted rapture in which believers were supposed to ascend into heaven with the coming of Jesus did not materialize. Instead, the preacher and his followers insisted that they had miscalculated and that the real end of world would instead happen that October. Sound familiar? This predicted end of the…

If you haven’t already heard, May is bike month so it’s the perfect time to talk about an interesting 1898-1899 account book that we have here at the Society. Cyclists during the Golden Age of the bicycle outside Grant’s Tomb on Riverside Drive, 1898. Subject File (PR 068) The safety bicycle — the design of…

May 24th marks the 128th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. While the name John Augustus Roebling is widely associated with the bridge’s design and production, the contributions of the six other men involved in the bridge’s engineering is rarely acknowledged in popular history. Paine (believed to be second from right), pictured on…

To celebrate Mother’s Day, here is one of my personal favorites from the Bella Landauer Collection of Business and Advertising Ephemera: A delightful departure from the sentimental view of motherhood most often associated with the Victorian era, this advertisement features a mother reclining on a chaise lounge and sipping a Pabst Malt Extract — “The…

Just in time for the 72nd anniversary of New York’s 1939 World’s Fair — which opened on April 30th, 1939 — the New-York Historical Society has received an extensive collection of photographs and other memorabilia documenting this momentous event. President Roosevelt’s official dedication at the Fair’s opening ceremonies. Although Paul Gillespie was only 12 years…

The variability and just plain depressing weather of late here in New York is probably trying everyone’s patience. But, after all it is Earth Day, so we should give Mother Nature a break, especially since we can always rely on her to give us our May flowers. That was somewhat true in Williamsburg, VA as…

The camera, that is: Western Barracks and Parade, Fort Sumter, April 15, 1861 (Civil War Photograph File, PR 164) Southern photographers took very few of the thousands of photographs that document the Civil War, especially as the war dragged on and union blockades cut off Southern access to the necessary photographic supplies. However, with the…