New-York Historical Society

Post written by Timothy Wroten, N-YHS Communications The Historical Society is holding a prize contest through January 31, 2011 for contemporary photographs of Times Square to help us document the ever-changing neighborhood. Everyone from the serious to the amateur photographer is invited to contribute; the first-prize winner receives $500 and all contestants get the chance…

Snowbanks on Madison Avenue Since the blizzard has been quite the topic of conversation lately, we thought it might be a good opportunity to take a look back at New York’s legendary Blizzard of 1888. On March 12, twenty-one inches of snow fell in just under twenty-four hours which was exacerbated by gusts upwards of…

In the Society’s manuscript collections is a cache of letters sent by former sign-painter, Pvt. Salvatore Cillis of the 306th Field Artillery from Camp Upton, Long Island and France. Written between 1917 and 1918, Cillis’ good-natured, humorous observations are complemented by several pen and ink and watercolor sketches enlightening his former co-workers about camp life….

Most people do not associate Santa Claus with war, but in fact the connection goes back to Santa’s very beginnings. Our popular image of Santa was created by cartoonist Thomas Nast during the Civil War. Nast’s first Santa illustrations, published in the January 3, 1863 edition of Harper’s Weekly, featured Santa visiting dejected Union soldiers….

As we are now in holiday party season, it seems a good time to look back at previous holiday parties at N-YHS. Pictures in the N-YHS Archives show parties from the 1950’s and 1960’s that include dancing, plenty of drinking, and even smoking in the museum. Most of these pictures depict the staff inside what…

The library staff at the New-York Historical Society is happy to announce the publication of When Did the Statue of Liberty Turn Green? And 101 Other Questions About New York City. For years, the librarians at the New-York Historical Society have kept a record of the questions posed to them by curious New Yorkers and…

The Brown Brothers Harriman Collection at the New-York Historical Society was amassed to support the publication of Partners in Banking published by Doubleday & Co. in celebration of the firm’s 150th anniversary in 1968. Partners in Banking was designed as an image-heavy history of the firm, and the Collection is rich in visual materials. However,…

The Naval History Society was chartered in 1909 “for the purpose of publishing and preserving manuscripts, documents, and writings relating to our naval history, naval art and science, and the surroundings and experiences of seamen in general and of American seamen in particular.” Its founding meeting was held at the New York Yacht Club, where…