Jessie Tarbox Beals was a woman of many firsts. A pioneer of photography, she was the first published female photojournalist in the United States, the first woman press photographer, and the first female night photographer. The Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, ca. 1905-1940, PR-4, at the New-York Historical Society is available through our Shelby White…

Five women huddle around an apartment table on January 18, 1923. Some balance babies on their laps. Older children look on. One boy in a knitted cap stares at the camera, more interested by the photographer than by what the ladies are doing. They seem to be copying in notebooks the exemplars from a portable chalkboard…

Every year when the seasons change from cold to warm, I get sick. Usually it’s allergies or a cold, but like clockwork I am out of commission for a few days. I suspect this has happened to people since time began, but if you lived on Manhattan Island during the 1790s, and even as late…

This post was written by Mariam Touba, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections This week marks the 150th anniversary of New York’s passage of the Tenement House Law of 1867. Loophole-ridden and difficult to enforce, this state law “for the regulation of tenement and lodging-houses in the cities of New York and Brooklyn” nonetheless opened the way…

This post was written by N-YHS intern Brynn White Numerous tributes to actor and filmmaker Paul Mazursky have unspooled since his passing on Tuesday, July 1. In films such as Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (1969) and An Unmarried Woman (1978),  the Brooklyn native investigated middle class values, hypocrisy, and personal growth during a time in American…

This post was written by Tammy Kiter, Manuscript Reference Librarian In honor of National Poetry Month, I felt inspired to celebrate one of the more obscure literary contributions of the early twentieth century, true pioneers of the D.I.Y. movement. Formed in 1932 by retired New York Telephone Company employee, Francis Lambert McCrudden, the Raven Poetry Circle was…

This post was written by Sherry Cortes, Summer Intern in the Department of  Manuscripts Born in Walldorf, Germany in 1763, John Jacob Astor was the son of a butcher who traveled to America seeking to improve his condition in life.  It was not long before he made his way to New York City, a still…

Written by Joseph Ditta, Reference Librarian. In honor of Presidents’ Day, come with us back to 1889, when the celebrations marking the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as first president of the United States were in full swing. Perhaps the most impressive manifestation of New York’s pride of place as the location for that memorable…

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…