With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this week’s photograph is a portrait of “sweethearts” dated 1909 from the Burton family collection. The collection contains over 189 photographs, of the Burton family and others. The couple above is unidentified but possibly related to the family. It’s unclear what Tobyhanna indicates, but it likely references Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. It’s all speculation who and where this photograph was taken—these “sweethearts” remain a mystery!
This charming photograph, and many of the photographic items in this collection, is part of two personal albums. By 1909 when this photograph was taken, the Brownie camera had been introduced and popularized the photographic “snapshot.” The Brownie camera was inexpensive and handheld, which for the first time allowed everyone (not just professional photographers or commercial studios) the opportunity to photograph everything from special occasions and trips to everyday life. The Brownie camera made photographs like this more commonplace. To see more photographs from the Burton collection, check out this gallery. To learn more about the history of the Kodak Brownie camera, check out this page.
Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. photos@brooklynhistory.org
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.
Post a Comment
While BPL encourages an open forum, posts and comments are moderated by library staff. BPL reserves the right, within its sole discretion, not to post and to remove submissions or comments that are unlawful or violate this policy. While comments will not be edited by BPL personnel, a comment may be deleted if it violates our comment policy.
eNews Signup
Get the latest updates from BPL and be the first to know about new programs, author talks, exciting events and opportunities to support your local library.