POTW: In Bloom

Tess Colwell

[Scene in Park “wild”], ca 1880, V1974.7.110; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, 1974.7, Brooklyn Historical Society. [Scene in Park “wild”], ca 1880, V1974.7.110; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, 1974.7, Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s officially March, which hopefully means the worst of this long winter is behind us. According to the New York Times, this frigid winter has its benefits: the snow covered ground is a great insulator, and creates the perfect environment for beautiful and lush spring foliage. As reporter Andy Newman said in the article last week, “Enjoy the hard winter that makes a good spring.” That’s something to look forward to!

With that in mind, the photo of the week is from the Adrian Vanderveer Martense Collection and features an 1880 lantern slide of Ambergill Falls in Prospect Park. “Wild” was written on the photograph, presumably the title. The circular shape of the image comes from the shape of the mount or mask used. To me, this photograph feels like a portal to a secret (warm) garden.

Adrian Vanderveer Martense (1852-1898) was an amateur photographer and longtime resident of Flatbush. He photographed primarily neighbors and landscapes of his neighborhood, including the scene above. You can see more of Martense’s photos here.

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.

 

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