POTW: Adrian Vanderveer Martense

[Three men and a boy standing on sidewalk in Brooklyn] 1880 ca, v1974.7.1; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.

The photo of the week depicts Adrian Martense (center) posing with a box camera, and two gentlemen, Henry K. Sherril and HMS Sherril. Eddie Tepper (on tricycle) is pictured in the background. This photograph was taken sometime around 1880 in an unidentified location in Brooklyn.

Self-portraits were surprisingly common in the early days of photography as a means of exploration. In fact, what was likely the first photographic portrait ever was a self-portrait. Self-portraiture is one of the most fascinating areas in the history of photography. It is through self-portraiture that you see experimentation in the medium and the “artist’s presentation of self” though photography.

Martense was an amateur photographer in the late 19^th century and actively documented his neighbors, friends, homes, and streets in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. It’s unclear if this is a self-portrait or if it’s a portrait taken by an unidentified photographer. Either way, to me, this portrait of Martense holding a camera, surrounded by neighbors or friends, in a Brooklyn street scene truly represents Martense as a documentarian of his community.

This photograph comes from the Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection. This collection contains lantern slides and glass plate negatives taken by Martense in the late 19^th century in Brooklyn. Martense was a descendent of early Dutch settlers in Brooklyn. The Martense family were longtime residents of Flatbush, until their home was sold in 1889. To view more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery.

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. library@brooklynhistory.org