Fascinating Brooklyn stories from our local history archivists.
I Knight Thee, Sir Hot Dog
In 1939, for the first time in American history, the King of England set foot on U.S. soil. After a whirlwind tour of Washington, President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor invited King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to an informal picnic at their "country home" in Hyde Park, New York. In true American fashion, Mrs. Roosevelt decided that no picnic would be complete without hot dogs. Snobs everywhere, including the President's mother, balked at the thought of a hot dog being presented to His Majesty. But, when the King enjoyed…
Change in Brooklyn
Nelson George and Rosie Perez were on The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC last week talking about Change in Brooklyn neighborhoods - it's a great segment, good callers, and it's not just about gentrification, have a listen: AND THEN join us TONIGHT at BHS @ 6:30 – 9:00 pm when Nelson George, esteemed cultural critic, author of Hip Hop America, screenwriter and lifelong Brooklyn resident will launch his memoir City Kid: A Writer's Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success.Nelson George will read from his memoir and discuss growing up in Brownsville and living in Fort Greene. He'll be joined…
Happy Mother's Day
In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I would highlight some photographs from our Herzberg Collection. Irving I. Herzberg was an amateur photographer who took thousands of pictures of the people of Brooklyn. His photographs captured everyday life throughout the borough, but he excelled at informal portraits - on the bus, subway, at the beach, people usually lost in thought. In these closeups of mothers and children, Herzberg, through superb composition, conveys a quiet moment, where the mother at least for the…
House Genealogy
Next to genealogy, house research is the most researched topic in our library. Recently a local reporter spent some time in the library researching her home, which led to an extremely interesting article in The New York Times. This is not surprising, considering the varied amount of resources we have that assist in this endeavor. Two weeks ago, Sady Sullivan, our Oral History Coordinator, and I gave a presentation to the New York Methodist Alumni Association. We decided to present on the history of 641 Carroll Street since it is in Park Slope, near Methodist Hospital itself. There are many…
Mystery Market
Here is another mystery market for all you Brooklyn mavens. Anyone who can tell us the location of this market gets a copy of the print.
Brooklynite Marilyn French 1929 - 2009
Studio in a School - Teachers' Workshop
Bicycling in Brooklyn!
Perhaps others have also noticed that Spring is brewing in Brooklyn. With last weekend's record highs, bicycles and their cyclists came out in force all over the borough. I was one of these people churning over the Williamsburg Bridge on my folding bike on Saturday, parked by the grocery store on Sunday, and commuting via bike path to work on Tuesday. All of which gave me some time to think about bikes! Not only are they a great way to get around New York City, but they have seen some interesting leaps in terms of technology and design. Here are a few of my favorite examples from the…
National Poetry Month Ends Today
On this, the last day of National Poetry Month, I am thinking of Walt Whitman's volume of 12 poems "Leaves of Grass." A perfect celebration of spring and the senses can be found in this collection in poems like "I Sing the Body Electric." First published at a printing shop (not too far from BHS) on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, "Leaves of Grass" lives on in Brooklyn.
Oral History and Environmental Justice
Types of Brooklyn Girls
"Brooklyn Girls are renowned for beauty, grace, and wit... To those so unfortunate as to live outside the boundaries of the borough, all its young women are equally charming... But the native knows that each section of the city has its own peculiar type." For several weeks in 1902, the Eagle published weekly drawings that represented certain female social "sets" in Brooklyn. Each week, they asked readers to submit a 250 word essay in response to the recent image. Judges selected the best three essays on each set to be…
Got an idea you want to see on our museum walls?
Oral History in the Classroom at PS 27 in Red Hook
Exploring Brooklyn!
It's been such a beautiful weekend (and will hopefully stay that way..), and many of the visitors who come into BHS want to find a way to explore the neighborhood and learn without being stuck inside for too long. Brooklyn has so many amazing museums, historic spaces, and galleries that sometimes it's too easy to forget that just wandering around can be really enriching. Aimlessly exploring can discover neat and unexpected points of interest, but for those looking for something more focused or specific, there are tons and tons of wonderful walking tours of the borough. Of course, my…
Alfred T. White and Brooklyn's Better Self
Last night, BHS hosted a book launch for The Social Vision of Alfred T. White, a new publication from Proteotypes, the publishing arm of the fantastic Brooklyn gallery and reading room Proteus Gowanus. It was a great event. Sasha Chavcahcadze and Tom LaFarge from Proteus spoke about White, his work and what compelled them to tell his story, and an interesting and diverse crowd of people were there to enjoy the speakers, our library, and some tasty treats. Brooklyn Historical was a collaborator on the book, and much research was done for it in our library. It is a great resource, and we were…
A Small Accolade, and Some Brooklyn Moustaches
Good news! Amid the gloom of budget cuts, bursting property bubbles and bankruptcies, we take heart from the fact that Brooklynology won an honorable mention in the ArchivesNext Best Archives on the Web awards. That alone is a fine thing, but better yet, among the other winners is the University of Kentucky's "Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century" in the "Most Whimsical Archives-Related Website" Category--one of the most amusing blogs we have seen in a long time. Never having met a good idea that wasn't worth borrowing, I thought we might occasionally bring to your attention a few of the…
Annette Gordon-Reed Wins 2009 Pulitzer for History
Congratulations are in order for author and historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family" has won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for History. Ms. Gordon-Reed, who also wrote "Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy," was the Speaker at BHS' Annual Library Dinner in March. She delivered an amazing speech on the lives of the Hemings family, including much about Sally Hemings, who bore seven children by Thomas Jefferson. Again, congratulations from BHS and we hope that Ms. Gordon-Reed will return to the BHS Library when she begins to…
Memoirs
I just finished reading Nelson George's new memoir City Kid: A Writer's Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success. George's personal reflections on Brownsville, East New York, and Fort Greene; his open discussions of race and class; plus his impassioned knowledge of the complex relationships between the media, music & film industries, and popular culture, make for an inspiring read. I'm looking forward to the City Kid launch party and reading here at BHS on May 13th. Students in the BHS oral history seminar I'm teaching are choosing books of oral histories (or memoirs) to read and…
The Drivotrainer
Having grown up in the suburbs, I only learned to parallel park to pass the driver's test. So when I borrowed a friend's car recently, I realized I would have to parallel park for the first time since I was 16. But at the moment of truth I recalled my old driving lessons and found myself perfectly aligned with the curb. Success! I cannot say that I would have been able to pull off this feat if I had learned to drive under THIS method: These high schoolers are practicing parallel parking with the Aetna Drivotrainer, which had its debut…
BHS Breaks 100 Followers on Twitter!
Now the Drum of War. Robert Roper on Whitman and his Brothers in the Civil War
Robert Roper, author of an acclaimed book on the Whitman brothers in the Civil War, will give a talk sponsored by the Brooklyn Collection on Wednesday April 29th at 7 p.m. in the Trustees Room, Third Floor, Central Library, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn NY 11238.
Support Your Local Storefront Photographers
Birds of Prospect Park
Brooklyn is not a quiet borough. When I walk around the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and listen to the wind in the trees, I will inevitably hear air plane engines over my head or the sound of sirens in the distance--not really the noises that I want to hear in this sanctuary. But one sound that I've waited all winter for, I finally get to hear again: birdsong. A lovely publication called Birds of Prospect Park that I found on our shelves is a delightful guide to birds in Brooklyn. Published in 1951 by the Brooklyn Bird Club, this pamphlet …
Brooklyn Dodgers on WNYC
If you missed the Forever Blue event at BHS on March 21st, you can listen to it here on WNYC: Join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael D'Antonio with Peter O'Malley, president of the Los Angeles Dodgers 1970 - 1998, and Richard Sandomir, Sports Broadcasting Reporter for the New York Times, as they discuss the true story of Walter O'Malley and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles on the occasion of the launch of Mr. D'Antonio's new book Forever Blue.
America's Favorite Spokescow
I can't help it; the thought of a cow with an office and a secretary makes me laugh. I've had a copy of this photograph displayed on my desk since I first stumbled upon it in our files, often wondering about the story behind it. After a particularly long day of teaching, I decided to indulge in a little research of my own. Turns out, we've just interrupted Elsie the Cow, the world famous mascot for Borden Milk Products, hard at work. One can only imagine what Elsie is dictating. Perhaps a thank you note to a fan who saw her cameo in the…
Font of Knowledge
I just discovered this excellent article about lettering on Brooklyn architecture by Paul Shaw on the AIGA website. BHS's original 1881 lettering spelling out "Long Island Historical Society" is included along with dozens of other great lettering in Shaw's article. Check it out!
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/lettering-grows-in-brooklyn
5 1/2 Things About Ft. Greene
A tour of 5 1/2 black culture spots in Fort Greene by Nelson George: 5 1/2 Things About Ft. Greene By Nelson George from Nelson George on Vimeo.
Brooklyn Beekeepers
I'm loving this new blog about raising bees in Brooklyn: BQE KEEPER And it's really neat that City Councilmember David Yassky (D - Brooklyn Heights) is Pro-Honey: Legalized beekeeping would 'stimulate just the kind of niche manufacturing sectors that will be critical to an economic turnaround'.
Surfing Oral History
Despite yesterday's snow, soon it will be warm enough to go to the beach. In honor of impending summer, here's a clip from the Surfing Heritage Foundation's oral history collections:
We don't serve bread with one fish ball
Today's post comes directly from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 29, 1887, p. 6: Luckily for today's Brooklynite, the restaurant scene has finally emerged from New York's shadow after centuries. I've even heard that Manhattanites travel to Brooklyn to dine out. Web sites like Chowhound, Edible Brooklyn, and BPL's own No Shush Zone spread news and reviews on current cuisine in the borough. Anyone know where to get good fish balls? For those who don't enjoy reading 19th century newsprint, the article text follows: "Brooklyn can stand…
Nelson George's Fort Greene
Great essay on in the New York Times on Fort Greene by Nelson George. He'll be here at BHS on May 13th to launch his book City Kid: A Writer's Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success. I had always viewed the area as a crucial black artistic enclave. It had nurtured some of the most important African-American talents of the past two decades, from Wynton Marsalis and Chris Rock to Erykah Badu. And the neighborhood became the centerpiece of this black alternative vision precisely because it was a place where many whites were afraid to go. While Harlem carried the weight and burden of its…
An Unusual Suspect Visits BHS Library
When an American Airlines commercial shot at BHS a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kevin Spacey walk into the library for the shoot, and I was floored when I saw Michel Gondry directing. I just found the final version online, a commercial for the airline that won't air in the U.S. Enjoy the finished product, apparently Mr. Spacey's first commericial. BHS makes its debut in the library scene around the :23 mark and the Tile Lobby is used in the shoe shine shot (don't blink!). And here's a precious Gondry-gem, completely unrelated to BHS:
Oral History of the Zombie War
Important primary source documentation: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. It's good background reading for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
Ancient Questions Posed
Among the Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs that are now a part of the Library's Brooklyn Collection, are hundreds of images of Brooklyn's orphanages. Changes in social welfare policies have closed the doors of these places, but we here are fully aware of their past existence--in fact, a couple of times a year you can bet on an alumnus of one orphanage or another calling to ask for information about or pictures of their old home. Some of the sweetest images come from the Pride of Judea Home, established as a Jewish orphanage on Dumont Avenue and…
Our Bi-Weekly Mystery Picture
The word "unidentified" occurs all too often in our photograph database. I have decided it is time to tidy up a few of these "unidentifieds," and you, dear readers--I know you are out there--are going to help. Here are two pictures of a market in an unidentified Brooklyn location. The first to give a convincing account of the location may have a print of either of these if he or she so wishes, otherwise they may simply consider themselves covered in glory. Now here are a couple of clues: signs visible in the top picture read Printing 135, Bottaro…
Student Oral History Projects
Today I spoke to a class of high school seniors at Packer Collegiate Institute. They are planning to conduct oral history interviews regarding the current financial crisis. The students had insightful questions about how to handle the subject of Money which stirs up all kinds of emotions in people no matter how the global economy is faring. Some students plan to interview their parents who work in the financial field and so, we talked about how intimacy can sometimes add to an oral history interview and sometimes it can make certain things more difficult to talk about. I think it's a great…
More History Than We Can Handle?
This is an interesting discussion from the National Council on Public History conference blog. I've mentioned before that we need a new term to describe this wonderful phenomenon of more and more people documenting their lives publicly, and projects like StoryCorps, that fall somewhere between journalism and oral history. Opening keynote speaker Jill Lepore, keying on a New York times article that talked about an "unprecedented pileup of historic news," bemoaned the lack of depth or analysis in most of the discussions of historic candidacies, elections, meltdowns, and what have you, and…
Waiting for Spring
In these early days of April, watching eagerly for signs of leaves returning to the trees, I am reminded of this old poem: Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder where them boidies is? The boid is on the wing-- Absoid! Of course the wing is on the boid. -Anonymous Often attributed to Ogden Nash or other individuals, versions of this poem have appeared in newspapers (and now web pages) since the mid-twentieth century. Written in "Brooklynese," the poem is featured in a New York Times article on January 18, 1976 about our…
The Brooklyn That Never Was Part 2
Back in December I posted a short piece about the Union Temple building that never saw the light of day, at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Plaza Street. This stretch of the Parkway was a graveyard for grand designs, for directly opposite the Temple, the Moderne style Central Library building by Githens and Keally was the replacement for an unrealized original design by Raymond Almirall. The long sad story of the unfinished wing and the "hole in the ground" that that sat for thirty years until a Central Library was finally opened in 1941 (and then…
Brooklyn Bridge Saves Engagement Ring
Good Brooklyn story on MSNBC: While proposing to his ladyfriend, Gina Pellicani, on the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge, Don Walling dropped the engagement ring and it fell through the wooden slats to the roadway below! He recovered the ring from the roadway, the band was bent but the diamonds were intact. Happy ending!
Oral History of Public Housing
My first job out of college was to be "Resident Initiatives Coordinator" in a public housing development near Boston. The plan was, I would interview as many people of the 616 families who lived there as I could, find out what kind of programming and services they would find most helpful, and then make that programming and those services happen. That's a big undertaking for a 21-year-old, but I was naive and didn't understand the bureaucratic impasses and catch-22s people in the neighborhood were navigating, such as the confusing system by which childcare vouchers were dolled out according…
Librarian Conditions Vastly Improved Since 1920s
Although the ladies in the photograph appear to be in good health and are enjoying their tea in pleasant surroundings, evidence uncovered today reveals stark truths about the lives of librarians in the 1920s. Seeking something else entirely, I stumbled upon the following in the 1921 Annual Report of Brooklyn Public Library, which, thanks to the kind ministrations of Google Books is now available online. Evidently it was the habit of the Assistant Chief Librarian to list in one paragraph all those who had fallen in the line of duty during the year. Call me…
Iraq History Project
The Iraq History Project is one of the largest independent human rights data collection and analysis projects in the world. The IHP has gathered over 7,000 testimonies from throughout Iraq which have been entered into a secure, searchable database. The project is managed by the International Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University College of Law in Chicago and run by an all-Iraqi in-country staff.
Dave Eggers and Oral History
Novelist Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What Is the What), publisher of McSweeney's, and founder of 826NYC, a nonprofit organization in Brooklyn that supports students in developing their writing skills, is an oral history buff. In this interview in Mother Jones magazine, Eggers talks about Studs Terkel and Voice of Witness, a non-profit book series that uses oral histories to bring to light contemporary social injustices such as the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and the lives of undocumented workers in the US.
Archie Green
Folklorist and musicologist Archie Green (b. 1917), who established the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, has died. Raised by a socialist father, Green worked in the San Francisco shipyards during WWII and both experiences inspired his lifelong love of labor history. He influenced countless oral historians and the American Folklife Center houses the Veterans History Project and StoryCorps collections among much much more. He also wrote Tin Men, a book documenting folk art robot-like figures crafted out of found metal.
Important Things in Small Packages
I could write many, many entries on Brooklyn during World War II (and perhaps someday I will), but for the time being I am drawn to a small, rarely noticed item in our collection: There is nothing astounding about this particular ration book, other than the fact that it still exists. I have been fascinated with the World War II home front since I first encountered the American Girl tales in my childhood, but I have never seen an actual ration book. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a few of them while preparing for a lesson on war efforts in…
Our bi-weekly quiz. Mystery picture.
Attention Brooklyn Buffs and Buffettes--can you identify the building in this picture? Clue--it was in Brooklyn, and the photo was taken in May 1914. Post your answers or guesses as a comment and collect kudos for being the first to get it right. AND--the winner gets a free 8 x 10 copy print of the featured picture. All comments will be published together when the winner is announced so as not to give the game away.
Baseball Fanatics Beware
Opening night of the 2009 Major League Baseball season is just 12 short nights away as I write. Brooklyn’s baseball team is long gone, the Dodgers having played their last game in Brooklyn in 1957. While working on some research for a patron, I found a cheeky bit of ephemera for Brooklyn Dodger fans hiding in the Ephemera Collection files. Called “A Health and Safety Manual for the 1954 Baseball Season for Spectators, for Radio and TV fans and for all Brooklynites and other Dodger fans whereever they are,” this guide instructs Dodger fans on how to avoid…
Batters Up
Forever Blue author Michael D'Antonio was on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC yesterday.
Wait, there's more?
If you're a photo nut like me, you may be scrolling through the posts on Brooklynology, thinking "Wow! These are awesome pics! I wonder if they have any more?" Well, have I got news for you. The answer is YES! For some instant gratification, start at the Historic Brooklyn Photo Galleries. Browse through photos by selected themes such as neighborhoods, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and transportation. If that's not enough, you can search more than 15,000 photographs in the BPL catalog. If Coney Island is your thing, a simple keyword search…