Blog posts by Julie May

POTW: Ready or Not . . .

Julie May

[Leaves changing in Prospect Park], 1977, V1990.49.26; Donald L. Nowlan collection, ARC 120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Labor Day is behind us.  Schools in New York City are well underway.  The Jewish High Holidays are around the corner.  This can mean nothing else (at least to me) except that Autumn is also upon us.  Chilly nights and cool mornings only lead to moderately warm middays.  People have begun to wear jackets in Prospect Park or a scarf to ward off the goosebumps.  I even felt the need for a light pair of…

POTW: She said, She said exhibition

Julie May

It’s with great pleasure that I announce the opening of the exhibition She said, She said: Art and inspiration in the work of Nell Painter and Lucille Fornasieri Gold.  If you weren’t already aware, Lucille Gold generously donated a set of 93 photographs to Brooklyn Historical Society in 2008.  They are all available for your viewing pleasure here.  She has been a favorite of ours for some time: we’ve offered her pictures as enhancements to fundraising events and gift prints to BHS staff; we’ve connected her to the documentarian of New York Street Games who used her photos in the film and to…

Documenting Sandy: Photographer Highlight - Robin Michals

Julie May

Our Documenting Sandy exhibition is up in our 3rd floor gallery, featuring photographs by professionals and amateurs during the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. This is the third installment of our photographer highlight series. In it, we tell you more about the photographers who contributed to the exhibition. Robin Michals is a professional photographer who has been chronicling views of the de-industrialization of the waterfront in New York City.  For several years she has also been working on the series Castles Made of Sand that illustrates the locations around New York City that…

Documenting Sandy: Photographer Highlight - Nick Lakiotes

Julie May

Our Documenting Sandy exhibition is up in our 3rd floor gallery, featuring photographs by professionals and amateurs during the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.  This is the second installment of our photographer highlight series. In it, we tell you more about the photographers who contributed to the exhibition. Nick Lakiotes is a graphic designer who lives in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn with his wife, 6-year old daughter, and infant soon.  Nick’s story of his Hurricane Sandy experience is vivid, and scary.  Nick and his family didn’t think their residence would sustain much damage or…

POTW: Ansonia Clock Company

Julie May

Ansonia Clock Company, ca.1910, v1973.4.411; Postcard Collection, v1973.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s Photo of the Week is inspired by a researcher visit.  A Brooklyn resident and his parents stopped by the library with a story about their grandmother clock.  It lived in various homes throughout the United Kingdom before he brought this Ansonia Clock back to Park Slope where they thought it was manufactured and purchased.What we discovered was the Ansonia Clock Company originated in Ansonia, CT.  After a…

POTW: Happy New Year

Julie May

[German Evangelical Home.], 1925, v1974.1.184; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks , v1974.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Perhaps some of you are enjoying the quiet wee hours before the partiers shake themselves from heavy sleep.  As I write this, I’m thinking about how odd this holiday season has been in terms of weather.  The snow covering the street and piled up on the curb in this photograph makes me wish for a healthy, normal dumping of snow -- the kind that crunches into a tightly packed mass beneath my…

Documenting Sandy: Photographer Highlight - Nathan Kensinger

Julie May

In case you missed it, our Documenting Sandy exhibition is up in our 3rd floor gallery, exhibiting photographs taken by professionals and amateurs in the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.  A couple times a month, we’re going to tell you more about the photographers who contributed to the exhibition, and what their experience was like as both an observer and a participant. Nathan Kensinger is a professional photographer and filmmaker who hails from San Francisco and now resides in Brooklyn.  I first saw some of Nathan’s work at a Brooklyn Public Library exhibition showing a side of…

POTW: It’s November!

Julie May

November, 1898, v1986.1.7; Dwight B. Demeritt, Jr. collection of 19th century photographs, v1986.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The subject of this week’s Photo of the Week  may be identifiable by some as Prospect Park.  For others who may not live in New York City, allow me to tell you that it’s getting cold out there -- especially cruising through the park on a bicycle.  I’ll just say it: it’s downright bitterly cold.  As much as I cherish the change of seasons, I think this photograph, entitled “November,” accurately…

POTW: An Old Saloon

Julie May

Old saloon remodeled, 1923, v1974.1.182; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, v1974.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I am returning to a more arbitrary choice for photo of the week.  This one I came across because it was taken in November.  It piqued my interest because it is a photograph that would interest many of our researchers.  Since the current renaissance of the cocktail started in the 2000s (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/fashion/17shake.html?_r=0) and NY State Law began to allow distilling in 2002 (…

POTW: Food!

Julie May

Workers buying lunch from a food truck, ca.1965, v1988.37.39; Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard collection, ARC.023; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Anyone who has spent even a little bit of time in Brooklyn knows you can eat pretty well around here without much effort.  I saw this through fresh eyes while cycling around the borough with my brother this past weekend.  If we hadn’t eaten such a big brunch, he might have been able to succumb to the unbelievable smells emanating from the donut truck on Bergen Street.  Alas – and…

POTW: Science stuff

Julie May

[Demonstrating a geiger counter.], ca. 1950, v1991.11.13.1; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Over the weekend, I went to the Maker Faire on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens.  I was overwhelmed by the many booths manned by techy scientists, but also pleasantly reminded of the experimenting and discovering I experienced in science classes in junior high and high school.  My discoveries are rarely scientific these days, yet the connections between the science…

POTW: Autumn Avenue

Julie May

[East side of Autumn Avenue.], 1963, v1974.4.2009; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
By now, it should come as no surprise that while it was in the balmy 90s last week, it has now dropped to the frigid 50s as we exit our apartments in the morning and barely into the mild 70s by midday.  As someone who is clearly affected by the change of seasons, I am therefore thinking about the coming of Autumn; my favorite season due to the rich colors and foods which it accompanies.When I went looking…

POTW: Sustained thoughts about swimming

Julie May

[Diving Lessons], ca. 1960, v1973.5.545; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I know I said the summer was over and Labor Day weekend was the last chance to enjoy the pleasures of summertime activities.  However, with news of Diana Nyad successfully swimming from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, I feel a renewed inclination to dunk myself in the nearest body of water.  The gnarly details involving jellyfish stings,  swallowing salt water, and the shock of not using a shark…

POTW: Floyd Bennett Field

Julie May

Floyd Bennett Airport, Brooklyn, 1937, v1973.5.175; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today being the last day of July, I am pondering the brevity of summer.  Though the extreme heat waves we experience make minutes seem like days, I still feel that the summer is just flying by.  Since moving to South Brooklyn, I habitually and addictively ride my bicycle to the Rockaway Beaches in Queens via a zigzaggy route that delivers me safely to the part of Flatbush Avenue south of…

POTW: Cemeteries can be fun

Julie May

View from Altar of Liberty, Green-wood Cemetery, ca. 1915, v1973.5.1515; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Taken from a hill in Green-wood Cemetery, this photograph isn’t necessarily the quintessential photograph of a cemetery we are accustomed to seeing.  That may be because Green-wood Cemetery isn’t a typical cemetery.  Located in the present-day Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, it was founded in 1838. One of the cemetery’s most famous sites, Battle Hill,  is the…

POTW: Summer Camp

Julie May

[Christmas Seals Camp of the Brooklyn Tuberculosis and Health Association], ca. 1925, v1973.5.494, v1973.5.497, v1973.5.499, v1973.5.500, v1973.5.504; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After spending four glorious days away from work in honor of our country’s Independence Day, I feel as though my independence has been shockingly cut off – especially by the air conditioning in the climate-controlled library, (we keep the temperature in the Othmer Library at a frosty 65 degrees…

POTW: Happy Summer!

Julie May

Astroland Park with Happyface and bottom half of Wonder wheel (panoramic), 2006, 2008.035.1; Ron Meisel photographs, 2008.035; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After a couple weeks of blazing hot sun and melting humidity, it seems appropriate to highlight one of the many photographs of Coney Island in our holdings. Just as there are endless things to look at while strolling down the boardwalk or Surf Avenue, the photograph above provides endless surprises each time I look at it.  Taken as a panorama photograph (with a Hasselblad…

POTW: Two hunters in a field of haystacks

Julie May

[Two hunters in a field of haystacks] ca. 1900 v1985.4.1; William Koch glass plate negatives, William Koch, V1985.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I love the casual, kick-back feel of this photo.  I also like the old style of haystacks, and the style of these two hunters.  The William Koch glass plate negatives collection contains at least three other photographs of these two hunters {object id numbers v1985.4.17, v1985.4.28, and v1985.4.30) that show, among other things, their successful hunt expeditions.William “Billy”…

POTW: The Long Island Historical Society in 1964

Julie May

[Taken at LIHS December 1960.], 1960, v1974.31.230; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Here is a peek at what the interior of the library looked like in 1960.  You might notice a linoleum-type floor, the interior filled with display cases and desks, and some unfortunate light bulbs.  Today, our library is a very different place.  Designated an interior landmark in 1991, the floor has been uncovered to reveal the original hard wood, the room has been fully renovated, exhibits…

POTW: Women’s Motor Corps in Flatbush

Julie May

The Women’s Motor Corps on a drill in Flatbush, 1918, v1973.6.701; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I would recognize our local Brooklyn heroines with the above photograph.  It was only with the first World War that women became part of the war effort beyond domestic duties.  The Motor Corps was established by the National League of Women’s Services in conjunction with the Red Cross.  It was entirely voluntary and appealed to…