Blog posts by Tess Colwell

POTW: Daisies

Tess Colwell

[Children as daisies, from Sewing School Class], ca 1910, V1981.284.23; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week depicts children as daisies from sewing school class around 1910. The Emmanuel House, located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn was a civic center and…

POTW: Cat named “Lazybones”

Tess Colwell

Cat named “Lazybones,” circa 1910, V1981.15.182; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week depicts a cat named “Lazybones,” likely in the backyard of a Park Slope home, around 1910. I often come across a similar scene in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park, with cats spotted on porches, fences, hidden…

POTW: Happy New Year!

Tess Colwell

[Swerdlof Wedding], 1946, V1991.11.100.17; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Now that the holidays are behind us, the focus has shifted to the season of glitter, champagne, and the midnight ball drop. In Brooklyn, there are hundreds of events and parties to ring in the New Year. Whether you’re prepping for a festive…

POTW: Merry Christmas

Tess Colwell

Holidays View 12, ca. 1956, 2006.001.1.131; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, arc.216; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. It’s a festive time of year all over Brooklyn and the above photograph is just one of many in our collections illustrating just how celebratory our very own Williamsburgh Savings Bank became while it…

POTW: Hand-colored photographs

Tess Colwell

[Girl Seated Wearing Bow-Trimmed Dress], circa 1865, V1978.174.66; Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week is a portrait of an unknown girl, sometime around 1865. This photograph is possibly an example of hand-colored photography, which was the most popular and effective way to create color…

POTW: City Hall on Fire

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn City Hall Tower Fire], 1895, V1981.15.132; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, 1981.15, Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. This photo of the week depicts a roof level view of the 1895 fire at Brooklyn City Hall (today's Borough Hall).  If you look closely, you can see fire ladders propped against the building and firefighters on the roof using hoses to…

POTW: Happy Hanukkah!

Tess Colwell

Grandmother at Hanukkah Party, 1980, v1992.43.29; Marcia Bricker photographs, v1992.43; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Hanukkah began on Sunday evening and continues through Monday, December 10. If you're celebrating, we hope you’ve had a festive holiday filled with family, menorah lightings, and maybe a few-too-many latkes. Here at BHS we wish you and your…

POTW: Lundy’s Restaurant

Tess Colwell

[Lundy’s Restaurant], 1961, V1974.4.1678; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Lundy’s Restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn has seen its fair share of good and bad times since it opened in 1935. In its heyday, the restaurant reportedly seated over 2,000 patrons. Opened by Irving Lundy, the historic seafood…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving

Tess Colwell

Sunday School Thanksgiving/Collection, 1910 ca, v1981.284.20; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As you prepare for your Thanksgiving travels and celebrations, we bring you a photo of the week from Thanksgiving, 1910.  The photograph depicts a collection of  items we think were sent to Baptist Home, a community center for senior citizens, located in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.This photograph comes from the Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, comprised of 87…

POTW: Prospect Park

Tess Colwell

[Lake +Wellhouse, Prospect Park], 1896, V1973.5.1528, Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Prospect Park is a Brooklyn treasure providing 526 acres of green space, wetlands, forested areas, and trails for all to enjoy. According to NYC Parks, eight million visitors a year enjoy the park and its many facilities and public spaces. The park was constructed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and opened to the public in 1867. The photo of the week depicts a view of the…

POTW: Hurricane Sandy

Tess Colwell

[Shore Hotel sign damaged from the Hurricane Sandy], 2012, 2014.010.7, MIchael Claro Hurricane Sandy Photographs, 2010.010; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s been six years since Hurricane Sandy, but it’s not soon forgotten. The storm began on October 29, 2012 and brought flooding, wind, and storm surges that devastated many communities throughout Brooklyn and New York City. The photo of the week depicts the Shore Hotel sign in Coney Island showing damage from Hurricane Sandy.This photograph is by Michael Claro, a Brooklyn…

POTW: Pygmalion and Galatea

Tess Colwell

[Theater--Pygmalion and Galatea], ca. 1910, 2014.019.17.05.016a, Packer Collegiate Institute records, 2014.019; Brooklyn Historical Society
Need some ideas for your Halloween costume? Get some inspiration from Packer Collegiate Institute students dressed in costume for a stage production of Pygmalion and Galatea, at the Packer Collegiate Institute Chapel, sometime around 1910. The 1871 play by W.S. Gilbert is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, where a sculptor’s creation comes to life and falls in love with the artist.…

POTW: Othmer Library

Tess Colwell

[Othmer Library, Long Island Historical Society], ca. 1938, V1974.031.65, Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society
Have you visited our landmarked library? Brooklyn Historical Society houses a world-renowned archives and special collections library on the second floor. The Othmer library has a magnificent reading room that is open to the public. We welcome and invite you to research our collections, read and do personal work, or simply sit and enjoy the space. The library is open…

POTW: Meserole House

Tess Colwell

Meserole House, 1000 Lorimer St., ca. 1905, V1981.15.124, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, 1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society
The photo of the week depicts the Meserole house located at 1000 Lorimer Street in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1905. The Meserole family was one of the original five families who settled in Bushwick, then one of the five towns of Brooklyn, and  today known as the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Jean Miserol (d.1695), a French Huguenot, immigrated to New…

POTW: Ramus Family Papers

Tess Colwell

Julian Ramus, ca. 1900, V1978.174.2, Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn Historical Society’s vast photography collections includes several family portrait collections, including the Ramus family portraits. The photo of the week depicts a young boy, Julian Ramus, on a bicycle in front of 214 Dean Street in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1900.The Ramus family in Brooklyn began with Isaac Ramus (circa 1805-1876). He was a retail dealer in hosiery and…

POTW: Autumn

Tess Colwell

Fall [Prospect Park West], ca. 1905, V1981.15.207, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Fall is officially here, and it happens to be my favorite time of year in Brooklyn. I love the crisp air, changing leaves, and the abundance of apple varieties. The photo of the week by Ralph Irving Lloyd is titled “Fall” and depicts the tree-lined sidewalk along the stone wall bordering Prospect Park West around 1905. I previously highlighted another photograph by Lloyd titled “Summer.” Which…

BHS Map Collection Update

Tess Colwell

Brooklyn Historical Society's Library & Archives team has an exciting project update to share! In 2017, BHS received a generous grant from National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support Portal to the Past: Creating Brooklyn Historical Society’s Digital Map Collection, a project that will increase public access to the institution’s extensive collection of flat and folded maps through conservation, digitization, and the creation of a web-based portal. The map collection at BHS is unique and robust in the content and historical sweep. Comprised of manuscript and printed street,…

POTW: Typewriting Class

Tess Colwell

[Typewriting class], circa 1930, V1973.5.551; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a typewriting class in the Secretarial School at the Central Branch of the Young Women's Christian Association of Brooklyn in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1930. A note handwritten on the back of the photograph indicates, “The number enrolled in educational classes at the Y.W.C.A. last year was 3,930.” This photograph shows an integrated pool…

POTW: William Koch Glass Plate Negatives

Tess Colwell

[Two hunters in a field of haystacks], circa 1900, V1985.4.1; William Koch glass plate negatives; Brooklyn Historical Society.
One strength of Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections is the 19th century photographs. There are hundreds of photographs from this period that glimpse at Brooklyn’s pastoral past. The photo of the week by William Koch is one of my favorites from this period. Two hunters are depicted in a field of haystacks in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, sometime in the late 1890s. There is so much to…

POTW: Packer Collegiate Institute

Tess Colwell

[Chemistry room], 1891, 2014.019.17.05.049; Packer Collegiate Institute records; Brooklyn Historical Society.
New York City Schools are back in session this week! Are you ready for another school year? The photo of the week depicts a chemistry classroom at Packer Collegiate Institute in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn taken in 1891.The Packer Collegiate Institute was established as the Brooklyn Female Academy on Joralemon Street in 1845. It was formed by a committee of local citizens who were interested in…