John Jay Pierrepont photograph collection
1876-1923, inclusive
; 1910-1923, bulk
Pierrepont, John Jay (Role: Photographer)
The John Jay Pierrepont photograph collection, spanning the dates 1876 to 1923 (bulk dates 1910 to 1923), measures 1.92 linear feet and is housed in three lantern slide boxes and one manuscript box. The collection consists of 177 black-and-white lantern slides and glass positive photographs, one photograph album, and 166 black-and-white photographic prints. The majority of the items in the collection were created by John Jay Pierrepont, an amateur photographer. The collection also includes several items that were created by two New York City-based lantern slide manufacturers: T.H. McAllister and Walter Isaacs. The subjects of the photographs are predominantly Brooklyn related, in particular historic houses and homesteads in Brooklyn, maritime activities on New York Harbor, as well other Brooklyn subjects such as Prospect Park and the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The collection is organized into three series: Lantern slides and glass positive photographs, 1873 to 1923; Photograph album, 1913 to 1923; and Photographic prints, 1910.
Box 1 contains: Photograph album; and Photographic prints
Box 2 contains: 81 lantern slides (numbers 1 to 81)
Box 3 contains: 54 glass positive photographs, unmounted (numbers 82 to 130)
Box 4 contains: 42 glass positive photographs, unmounted (numbers 131 to 177)
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:27:19 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English.
Brooklyn Historical Society
2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
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Medium Format Negatives 6 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Series 1: Lantern slides and glass positives, 1876-1923, inclusive
The lantern slides and glass positives consist of 177 items; 81 are black-and-white lantern slides and 96 are (unmounted) black-and-white glass positive photographs. The majority of items in this series were created by John Jay Pierrepont. The series also includes several items created by New York City-based lantern slide manufacturers: T.H. McAllister and Walter Isaacs. The subject for the majority of slides consists of maritime activities along the East River where it spills into New York Harbor (or Upper New York Bay). The vantage point from which most of the slides are taken is from the Brooklyn Heights shoreline, just above the docks and warehouses, looking across the harbor towards the lower Manhattan skyline. At times the view focuses southward, capturing the Statue of Liberty, while at other times the view turns northward, capturing the Brooklyn Bridge. The slides document the harbor during the 1870s and 1880s when the harbor was a very active maritime route for the importing and exporting of goods to and from New York City, as well as later, from the 1890s through the 1910s, when maritime activity slowed. Various kinds of boats are captured in the slides including ferries, tugboats, barks (barques; barcs), and sloops. The slides also show the Brooklyn Bridge during construction and post-construction, the Statue of Liberty, day-time and nighttime views of the lower Manhattan skyline, the Pierrepont Stores after the fire in 1881, and dock scenes in Brooklyn, among others. Finally, there are several non-maritime related subjects in the collection including street scenes in Brooklyn Heights and views of Prospect Park.
Series 2: Photograph album, 1913-1923, inclusive
The photograph album contains black-and-white photographic prints that primarily document 17th and 18th century houses and homesteads in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. The majority of the houses and homesteads captured in the photographs are located in Brooklyn and include the John Lefferts Homestead, the Cortelyou House, the Jeremiah Vanderbilt House, the Stillwell House, and the Remsen House, among many others. There are also several photographs of schools, churches, and roadside milestones in Brooklyn.
Series 3: Photographic prints, 1910, inclusive
This series consists of 165 black-and-white photographic prints documenting 17th and 18th century houses and homesteads in Brooklyn, as well as street scenes of Brooklyn (mostly of Brooklyn Heights). Some of the photographs in this series are also included in the photograph album.