Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks
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Abstract
Eugene L. Armbruster was born in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was an amateur historian of New York City and lived most of his life in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. The photographs and scrapbooks in this collection document buildings and landscapes and primarily feature Brooklyn, but also showcase Manhattan, Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County.
Biographical note
Eugene L. Armbruster was born in Baden-Baden, Germany in 1865. In 1882, he immigrated to New York City and lived in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn until his death in 1943. He and his family were long-time residents of Eldert Street. He worked (and appeared to have some stake in) the H. Henkel Cigar Box Manufacturing Company until his retirement in 1920. Following retirement, Armbruster became an amateur photographer and local historian writing for the "Old-Timer" column of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and published pamphlets about local history. In the column, he answered questions related to homes and properties throughout Brooklyn.
The majority of his photographs and scrapbooks were created in the 1910s and 1920s. Through his photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, and annotations, Armbruster seemed particularly interested in infrastructure and preserving history that he viewed as vanishing during a period of rapid growth and change in Brooklyn. In his book, The Eastern District of Brooklyn (1912), he writes, "If a history of the City of New York will ever be written, its compiler will look around for historical matter relating to the old towns, now forming parts of the metropolis, and this book was written that the Eastern District of Brooklyn may be represented then."
Armbruster was a voracious reader of New York City histories and walked extensively throughout Brooklyn and beyond, photographing buildings and landscapes, a majority of which he annotated with historic information. The photographs primarily feature Brooklyn, but also showcase Manhattan, Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County. Between 1914 and 1929, Armbruster published several pamphlets about local history including hand-drawn maps, drawings, original photographs and newspaper clippings. His published books focus on the history of Brooklyn from Dutch settlement in the 17th century to the early 20th century.
Armbruster developed cataracts late in life, which prevented him from continuing his photographic work. He died on September 21, 1943 at the age of seventy-eight.
Published works:
- The Eastern District of Brooklyn, with Illustrations and Maps (1912)
- Long Island: Its Early Days and Development (1914)
- The Wallabout Prison Ship, 1776–1783 (1920)
- The Original Language of Mankind (1933)
Sources:
- Eugene L. Armbruster Photograph Collection, PR 81, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
- The Eastern District of Brooklyn, with Illustrations and Maps (1912)
- 1910 New York City Census
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series by accession number.
The prints in accessions V1974.001 and V1974.032 are arranged by object ID number.
The scrapbooks in accession V1974.022 are organized by subject and include newspaper clippings, photographs, hand-drawn maps, drawings, and writings. Each scrapbook volume has its own sub-number (V1974.22.1-14) and each page has an individual object ID number.
Scope and Contents
The Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks date from 1900 to 1939. The collection is comprised of 7 bound scrapbooks, approximately 300 loose scrapbook pages, and 4,422 photographic prints.
The photographic prints (3.5" x 4.5") in accession V1974.001 are documentary in nature and depict homes, landscapes, churches, and other buildings throughout Brooklyn. Armbruster inscribes notes on many of the photographs with details pertaining to the location or significant events to the building's history (i.e. demolition date).
The scrapbooks in accession V1974.022 feature street scenes, buildings, churches, and estates in Brooklyn, but also showcase Manhattan, Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County. Many of the images depict buildings and structures no longer in existence and include annotated notes about the building on the scrapbook page.
Infrastructure, change, destruction, and news events are ongoing themes throughout the scrapbook pages. The scrapbooks were likely used as a resources for Armbruster's published books and not created to be shared. Many of the hand-drawn maps and drawings, as well as transcribed texts are replicated in his published work. He includes annotated notes on each page when the buildings was built and when it was torn down or changed ownership. Maritime and recreational boating history is featured prominently in the scrapbooks with many images of coastal scenes and infrastructure, such as lighthouses, sailboats, and boat docks.
Also worth noting is the numerous scrapbook pages documenting destruction caused by fire, including factory fires, personal homes, and Steeplechase Park in Coney Island. In addition to fires, other current events are seen recorded throughout the pages including the opening of the New York City subway, and the sinking of the ship General Slocum (1891).
Unlike the other scrapbooks, the Coney Island pages include people, particularly people at play. Highlights include public beaches, Luna Park, exotic animals, and disaster spectacles (Fighting the Flames, Mont Pelee, Galveston Flood).
The U.S. military base at Hempstead Plains is featured in the Views of Nassau County scrapbook and includes images of Camp Black, a camp that trained soldiers to fight in the Spanish-American War, and the Mitchel Air Force Base, active 1918-1961.
Notable landmarks in Views of Kings County scrapbook include City Hall, Fulton Ferry, Grand Opera House, Packer mansion, Shubert Theater, and Wallabout Market.
Notable landmarks in NYC & Her Neighbors scrapbooks include Grand Central Station, City Hall, St. Mark's Church, Ellis Island, Green-wood Cemetery, Fraunces Tavern, Gansevort Market, Metropolitan Museum, High Bridge, Lord & Taylor's, Mutual Life Building, Plaza Hotel, and Trinity Church.
Subjects
Topics
Places
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
The material in this collection is in the public domain.
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.308, Object ID number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
There is no accession record on file, but the bulk of the collection (described as accession V1974.001 and V1974.022) was likely purchased from Sally Armbruster, Eugene Armbruster's daughter, at an unknown date (circa 1940s).
The photographs described as accession V1974.032 were at one point removed from the Brooklyn Historical Society's "Brooklyn Files."
Existence and Location of Copies
Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via the image database in the library under the object ID prefixes V1974.22, V1974.1, and V1974.32.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection consolidates V1974.022, V1974.001, and V1974.032 under ARC.308. The scrapbooks were originally indexed by Harriet Stryker-Rodda in 1965. This collection was rehoused and the finding aid revised by Dee Bowers in 2023.
