Pratt Institute collection
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Abstract
The Pratt Insitute collection contains printed items and ephemera produced by Pratt Institute and affiliated organizations. Pratt Institute was founded in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill in 1887 by wealthy oil merchant and philanthropist Charles Pratt.
Historical Note
Pratt Institute was founded in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill in 1887 by wealthy oil merchant and philanthropist Charles Pratt. Originally from New England, Pratt moved to New York in early adulthood and later established his own successful oil business, Charles Pratt and Company, in 1867. He soon expanded his interests and acquired the Astral Oil Works refinery in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. In 1874, Pratt partnered with John D. Rockefeller, head of Standard Oil, and became co-owner of a consortium of petroleum refineries along the Brooklyn waterfront. Though he was highly successful, Pratt always lamented his limited amount of formal education, and established Pratt Insititute in order to provide young people with hands-on educational opportunities in industrial trades and engineering. Likely modeled after Cooper Union, the school founded in Manhattan by businessman and inventor Peter Cooper in 1859, Pratt Institute granted admission to both men and women regardless of race, and supplemented its core curriculum with courses in science and art. It also featured Brooklyn's first free library, aptly named the Pratt Institute Free Library, which served both students and faculty at Pratt as well as the general public. Since its founding, Pratt has achieved national recognition as one of New York City's distinguished educational institutions, and its main building and library were landmarked in 1981. As of 2023, Pratt functions as a private arts college, having discontinued its industrial and engineering programs in 1993. Pratt offers courses at its original Brooklyn campus as well as its satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica in Central New York, and grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture, art and design, the liberal arts, and library and information science.
Sources:
- Grenier, Ellen M. Snyder, and Brooklyn Historical Society. Brooklyn!: An Illustrated History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
- Pratt Institute. "Academics." Accessed November 3, 2010. http://www.pratt.edu/academics/.
- Tabor, Mary B. "Pratt Decides to End School for Engineers." New York Times, December 13, 1991. Accessed November 3, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/nyregion/pratt-decides-to-end-school-for-engineers.html.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into series and sub-series by type or by organization within or associated with Pratt Institute. Within series and sub-series, materials are arranged chronologically. Some items are housed out of chronological order due to size.
Scope and Contents
The Pratt Institute collection spans the period 1888 to 2015 and contains printed items and ephemera produced by Pratt Institute and affiliated organizations. The collection has been arranged into four series:
Series 1: Publications (which also contains Sub-Series 1.1: Catalogs and Sub-Series 1.2: Yearbooks),
Series 2: Ephemera,
Series 3: Library and Library School, with Sub-Series for the Free Library, Library, and School of Library Science, and
Series 4: Pratt Area Community Council (PACC).
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
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); Pratt Institute collection, 1985.056, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 1985, donor unknown. The 1894 sewing course book was purchased for Brooklyn Historical Society by David Kahn in 1990.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Originally minimally processed to the series level. Items from the BHS library vertical file relating to Pratt Institute were added to this collection by John Zarrillo in May 2017. Material from the Brooklyn ephemera collection (BCMS.0007), BHS accession M1990.060, and other found-in-collection material was added to the collection by Dee Bowers in April 2023. At that time, the collection was also reprocessed to rehouse materials and further clarify the collection's contents.
