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Center for Brooklyn History Finding Aids
Guide to the Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera 2011.002

Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera

Call Number

2011.002

Dates

1857-2007, inclusive
; 1890-1950, bulk

Creator

Fribourg family

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet in one manuscript box, four odd-size or oversize boxes, and two phase boxes

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, while parts of family prayer books are in Hebrew.

Abstract

The Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera collection is comprised of materials relating to and documenting the family and professional life of Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg, a Jewish-American Brooklynite whose life spanned nearly the entire 20th century. Eugenie Fribourg became a doctor at a time when the medical profession was dominated by men, and she remained active in the field for more than 60 years. The collection provides a rich visual document of Jewish-American family life in the early-20th century, historical photographic materials in various formats, 1940s French wine and spirits, and a visual history of various neighborhoods in Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)

Biographical note

Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg was the daughter of Gustave Fribourg and Hortsense Merzbach. Gustave's parents, Eugene and Leonie Fribourg were raised in French Alsace, while Gustave was raised in New York. Eugenie's mother Hortense was of German and French descent. She was born in New York to Louis Merzbach and Clementine Loeb. Louis Merzbach had emigrated from Hanover, Germany, where his parents were jewelers, and continued the family business in New York. Clementine Loeb came from a family line of restaurant owners in France. Like the Merzbachs, the Loebs carried on their family business in America, where Clementine's father Joseph owned a restaurant on the Bowery.

Eugenie Fribourg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908. She had a twin brother Louis and an older brother Albert (born c. 1904). Eugenie and her siblings grew up in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eugenie and Louis had their Confirmations at Congregation Beth Elohim (also known as Garfield Temple) in Park Slope in 1923.

The Fribourgs were Alsatian Jews who maintained a strong connection with their ancestral heritage in the region, returning to France to visit on at least one occasion in the 1920s.

Eugenie's brother Albert married Ruth "Jim" Brindze. "Jim" Brindze gained some renown as a consumer activist and author who penned columns for The Nation magazine, and books on the subjects of radio advertising and civil liberties. She later wrote children's books about science and exploration.

Eugenie Fribourg married Phillip Tykulsker in 1948. He died in 1961.

After graduating from Barnard College in 1929, Eugenie Fribourg worked briefly in fashion advertising. However, she spent the bulk of her professional life practicing medicine. Eugenie graduated from the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) in 1939, one of eight women out of the 61 graduates in her class. In 1945 she began working at Brooklyn Hospital in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eugenie spent approximately 45 years as a M.D. specializing in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. After she retired in 1994, Eugenie remained active in various medical associations. She established the Eugenie M. Fribourg Scholarship Fund for female medical students in financial need at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In 1996, Eugenie received a Walter E. Reed Medal recognizing her lifelong service to the Brooklyn Hospital patients and community.

Eugenie Fribourg lived nearly her entire life in Brooklyn, New York. She died at age 99 in 2007.

Arrangement

Arranged into four series: Series 1. Photographs; Series 2. Correspondence; Series 3. Prayer books; Series 4. Wine and spirit bottle labels. Series 1. Photographs is arranged into Sub-series by format. Materials had no prior arrangement when donated.

Missing Title

  1. Series 1: Photographs
  2. Series 2: Correspondence
  3. Series 3: Prayer books
  4. Series 4: Wine and spirit bottle labels
  5. Series 5: Artifacts

Materials were donated to Brooklyn Historical Society in no particular order. They were arranged into series by medium. The largest series, Photographs, was arranged chronologically.

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of materials documenting, relating to, or collected by Eugenie Fribourg and her family. The materials were created between 1857 and 2007. The collection includes photographs in several formats, including mounted and un-mounted prints, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and one print on opaque ceramic. The collection also includes personal and professional correspondence, French wine and spirit bottle labels from the 1940s, and two family prayer books. The collection documents Eugenie Fribourg's life in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope and Flatbush, and her ancestral homes of France and 19th-century New York.

See Series Scope and Contents notes for more detailed description.

Subjects

Organizations

Families

Genres

Topics

Places

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright holder for most materials is unknown. Unpublished materials enter public domain 120 years after the date of their creation. Please consult library staff for additional information.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera, 2011.002, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials donated by David Tykulsker in 2011.

Collection processed by

Michael Satalof under the supervision of Julie I. May.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:20:19 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Collection arranged and described by Mike Satalof in 2012.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Series 1: Photographs, circa 1885-2007

Sub-Series 1: Photographic prints, circa 1890-2007, inclusive

Box: Oversize (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.35 Linear Feet Approximately 340 photographic prints in nine folders

Scope and Contents

The Photographic prints sub-series contains approximately 340 photos spanning circa 1890-2007, the bulk of which were created between 1910 and 1940. There is a rather large gap in the collection between the 1950s and approximately the early 1990s. The sub-series includes 45 modern color photographs and six oversize prints. Standard size prints are arranged across nine folders, in approximate chronological order by decade.

Sub-series highlights include photographs of Eugenie's family on outings and vacations throughout her childhood, her Confirmation class, her graduation from medical school, Eugenie wearing a medical coat among her all-male colleagues, and Eugenie with her husband Phillip. Modern color prints include images of an award banquet for Eugenie's 1996 receipt of the Walter Reed medal. Other highlights include photographs from the American West Coast and Southwest, San Francisco in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, Paris, and rural France.

Arrangement

Sub-series arranged chronologically by decade. Dates have been approximated when they are not noted on the prints. The first folder contains a positive print on opaque glass. The last folder of prints contains warped and damaged photographs, housed in sleeves. Sub-series contains loose prints and matted prints. Oversize prints are housed in a separate box.

Sub-Series 2: Cabinet photographs, circa 1880-1895, inclusive

Box: Cabinet Cards 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

Extent

0.15 Linear Feet Twenty-four cabinet photographs

Scope and Contents

24 cabinet card photographs. Most are studio portraits of members of the Merzbach and Fribourg families. The portraits show Eugenie Fribourg's parents, Hortense Merzbach and Gustave Fribourg, as well as their parents and siblings.

One cabinet card shows Eugenie's maternal grandfather Louis Merzbach's watch-making and jewelry storefront on Catherine Street (New York, N.Y.). Other subjects include portraits of Louis and Hortense as teenagers and adults, Clementine Loeb Merzbach as a teenager and adult; Eugene Fribourg (Gustave's father); and several unidentified persons.

The following photographic studios are identified on the cards: Smith & Vaughn, 136 Bowery; Mauer, 252 Bowery; The Star Studio, 691 Grand St.; Kirchner Portraits, 2198 Third Ave.; Dana, 272 Broadway; Duryea Portraits, 201 Sixth Ave.; De Young's, 815 Broadway; L.J. White, 105 Fourth Ave.; Smedley White, 105 Fourth Ave; R.A. Lewis, Photo-Artist, 160 Chatham Street; G.A. Flach, 1434 Third Ave.; N.Y. Photographing Co.; Corliss & Bancroft, No. 6 City Hall Place; Fredrich & Knickerbocker Family Portrait Gallery, 770 Broadway.

Sub-Series 3: Cartes-de-visite, circa 1870-1875, inclusive

Box: Cartes de Visite 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

Extent

0.05 Linear Feet Two cartes-de-visite

Scope and Contents

Two cartes-de-visite. One depicts Gustave Fribourg as a young boy and was photographed by Henry W. Biffar. The other depicts a woman and baby (possibly Gustave), and was photographed in Paris, as stamped on the verso.

Sub-Series 4: Tintypes, circa 1875-1885, inclusive

Box: Tintypes 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

Extent

0.05 Linear Feet Two tintypes

Scope and Contents

Two tintypes. One depicts two men, and the other depicts a young girl. The tintype of the girl is badly rusted and the image is partially obscured. Both are studio portraits posed in a "rustic" setting.

Sub-Series 5: Photographic postcards, 1906-1938, inclusive

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet Three photographic postcards

Scope and Contents

Three photographic postcards, dated 1906, 1908, and 1938. They depict Albert Fribourg posing in costume in a studio, Hortense Merzbach with her children, and Ruth "Jim" Brindze.

Sub-Series 6: Clipping, circa 1897, inclusive

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.05 Linear Feet One newspaper clipping

Scope and Contents

One clipping, separated into pieces, showing an illustration with the caption, "Mr. and Mrs. George Tekulsky / they celebrated their golden wedding yesterday". Unidentified newspaper.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-2004, inclusive

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.05 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents

Four pieces of correspondence, including one 1928 secret admirer note, an invitation to Gustave and Hortense Fribourg's wedding, an invitation to Eugenie and Louis's joint 80th birthday party, and a 96th birthday letter to Eugenie from colleagues at Brooklyn Hospital.

Series 3: Prayer books, 1857-1923, inclusive

volume: Tanakh (Material Type: Books)
volume: Prayer Book (Material Type: Books)

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents

Two prayer books. One is a Tanakh, printed in Vienna in 1857. It is inside a bone case with a working clasp. The other is a Union Prayer Book, inscribed to Eugenie Fribourg for her Confirmation in 1923. An advertisement for Eugenie's great-grandfather Joseph Loeb's restaurant's dinner specials is tucked inside the cover of the Tanakh. Books are housed in individual phase boxes.

Series 4: Wine and spirit bottle labels, circa 1938-1952, inclusive

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents

70 wine and spirit bottle labels, including some duplicates. Spanning 1938-1952. Some labels undated. Mostly French and German wines and spirits.

Series 5: Artifacts, circa 1895-1995, inclusive

Box: Artifacts (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents

This series contains ornamental pins and buttons, and a hospital identification card. The pins include an 1895 coin inscribed "From Grand Pa to Hortense", a Montauk Junior High pin, a Jewish Hospital resident pin, a Brooklyn Hospital 15 year commemorative pin, a bracelent with Phillip M. Tykulsker's name inscribed, and a pin containing a photograph of Eugenie's brother Albert as a child.

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