Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs
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Abstract
Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper's photo morgue, primarily dating to the two decades prior to the paper's 1955 closure.
Historical Note
Founded in 1841 by Isaac Van Anden and Henry Cruse Murphy, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published as a daily newspaper for 114 consecutive years without missing a single issue. The newspaper, originally conceived as a temporary political forum for the 1842 election, ironically survived longer than its competitors and eventually absorbed all other Brooklyn daily papers except the Brooklyn Citizen. At one point the Eagle actually became the nation's most widely read afternoon newspaper. In a practice unusual among major metropolitan daily newspapers of that time period, the Eagle chronicled national and international affairs as well as local news and daily life in Brooklyn. As a result the Brooklyn Daily Eagle provides a window into Brooklyn's past, as well as documentation of national and international events that shaped history.
Brooklyn existed as an independent city until the consolidation of New York City in 1898. The Eagle played a vital role in the community of Brooklyn's self-identification as being separate from and even superior to Manhattan. For example, the paper took an active role in developing the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of Brooklyn's pride. The paper also coined Brooklyn's nickname "the borough of homes and churches." With offices in Brooklyn, New York, Washington, Paris and London, the Eagle became one of the borough's greatest institutions. Distinguished editors of the Eagle included Walt Whitman, Thomas Kinsella, St. Clair McKelway, Cleveland Rodgers, and Frank D. Schroth.
The rise and fall of the Eagle coincided with economic development in Brooklyn. The paper folded in 1955 after a prolonged strike called by the New York Newspaper Guild. At the time it closed the paper employed 681 people and did an annual business in the sum of approximately $6 million.
Arrangement
The photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject. The alphabetical folder headings are listed in two sections, the "Annex Photographs" and the "Morgue Photographs." For more details on this arrangement, see the Scope and Contents note.
Scope and Contents
This collection comprises over 200,000 black and white photographs, almost entirely from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper's photo morgue, primarily 8x10 prints with some negatives and smaller and larger prints as well. The photographs are foldered alphabetically by subject.
Approximately one tenth of the collection has been removed from its original order and refoldered under a separate subject heading structure. This section of the collection is described below as the "Annex Photographs," formerly known as the "Brooklyn Subjects" section of the collection. That portion of the collection has been almost entirely digitized and made available on the library's Digital Collections page. It also includes a small percentage of photographs that were not part of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle photo morgue, but rather come from various other sources. Such photographs are often, but not always, identified by a folder heading that includes the caveat "non-Eagle." Many of the Brooklyn Public Library photographs in the collection are also not from the Eagle.
The remaining portion of the collection, described below as the "Morgue Photographs," are primarily in the original order imposed upon them by the Eagle staff. The two sections are named for what used to be their respective locations within the library, though the entire collection is now located in the morgue at Central Library.
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Access
Open to researchers without restriction. The collection may only be used in the library and is not available through interlibrary loan. Requests to view the collection must be made at least 48 hours in advance of visit.
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/descriptive title, date (if known); Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, BCMS_0002; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Provenance
The records of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, including these photographs, were given to Brooklyn Public Library in 1957 by Frank D. Schroth, the paper's owner and publisher at the time of its closure.
