Brooklyn Heights Garden Club Collection
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Abstract
Documents, photographs, ephemera, clippings and scrapbooks documenting the history of the Brooklyn Heights Garden Club.
Historical Note
The Brooklyn Heights Garden Club was founded in 1940 by Mrs. Thomas Sturgis, who also served as the club's first president. The club was founded to "bring added beauty to Brooklyn Heights by the creation and cultivation of gardens, plantings and window boxes." Over time, the club organized and sponsored a number of events and programs in the neighborhood and beyond. These include flower shows, plantings for the Brooklyn Heights Association house tour, trips to gardens around New York State, speaker events, flower arranging workshops, and the annual Christmas tree lighting at the Montague Street entrance to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The club has also participated in the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State (second district) and advocated for other related organizations in Brooklyn such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park. Traditionally, club meetings are held at members' homes, which fosters a sense of community among the membership. The club is still active as of 2021.
Arrangement
Materials are grouped in four series by type. In some cases, materials are grouped according to which member collected them and donated them to this collection. The Christmas tree scrapbooks and membership directories are arranged chronologically and the materials from other organizations are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
This collection includes documents, photographs, ephemera, clippings and scrapbooks dating from the club's founding in 1940 to 2017. Scrapbooks make up a significant portion of the collection and are especially rich in materials from the 1950s and 1960s. Photographs and ephemera make up smaller portions of the collection but there are some significant materials of each type, including flower show ribbons and candid photos of members at events. Between foldered documents and clippings and those found in the scrapbooks, the club's membership and activities over the years are well-documented in this collection.
Subjects
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/descriptive title, date (if known); Brooklyn Heights Garden Club Collection, BCMS.0082; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Brooklyn Heights Garden Club, 2019.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The three Christmas tree lighting scrapbooks created by Pauline Herd were in composition notebooks and in very poor condition. These scrapbooks were disassembled in order to best preserve the materials they contained. The archivist created preservation photocopies of news clippings where possible but retained original material such as photographs, ephemera, and correspondence.
The two larger scrapbooks were retained intact with some minor repairs to the binding of Scrapbook 1.
Repository
Series 1: Club administration and membership
Constitution and by-laws
Board and executive committee meeting notes and minutes
Meeting notes and attendance sheets
Meeting notes and attendance sheets
Presidents' reports
Presidents' speeches
Treasurers' reports
Correspondence with membership, 1971-2003, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Meeting announcements and other correspondence from club officials to membership.
Club and member correspondence, 1960-2010, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence to and from individual club members or the club membership as a whole.
General
Additional correspondence can be found in the scrapbooks (Series 4).
Member lists and directories
General
Additional member lists and directories for the years 1940, 1959-1960, 1962-1963, and 1964-1965 can be found in Scrapbook 1.
Series 2: Events and programs
Photographs of club activities
General
Additional photographs can be found in the scrapbooks (Series 4).
Schedules of programs
General
Additional program lists can be found in the scrapbooks (Series 4). Scrapbook 1: 1947-1950, 1957-1966 Scrapbook 2: 1966-1967, 1968-1973, 1975-1977
Event materials
Scope and Contents
Includes flyers, program ideas, and notes.
Speaker events
Flower shows
Flower show posters, circa 1986-1991, inclusive
Clem Kastiendieck flower show materials
Flower arranging at St. Charles Jubilee Senior Center
Cara Bowers program committee materials
Scope and Contents
Includes notes, documents, program ideas and ephemera, including meeting notes and treasurers' reports.
Pauline Herd Christmas tree lighting scrapbooks
Series 3: Clippings and ephemera
General
Additional clippings and ephemera can be found in the scrapbooks (Series 4).
Clippings, circa 1971-2015, inclusive
Ephemera
Scope and Contents
"How to Conduct a Meeting" booklet, BHGC sticker, and card handed out during 1990 Brooklyn Heights house tour regarding tree gardens planted by club members.
Materials from other organizations
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment (BCUE)
Federated Garden Clubs of New York State
Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Second District
Kuykuit and Historic Hudson Valley
Prospect Park
Ephemera from various organizations
Scope and Contents
Includes materials from Greenwood Cemetery, Governor's Island, Brooklyn Heights Association, Garden Club of Bay Ridge, Remsen Street/Montague Terrace Block Association, and others.
Gardening tips and resources
Series 4: Scrapbooks
Scope and Contents
These scrapbooks include club member lists, clippings, photographs, ephemera (including ribbons from flower shows, flyers and other event materials), correspondence and program lists.
Conditions Governing Use
The materials in these scrapbooks are often loose in the scrapbook sleeves and can easily slip out. The materials are also layered in the sleeves and may need to be removed from the scrapbook in order to be fully seen. For these reasons, the scrapbooks should be handled with care and the assistance of the librarian on duty.
