Panorama of New York, Brooklyn, and Vicinity viewbook
Call Number
Date
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
The viewbook contains two black-and-white panoramic foldouts of views from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge towers--from the Brooklyn-side tower looking towards Manhattan and from the Manhattan-side tower looking towards Brooklyn.
Historical note
Wittemann Brothers was a Brooklyn-based publishing company that was founded by brothers Adolph and Herman L. Wittemann, circa 1879. In 1890, the company changed its name to the Albertype Company, denoting the company's use of the collotype (also called albertype) photographic process. The publishing company operated from 1890 to 1952 and produced over 25,000 prints. The Albertype Company produced their own photographs (Adolph was a photographer), as well as reproduced photographic images produced by other companies or individual photographers. Using the prints, the company published postcards and viewbooks. Viewbooks, also called souvenir albums or view albums, are books that contain commercially published groups of photographs depicting a place, activity, or event.
Sources:
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "Albertype Company Photographs, 1910-1950 (V-18A)." Accessed July 1, 2011. http://discover.hsp.org/Record/hsp.opac.v01-165628
- Getty Research Institute: Art & Architecture Thesaurus. "Viewbooks." Accessed June 27, 2011. http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=viewbooks&logic=AND¬e=&english=N&prev_page=1&subjectid=300026684
Scope and Contents
The Panorama of New York, Brooklyn, and Vicinity viewbook was published by the Wittemann Brothers in 1879. The viewbook contains two black-and-white panoramic foldouts of views from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge towers--from the Brooklyn-side tower looking towards Manhattan and from the Manhattan-side tower looking towards Brooklyn. Buildings, businesses, streets, and parks are noted in the margins of the panoramas. The panoramas also document maritime activity on New York Harbor. The viewbook retains its original hardcover, though the foldouts have separated from the binding. Page size for each section of the foldout is 5 x 7.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Reproduction rights for images from the viewbook have not been evaluated. For information on securing rights to publish or reproduce, please see the Brooklyn Historical Society Reproduction Rights Policy.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Panorama of New York, Brooklyn, and Vicinity viewbook, V1986.038, Box number, Object ID number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition for this collection are unknown. The collection was formally accessioned in 1986.
Other Finding Aids
Item level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via the image database in the library. Please consult library staff for more information.
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Processing Information note
Fully processed to the item level.
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This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
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