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George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection

Call Number

PR 24

Date

[1876-1914], inclusive

Creator

Extent

63.1 Linear feet (52 boxes and 2 volumes)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Large-format views in this collection provide detailed, flattering depictions of Manhattan from the 1880s through the 1910s. Included are depictions of early skyscrapers, hotel and theater exteriors, harbor activity, and downtown streets, as well as views of Brooklyn's business areas and resorts. Views of the U.S. Navy's new steel battleships of the 1890s and areas outside New York are included.

The George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection is digitized and available in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Digital Library.

Historical Note

The commercial photography firm George P. Hall & Son operated in Manhattan from 1886 through 1914. Working out of several studios, the firm documented the changing face of New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Hall & Son's photographs were available for general sale, were published in their own calendars and souvenir viewbooks, and appeared as illustrations in such publications as King's Views of New York, Staley's Views of New York, and Harper's Weekly.

George P. Hall (1832-1900) was born in 1832 in Troy, Ohio, and began his career in 1854 as a daguerreotypist in Dayton, Ohio. A year later he opened his first gallery in Indianapolis and then worked in St. Louis, before finally making his way to New York around 1872. He started his commercial photography business at 78 Fulton Street around 1875, and was officially joined by his son James S. Hall in 1886 when firm took the name George P. Hall & Son. The father and son operated the company until 1900, when George P. Hall died. James S. Hall continued to run the business until about 1914. A brief note in the Business Troubles column of the New York Times for June 4, 1914 indicates that creditors were filing a petition against Hall, and that he admitted his insolvency. It is presumed that the firm closed in the wake of these financial difficulties.

The Halls operated several studios in Manhattan. City directories published by Trow indicate that George P. Hall maintained a studio at 78 Fulton Street from 1876 to 1883. He moved his business to 157 Fulton Street in 1883, where he was joined by his son; that studio remained open until 1901. Later shops included those at 303 Broadway from 1890 to 1894, at 52 Water Street from 1897 to 1902, at 212 Broadway from 1901 to 1914, at 364 Bowery from 1902 to 1903, and at 230 Grand Street from 1903 to 1904. The Halls made their residences in Brooklyn, and often turned their cameras toward features of that city as well as Manhattan. They also worked as marine and engineering photographers.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series:

Missing Title

  1. Series I: Photographs of Manhattan
  2. Series II: Photographs of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island
  3. Series III: Photographs Outside New York
  4. Series IV: Photographs by Subject
  5. Series V: Negatives
  6. Series VI: Logbooks

Scope and Content Note

The George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection spans the period from 1876 through 1914 and consists of vintage glass negatives, vintage photographic logbooks, and modern photographic contact prints printed from 1965 to 1975 from Hall & Son's original oversize glass negatives. The collection is arranged into six series: Photographs of Manhattan; Photographs of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island; Photographs Outside New York City; Photographs by Subject; Negatives; and Logbooks. Within each photographic subseries, photographs are divided into unmounted and mounted to accommodate preservation needs.

The large-format views in this collection provide clear, extremely detailed and flattering depictions of a variety of subjects, including Manhattan's early skyscrapers, hotels and theater exteriors, harbor activity, and downtown streets, as well as Brooklyn's business areas and resorts. George P. Hall & Son photographed the Battery skyline repeatedly from the 1880s to the 1910s, documenting the dramatic changes that occurred as New York progressed from a lowrise to a highrise city. Many of Hall & Son's views are notable for their high-angle perspectives. Like many commercial photographers of the time, Hall & Son focused on the highlights of New York; the newest skyscrapers, the record-breaking bridges, and the most popular theaters and attractions. Views in this collection also depict many of the United States Navy's new steel battleships of the 1890s. Also included are some views of the Hall's business premises and family members. Hall & Son primarily documented building exteriors; when interior views are available, this has been noted in the finding aid.

The photographic prints in this collection were made between 1965 and 1975 from George P. Hall & Son's original glass plate negatives ranging in size from 11 x 14 to 11 x 18 to 14 x 17 inches. The majority of the original negatives from which these prints were created have been destroyed. The prints produced between 1965 and 1970 by Klein Brothers are unmounted prints with a matte finish; these show a greater variety of tone than the later high-contrast, glossy prints produced by Compo Photocolor, The International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, and Wometco Photographic Services, which are mounted on paper board.

Some photographs bear brief descriptive captions, dates and negative numbers handwritten in block lettering on the original negatives and printed into the photographs. The majority of the photographs have been captioned on the verso by N-YHS staff; some of these descriptions correspond to those from the original negative sleeves, but many have been assigned progressively as staff members have researched photographs over the years. Some photographs have been given more detailed descriptions than others, reflecting this individual research.

Researchers should be aware that oversize negatives from a variety of other collections belonging to The New-York Historical Society were once integrated into the Hall Collection. While efforts were made during processing to separate out all materials that could be readily attributed to other photographers, some unmarked photographs within this collection may not be the work of George P. Hall & Son. Attributions of these photographs should be made with caution.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to ten exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.) Researchers on site may print out unlimited copies from microfilm reader-printer machines at per-exposure rates. See guidelines in Reading room for details.

Use Restrictions

Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which you wish to quote and a transcription of your quote, to

Library Director
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024

The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection, PR 024, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Provenance

Approximately 2000 vintage negatives from the collection of James S. Hall were purchased on June 20, 1945. The indexes are presumed to have been produced by the George P. Hall & Son firm and were probably donated with the collection. Modern prints were produced between 1968 and 1975 by commercial studios under contract with the New-York Historical Society in an effort to reformat the oversize glass negatives within this collection. Between 1968 and 1972 contact prints were produced by Klein Brothers Studio, New York; between 1974 and 1975 photographic prints were produced by Wometco Photographic Services, Inc., New York, and in 1975, photographic prints were produced by Compo Photocolor, New York. After printing, most of the negatives were destroyed. An additional 103 photographic prints were provided by the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in about 1977 from negatives donated to them by the New-York Historical Society. In 2010, an additional 39 glass plate negatives were donated by Dolores Ballaster.

Related Material at The New-York Historical Society

Other vintage photographic prints by George P. Hall & Son from a variety of sources can be found in the Geographic File (PR 020) and in the George B. Post Architectural Record Collection (PR 053) in the New-York Historical Society's Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections. The Calendar Collection (PR 146) includes George P. Hall & Son's 1907 Calendar, New York Historic & Picturesque. The Album File contains an album (PR 002-208) of photographs by George P. Hall & Son entitled Central Bridge over the Harlem River, New York City, and approaches thereto.

The International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House owns 103 glass negatives by George P. Hall & Son that were originally part of this collection of negatives; modern photographic prints from these negatives are available within this collection. The Museum of the City of New York and the New York Public Library also own photographs by George P. Hall & Son.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital copies are available in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Digital Library.

Collection processed by

Processed by Jennifer Lewis

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:38 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from hall.xml

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024