Samuel Hollyer's Old New York Views
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Date
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
Samuel Hollyer's Old New York views were created at the turn of the twentieth century to recall sites and scenes in the city and the Hudson River Valley that had largely disappeared in the previous three centuries. The images are of historically important sites, houses, taverns, churches, forts, theaters, and public buildings.
Biographical Note
Samuel Hollyer (1826-1919) was born in London, England, where he was trained as an engraver by the brothers Edward and William Finden. He came to the United States in 1851, and worked for various New York book publishers until 1860 when he returned to England to live.
Six years later, Hollyer came back to America, settling in Hudson Heights, near Guttenberg, New Jersey, a small community across the Hudson River from Manhattan. He commuted daily to his studio in New York, where he created line and stipple engravings, mezzotints, and etchings for various publications and print collectors. Bookplates were one of his specialties, as were portraits of literary celebrities.
Samuel Hollyer died in New York in December 1919, at the age of 93. His obituary in the New York Times described him as "one of the last, if not the very last, of the old school of line engravers."
Arrangement
The collection is divided into three series, one each for the bound volumes described above. Thereunder, prints in each volume are arranged in an alphabetical order.
Missing Title
- Series I. Old New York, Volume I
- Series II. Old New York, Volume II
- Series III. Old New York, Volume III
Scope and Content Note
Samuel Hollyer's Old New York views were created at the turn of the twentieth century to recall sites and scenes in the city and the Hudson River Valley that had largely disappeared in the previous three centuries. It is unknown by what system and in what quantity Hollyer issued his prints, but they were collected by antiquarians and prominent New Yorkers including J. Clarence Davies, who owned 141 Old New York prints bound into three volumes with letterpress printed title and text pages. The Davies volumes are in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York (Acc. No. 29.100.302 A-C, each with a Davies bookplate by Hollyer), and it is that set that was used to assign the numbers used to arrange the prints in PR 086. The New-York Historical Society prints are disbound and have only the set of title and text pages from volume I (prints 1 through 65). The N-YHS Volume I originals and photocopies, made from the Davies volumes, of the texts in Volumes II and III are filed before the corresponding prints.
The collection is divided into three series, one each for the bound volumes described above. Thereunder, prints in each volume are arranged in an alphabetical order and numbered according to that order. The numbering system continues throughout the three volumes, but each volume is individually alphabetically arranged.
The prints are titled in Hollyer's hand in the margin, and are numbered according to the text pages, which give a paragraph-long description of the location and importance of each site. Many prints have a number written in a different hand in pencil in the lower right corner; this number does not always correspond to the number assigned to the print in the text. Another hand has annotated some of the titles and dates given as that contemporary to the view. These annotations appear in the container list in brackets. Titles in the container list are taken from the published text.
Duplicate prints exist for about twenty percent of the prints, and are housed in a folder at the end of the numerical run of prints.
Subjects
Genres
People
Topics
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to thirty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. See guidelines in Print Room for details.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from:
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282Fax: (212) 579-8794
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 Samuel Hollyer's Old New York Views, PR 086, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Provenance
The collection has been compiled from gifts from various donors.
About this Guide
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Old New York, Volume I
Scope and Contents note
Series I. Volume I holds sixty-five prints engraved by Hollyer between 1901 and 1905, and issued in a set under the title OLD NEW YORK/VIEWS/BY/S. HOLLYER/New York, 1905. The images are of historically important sites, houses, taverns, forts, theaters, and public buildings dating from 1653 (the Water Gate, a gate and blockhouse in lower Manhattan) to 1899 (the Dewey Arch). Over half of the images represent 19th-century sites, with most of the remainder from the 18th century. Castle Garden, Fraunces' Tavern, and the Tombs Prison are pictured in this series.
Prints in Series I are arranged by numbers in the order established by the text issued with the prints.
Text issued with Volume I, 1905
1. Andre's Prison, 1777, 1901
2. Audubon Estate, 1852, 1903
3. Belvedere Club, 1794, undated
4. Bowery Theatre, 1826, [1903]
5. Broadway Theatre, 1859, undated
6. Buckhorn Tavern (22nd St. & Bdy), 1812, undated
7. Broad St. & Federal Hall, 1798 [1789], undated
8. Burn's Coffee House (front view), 1760, undated
9. Burn's Coffee House (rear), 1760, undated
10. Bowling Green, 1830, 1904
11. Burnham's Hotel, Bloomingdale Road, 1852, undated
12. Castle Garden, 1852, 1904
13. Cato's Inn - Old Post Road, 1715, 1904
14. Catherine Market, 1850, 1903
15. City Hall, 1852, 1905
16. City Hall & Park, 1849, 1903
17. Collect Pond, 1802, undated
18. Croton Aquaduct [sic], 1850, 1903
19. Dewey Arch, 1899, undated
20. Dutch Cottages, Beaver St., 1679, undated
21. De Wint House (Tappan), 1700, 1903
22. First Hotel, New Amsterdam, 1642, undated
23. First Merchants' Exchange, 1790, 1904
24. Fort Fish (McGowan's Pass), 1814, undated
25. Fraunces' Tavern, 1777, undated
26. Fly Market, 1816, 1903
27. Franklin Market, 1820, 1903
28. Gov. Geo. Clinton's House - Pearl St. [1856], 1903
29. Old Gotham Inn - Bowery, 1850, 1904
30. Old Golden Tavern, 1792, 1904
31. Hamilton Grange, 1802, undated
32. Hell Gate, 1775, 1904
33. John St. Theatre, 1767, undated
34. Jumel Mansion, 1810, undated
35. Little Church round the corner built 1849, 1903
36. Madison Cottage, 23rd St. & Bdy, 1852, undated
37. McComb's Dam Bridge, 1850, undated
38. No. 1 Broadway - Washington Hotel, 1851, 1904
39. New York Tattersall's, 1840, undated
40. Niblo's Garden, rear view, 1820, undated
41. New Amsterdam, 1664, 1904
42. Old Brewery, Five Points, 1852, undated
43. Old Blue Bell Tavern, Kingsbridge, 1785, undated
44. Old Bull's Head Tavern, 1762, undated
45. Park Theatre, 1831, undated
46. Poe's Cottage, Fordham, 1852, undated
47. Rip Van Dam Church, 1729, undated
48. Peter Stuyvesant's Town House, undated
49. Peter Stuyvesant's Country House, 14th St., 1658, undated
50. State St., and Battery Park, 1852, 1903
51. Strawberry Hill Hotel (now Woodlawn), 1852, undated
52. Shakespeare Tavern, 1820, 1904
53. St. George's Church - Beekman St., 1752, 1904
54. St. John's Church, 1829, 1903
55. St. Luke's Church, 1850, 1903
56. Tombs Prison, 1850, 1903
57. Trinity Church, 1791, undated
58. Tontine Coffee House, 1796, 1903
59. Turtle Bay - East River [1853], 1904
60. U.S. Bank & Insurance Offices, 1798, 1904
61. Old Vandenheuvel Mansion, 1759, 1904
62. Van Rensselaer's Manor House, 1680, undated
63. Van Cortland Manor House, 1820, 1904
64. Water Gate, 1653, 1904
65. Washington's House, Cherry Street, 1777, 1901
Series II. Old New York, Volume II
Scope and Contents note
Series II. Volume II holds forty more engravings of similar scenes as those found in Volume I. The prints are numbered 66 through 110 and issued under a 1909 title page. The prints were made between 1905 and 1908, and capture historic places dating from 1626 (Fort Amsterdam) to 1859 (Washington Market). Again, most of the images are of places prominent in the 19th century, and include street scenes as well as houses, hotels, taverns, schools, churches, etc. Columbia College, the College of the City of New York, Bellevue Hospital, and Washington Market are prominent buildings pictured in this series. The prints have been arranged by print numbers found in the text pages of MCNY's Davies set.
Prints in series II are arranged by their numbers, which follows the order established by the text issued with the prints. Print titles in brackets and in italic are part of the original set but are not represented in this collection.
Copy of text issued with Volume II, 1909
66. Apthorpe Mansion, 1790, 1907
67. [Astor House, 1831], undated
68. Bellevue Hospital, 1830, 1907
69. Broad Street, 1659, 1905
70. Bull's Head [Hotel] (24th St & 3rd Ave.), 1830, 1908
71. City Hotel, 1831, 1907
72. Columbia College, 1828, 1906
73. College of the City of New York, 1820 [1848], 1906
74. [Van] De Voor Farm, 1698, 1906
75. Eden Farm, 1797, 1905
76. First French Church, 1688 [ca. 1750], 1905
77. First Garden Street Church, 1693, 1906
78. First Brick Presbyterian Church, 1768, 1905
79. [First Trip of Fulton's Steamboat 1807]
80. First Watch House in NY, 1700, 1907
81. Fort Amsterdam [1626], 1908
82. Fort George, 1750, 1908
83. Fort Lafayette, 1850, 1908
84. Old Fulton Ferry, 1746, 1908
85. Government House, 1790, 1905
86. Gouverneur Morris' House, 1798, 1905
87. [House in Twenty-third Street] Residence of Mayor Tieman'sFather (22nd St.), 1850, 1908
88. Hunt's Mansion, 1770 [1790], 1906
89. Jefferson Market [1857], 1907
90. Kingsbridge Road (near Dykeman's Farm), 1855, 1908
91. New York City Reservoir, 1829, 1907
92. No. 1 Strand, 1690, 1906
93. North Church Fulton [1769], 1906
94. North Fort and U.S. Frigate Constitution, 1832, 1907
95. [Old Ferry House, Broad Street, 1700]
96. Old Grapevine Inn [Tavern}, 1851, 1906
97. Old National Theatre, 1839, 1906
98. Old Post Office, 1850, 1907
99. Phillipse Manor House (Yonkers), 1855, 1908
100. [Riker Estate, 1830]
101. Rotunda, 1816, 1905
102. [Shot Tower, 1836]
103. [Shot Tower - Centre Street, 1858]
104. Theological Seminary, 1833, 1906
105. Union Square & Broadway, 1849, 1905
106. Van Nest House, 1830, 1907
107. Wall Street, 1825, 1906
108. Walton House, 1784, 1907
109. Washington Market, 1859, 1907
110. New York Harbor & Yacht Fancy, 1717, 1905
Series III: Old New York, Volume III
Scope and Contents note
Series III. Volume III contains thirty-one more plates, dating in history from 1609 (The Half Moon) to 1888 (The Statue of Liberty), created by Hollyer between 1908 and 1910. The prints are numbered 111 through 141 and were issued under a 1912 title page. This series contains more landscape type views than the other two, including views of the East River and lower Manhattan. The New-York Historical Society building of 1851 is shown. The prints have been arranged by print numbers found in the text pages of MCNY's Davies set.
Prints in series III are arranged by their numbers, which follows the order established by the text issued with the prints. Print titles in brackets and in italic are part of the original set but are not represented in this collection.