Series II. Albums of lettersheets
Scope and Contents note
This series contains two albums of lettersheets, one compiled by Bella Landauer, and one by an unknown compiler. These albums were disbound in 2002 but their original order has been maintained in file folders.
The Landauer album is loosely organized geographically. Several sheets show Canadian and American midwestern and east coast cities, but the majority have views of New York City and other cities in New York State. Maps, as opposed to pictorial views, of Albany and Buffalo are included here. Views of Washington D.C. are filed with lettersheets containing pictures of U.S. presidents, and those printed with the text of the Declaration of Independence. Most of the sheets were published by Magnus, and many have been used for correspondence.
The Magnus sample album is in random order. Many sheets in this album are from Magnus' numbered "Views of New York and its Environs" series, and often duplicate views found in Series I. Additional views of New York in this subseries include those of New York City parks and squares, boats in the harbor, and several views of Coney Island and Brighton Beach. This album also contains sheets from Magnus' "150 Letter-head Paintings of New York and Environs, Hudson River and Catskill Mountains" and "24 Views of Cities, Towns, and Scenery on the Hudson and the Catskill Mountains" series, which are not represented elsewhere in the collection. At the time of disbinding, a folder of loose sheets existed with the marking "removed from album by unknown hand." This folder follows those containing sheets removed from the album in 2002.