Series II: Historical Photographs for The Face of New York

Series II consists of a group of ca. 450 photographs 5 x 7 to 11 x 14 inches, that were taken by Feininger for his 1954 book The Face of New York: The City As It Was and As It Is, which contrasted photographs of historical depictions of New York with more modern photographs. This series consists of Feininger's photographs of historical prints, drawings, and artworks (some of which came from the collections of the Museum of the City of New York), and includes copy photographs of the work of earlier New York photographers such as William J. Roege, J.S. Johnston, Jacob Riis, and others. This series does not contain any of Feininger's modern photography used in the book. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by subjects which were assigned during processing. Numerous photographs within this series are duplicates; three folders of 11 x 14 inch duplicate prints are filed at the end of the series; other duplicates are filed together under the appropriate subject. Most of the photographs in this series are not dated and are presumed to have been taken generally in the years before the book's publication in 1954; the subjects depicted in the photographs date from as early as the 17th century, for example in a photograph of a 1651 drawing of houses in New Amsterdam.

Some of the photographs in this series bear Feininger's stamp, but many do not, although they were donated by Feininger as a set from The Face of New York book project.