J. S. Johnston photographs
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Abstract
Collection of photographs taken circa 1890-1899 by J.S Johnston, including original glass negatives and modern gelatin silver photographic prints. The photographs are pleasant pictorial depictions of New York City landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Union Square, and Castle Garden, as well as of Niagara Falls, Boston landmarks, the Hudson River valley, Puerto Rico, Montreal, and Quebec. There are also some images of shipping, and of Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody) and his Wild West show. All negatives and photographs bear Johnston's handwritten captions and numbers, and most are dated. Photographic prints in this collection were printed in the 1960s and 1970s from oversize vintage glass negatives that were later destroyed. Online version.
Biographical / Historical
John S. Johnston (circa 1839–1899) was a late 19th-century maritime and landscape photographer best known for his images of yachts and New York City landmarks. His work appeared in 1890s periodicals that featured boat racing, such as Outing Magazine, and Forest and Stream (later absorbed by Field & Stream).
For the scant known details of Johnston's life, see his obituary in the New York Times: "Dies Trying to Hide Identity," December 19, 1899.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in two series based on format. Items within each series are arranged by Johnston's negative numbers.
- Series I.
- Negatives, circa 1890-1899
- Series II.
- Photographic Prints, circa 1892-1895
Scope and Contents
The bulk of J. S. Johnston's images in this collection show popular sites in Manhattan at the end of the 19th-century, including churches (Trinity Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Church of the Transfiguration, affectionately called the "Little Church Around the Corner"), bridges (Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Bridge), statuary (Christopher Columbus in Central Park, Nathan Hale in City Hall Park), parks (Central Park and Union Square), and early skyscrapers (St. Paul Building, Manhattan Life Building). Views farther afield were taken at Niagara Falls, and in Massachusetts (Longfellow's House at Cambridge, and the Old South Church, King's Chapel, and Old State House in Boston), Montreal, Quebec (city and province), and Puerto Rico.
The complete collection of J. S. Johnston photographs has been digitized and may be viewed online through the New-York Historical Society's Shelby White and Leon Levy Digital Library.
Subjects
Organizations
Places
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.
Use Restrictions
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: J. S. Johnston Photographs, PR-219, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was removed from the Negative File (PR-045) and the George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection (PR-024) in 2003.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Jennifer Lewis organized and described this collection in February 2003. Joseph Ditta migrated her WORD-document inventory to ArchivesSpace in July 2020.
Repository
Series I. Negatives, circa 1890-1899, inclusive
Arrangement
Negatives are filed by Johnston's handwritten numbers. Descriptions are the photographer's. Unless noted otherwise, all negatives measure 8 x 10 inches.
St. Paul Building, N.Y. [negative 7], 1897, inclusive
New York Bay from Brooklyn Bridge [negative 13], undated, inclusive
Castle Garden & Bay, N.Y. [negative 16], undated, inclusive
Manhattan Club, N.Y. (Residence of A.T. Stewart) [negative 38], 1899, inclusive
Brooklyn Bridge, N.Y. (4 views) [negatives 52-60], 1897, undated, inclusive
The Waldorf Astoria [negative 63A], 1898, inclusive
Union Trust Co. Building & Trinity Churchyard, N.Y. [negative 72 (copy negative)], undated, inclusive
Washington Bridge, N.Y. [negative 117], 1893 April, inclusive
Elephants in Central Park [negative 147], undated, inclusive
Statue of Columbus, Central Park, N.Y. [negative 165A], 1895 February, inclusive
Broadway, N.Y. [negative 202], 1895, inclusive
Castle Williams, Governor's Island, N.Y. [negative 206], undated, inclusive
Printing House Square, N.Y. [negative 217], circa 1890-1899, inclusive
New Armory 22nd Regiment N.G.S., N.Y. [negative 230], [undated?], inclusive
Washington Bridge, 181st St., N.Y. [negative 233], undated, inclusive
Wall Street, N.Y. [negative 244], undated, inclusive
St. Patrick's Cathedral - Pulpit [negative 271 (copy negative)], undated, inclusive
Interior, Trinity Church, N.Y. [negative 273], undated, inclusive
Statue of Nathan Hale, N.Y. (City Hall Park) [negative 288], 1894, inclusive
Longfellow's House, Cambridge, Mass. [negative 423], undated, inclusive
Old South Church, Boston [negative 431], undated, inclusive
King's Chapel, Boston [negative 434], undated, inclusive
Old State House, Boston [negative 435], undated, inclusive
Hudson River (7 views) [negatives 509-540], 1894-1899, undated, inclusive
Niagara Falls (11 views) [negatives 605-638], 1894, undated, inclusive
Niagara Falls (cont.) (14 views) [negatives 640-682], 1892, undated, inclusive
S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse [negative 795], 1897, inclusive
U.S. Rev. Cutter Grant [negative 800], undated, inclusive
New Orleans, U.S.N. (at Navy Yard, N.Y.) [negative 809], 1898 April 20, inclusive
Castine, U.S.N. [negative 886], undated, inclusive
Rockaway Beach [negative 930], undated, inclusive
Gulls, N.Y. Bay [negative 996], 1897, inclusive
Montreal, Canada (9 views) [negatives 1002-1020], 1897, undated, inclusive
Quebec, Canada (city and province) (11 views) [negatives 1030-1108], undated, inclusive
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (6 views) [negatives 1115-1123], circa 1892, inclusive
Viking Ship [negative 1249], undated, inclusive
Ojo de Agua, Aquadilla, Puerto Rico (5 x 8 in.) [negative 1311], undated, inclusive
Mayaquez [Mayagüez], Puerto Rico (5 views) (5 x 8 in.) [negatives 1313-1319], undated, inclusive
Series II. Photographic Prints, circa 1892-1895, inclusive
Arrangement
Photographic prints are filed by Johnston's negative numbers. Dates reflect when the photographs were taken. The prints (with the exception of number 208, which is vintage) were made from oversize vintage glass negatives in the 1960s and 1970s as part of a reformatting project. The negatives were subsequently destroyed.