James Olinkiewicz collection of photographs and ephemera
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
673 stereograph cards of New York City (i.e., Manhattan) landmarks (1850s-circa 1900); one box of photographs and ephemera documenting the activities of the Kit Kat Club, an association of New York City-based artists (1888-1908, 1932); and a scrapbook of theater and recital programs, tickets, and photographs of Boston and some New York productions attended by one Mary E. Thayer (1904-1908, 1910).
Arrangement
This collection is organized in three series:
- Series I.
- Stereographs of New York City and Elsewhere, 1850s-circa 1900
- Series II.
- Kit Kat Club Photographs and Ephemera, 1888-1908, 1932
- Series III.
- Mary E. Thayer Scrapbook, 1904-1908, 1910
Scope and Contents
This collection combines three unrelated parts received together from the same donor:
673 stereograph cards with mid- to late-19th century views of New York City (i.e., Manhattan) landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Trinity Church, Central Park, Broadway, and the Tombs prison. Brooklyn and Staten Island are represented by a few cards, as are various locations throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Photographs, bylaws, printed programs, and invitations documenting the activities of the Kit Kat Club, a New York City-based association of artists organized in 1881 and incorporated in 1884. The club counted among its members such notables as lithographer Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896) and Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase (1841-1916). The Kit Kats sponsored annual summer sketching and painting excursions, three of which are represented by photographs and ephemera here: a week-long trip by barge on the Delaware and Hudson Canal (1895); a camping trip to Pelham Bay on Long Island Sound (1896); and a sail by schooner to Stony Brook, Long Island (1897). This material was assembled by William C. Ostrander, onetime president of the Kit Kat Club, and includes some items from the Salmagundi Club and the Black and White Club, other arts organizations which counted Ostrander as a member.
A scrapbook of programs, playbills, ticket stubs, and photographs from theatrical productions and musical recitals attended by one Mary E. Thayer, mostly in Boston with a few in New York, between October 1904 and September 1908. Thayer notes in the margin who attended each performance, e.g. "Norma & I," "Bert, Blanche & I," etc.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections holdings through publication must be obtained from: Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 270. Fax: (212) 579-8794.
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as the James Olinkiewicz Collection of Photographs and Ephemera, PR 404, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Credit line for exhibitions: James Olinkiewicz.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of James Olinkiewicz, 2018 (accession no. PPAC-2018-037).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta arranged and described this collection in September 2019.
Repository
Series I. Stereographs of New York City and Elsewhere, 1850s-circa 1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
673 stereograph cards with mid- to late-19th century views of New York City (i.e., Manhattan) landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Trinity Church, Central Park, Broadway, and the Tombs prison. Brooklyn and Staten Island are represented by a few cards, as are various locations throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Arrangement
Series I is organized in four sub-series, each of which is arranged by image topic:
- Sub-series I.A.
- New York City—Bridges, Harbor, Shipping, Rivers
- Sub-series I.B.
- New York City—Manhattan
- Sub-series I.C.
- New York City—Brooklyn & Staten Island
- Sub-series I.D.
- New York State, Pennsylvania, Vermont
Sub-series I.A. New York City—Bridges, Harbor, Shipping, Rivers
NYC—Bridges—Broadway [1 card], [circa 1866-1867], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Brooklyn—Construction [20 cards], [1869-1883], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Brooklyn—General [16 cards], [1883-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Brooklyn—Scenes on [7 cards], [1883-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Brooklyn—Views from [5 cards], [1883-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Harlem River crossings [2 cards], [circa 1900?], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—High Bridge [11 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Bridges—Washington [2 cards], [1888-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Battery & Castle Garden (Castle Clinton) [11 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Castle Williams [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Ferries [13 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Piers & docks [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Shipping scenes [16 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Ships—Foreign [6 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Ships—Sailing [10 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Harbor—Ships—Steam [27 cards in 2 folders], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Rivers—East River [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Rivers—Harlem River & Ship Canal [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
NYC—Rivers—Hudson (North) River [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Sub-series I.B. New York City—Manhattan
Manhattan—Alms House Commissioners Office [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Apartment houses—Dakota [1 card], [1884-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Banks [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Bank for Saving (Bleecker near Broadway); German Savings Bank (14th Street corner Fourth Avenue); Park Bank Building.
Manhattan—Bible House [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church [1 card], [1850s-1895], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Church of the Covenant [1 card], [1865-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Church of the Holy Trinity [1 card], [1850s-1873], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Congregation Emanu-El [3 cards], [1868-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Grace Church [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—St. George's Church [2 cards], [1865-1889], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Trinity Church [8 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Churches & Synagogues—Unidentified [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—City Hall [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Clinton Hall (a.k.a. Astor Opera House) [2 cards], [1850s-1890], inclusive
Manhattan—Commodities exchanges [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Corn Exchange; Produce Exchange.
Manhattan—Courthouses [3 cards], [circa 1862-1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Jefferson Market Courthouse; Tweed Courthouse.
Manhattan—Department stores—A. T. Stewart [8 cards], [1862-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Drug stores—Hembold's [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Ethnic groups [2 cards], 1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Hebrew Quarter; Italian Quarter.
Manhattan—Field Building / Washington Building [2 cards], [circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Five Points House of Industry [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Hall of Records [8 cards], [1850s-circa 1873], inclusive
Manhattan—Hospitals [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Bellevue Hospital; Lenox Hospital.
Manhattan—Hotels [19 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Albermarle House; Astor House; Harry Bertholf's Hotel on Harlem Lane; Hotel Brunswick; Fifth Avenue Hotel; Grand Hotel; Grand Central Hotel (later Broadway Central Hotel); Lafarge House; St. Nicholas Hotel; Windsor Hotel.
Manhattan—Markets [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Fulton Market; Manhattan Market.
Manhattan—Masonic Temple [2 cards], [1875-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Metropolitan Sanitary Fair [1 card], 1864, inclusive
Manhattan—Museums—Barnum's [1 card], 1868, inclusive
Manhattan—Newspaper buildings [14 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Evening Post; Herald (Park Row and Herald Square); Staats Zeitung; Tribune; World.
Manhattan—Panoramic views [22 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parades—General [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parades—Naval [3 cards], 1898, inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Bowling Green [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Bryant Park (Reservoir Square) [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Arbors [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Arsenal [4 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Bridges [10 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Cave & Ice Spring [4 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Events & sports [3 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Fountains [3 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Goat Carts [1 card], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Horses [1 card], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Ice Skating [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Lake / Pond [7 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Mall [3 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Menagerie [1 card], [1864-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Mt. St. Vincent [1 card], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Obelisk [2 cards], 188-1896, inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Ramble [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Roads [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Statuary [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Structures [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Central Park—Swings [2 cards], [1857-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Chatham Square [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—City Hall Park [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Madison Square [1 card], 1900, inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Printing House Square [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Parks & Squares—Union Square [10 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Post Office (City Hall Park) [11 cards], [circa 1880-1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Railroads—Depots—General [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Harlem River Railroad; unidentified.
Manhattan—Railroads—Depots—Grand Central (1871) [7 cards], [1871-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Railroads—Elevated [30 cards in 2 folders], [circa 1870s-1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Residences—A. T. Stewart [3 cards], [1869-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Residences—Vanderbilt Mansion [2 cards], [1882-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Residences—Interiors [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Restaurants—Delmonico's [1 card], [1862-1876], inclusive
Manhattan—Schools & colleges—Cooper Institute / Cooper Union [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Schools & colleges—Free Academy [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Schools & colleges—National Academy of Design [4 cards], [1865-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Schools & colleges—New York University [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Stock Exchange [2 cards], [circa 1865-1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Street life [10 cards], [circa 1900], inclusive
Scope and Contents
"Peddling ties on the Bowery"; "A New York Street Organ"; "Scene in New York"; "Scene in N.Y. Slums"; "Boot Blacks"; "Try Your Weight."
Manhattan—Streets—14th [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—55th [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Battery Place [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Bowery [9 cards], [circa 1870s-1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Pine [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Fulton [7 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Murray [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Chambers [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Pearl [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Canal [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Grand [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Broome [8 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Prince [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Houston [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ 8th Street [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ Union Square [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ 23rd Street & Fifth Avenue [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway @ 33rd Street [1 card], [1870s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway—"on a rainy day" [6 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway—"burst of sunlight after a shower" [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Broadway—General [28 cards in 3 folders], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Five Points [6 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—New Bowery & Roosevelt [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Park Place [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Park Row [6 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—South [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—Wall [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets—West [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Streets, Avenues—Fifth [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Tammany Hall / Tammany Hotel [5 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Academy of Music [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Bryant's Opera House [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Central Park Garden [2 cards], [1868-circa 1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Gilmore's Garden (Madison Square Garden) [1 card], [circa 1876], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Niblo's [3 cards], [1850s-1895], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Olympic [1 card], [1850s-1881], inclusive
Manhattan—Theaters—Wallack's [3 cards], [circa 1861-1900], inclusive
Manhattan—Tombs (prison), old [12 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Sub-series I.C. New York City—Brooklyn & Staten Island
Brooklyn—Brooklyn Navy Yard [3 cards], [1860s-circa 1900], inclusive
Brooklyn—Churches [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1880], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Elm Place Congregational Church; Plymouth Church.
Brooklyn—Coney Island [10 cards], [1870s-circa 1900], inclusive
Brooklyn—Green-Wood Cemetery [7 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Brooklyn—Prospect Park [5 cards], [circa 1867-1900], inclusive
Staten Island—Quarantine [2 cards], before 1858, inclusive
Staten Island—Stapleton [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Sub-series I.D. New York State, Pennsylvania, Vermont
New York—Albany (?) [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Chenango Bridge [2 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Cold Spring [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Garrison [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Kenwood [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Lake George [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Oswego [1 card], [circa 1873-1881], inclusive
New York—Poughkeepsie [1 card], [circa 1861-1900], inclusive
New York—Pulaski [3 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Rochester [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Saratoga / Saratoga Springs [4 cards], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—Tarrytown [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
New York—West Point [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Pennsylvania—Starrucca Creek [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Vermont—St. Johnsbury [1 card], [1850s-circa 1900], inclusive
Series II. Kit Kat Club Photographs and Ephemera, 1888-1908, 1932, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Photographs, bylaws, printed programs, and invitations documenting the activities of the Kit Kat Club, a New York City-based association of artists organized in 1881 and incorporated in 1884. The club counted among its members such notables as lithographer Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896) and Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase (1841-1916). The Kit Kats sponsored annual summer sketching and painting excursions, three of which are represented by photographs and ephemera here: a week-long trip by barge on the Delaware and Hudson Canal (1895); a camping trip to Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx (1896); and a sail by schooner to Stony Brook, Long Island (1897). This material was assembled by William C. Ostrander, onetime president of the Kit Kat Club, and includes some items from the Salmagundi Club and the Black and White Club, other arts organizations which counted Ostrander as a member.
Arrangement
The material in Series II was originally pasted or laid in a scrapbook, but had been removed and possibly reordered before it came to the New-York Historical Society. The archivist has left the photographs in the order in which they arrived, but has grouped the loose ephemera chronologically.
Kit Kat Club. Collection description, undated, inclusive
Kit Kat Club. Photographs [5 folders], circa 1895-1897, inclusive
Kit Kat Club. Newspaper clippings, 1895-1897, inclusive
Kit Kat Club. Ephemera [13 folders], 1888-1908, undated, inclusive
Salmagundi Club. Ephemera, 1897-1898, inclusive
Black and White Club. Ephemera, 1900, undated, inclusive
Nan Kee letter to William C. Ostrander & family, 1932 April-May, inclusive
Series III. Mary E. Thayer Scrapbook, 1904-1908, 1910, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Scrapbook of programs, playbills, ticket stubs, and photographs from theatrical productions and musical recitals attended by one Mary E. Thayer, mostly in Boston with a few in New York, between October 1904 and November 1908. Thayer notes in the margin who attended each performance, e.g. "Norma & I," "Bert, Blanche & I," etc.
Arrangement
The scrapbook runs chronologically, from October 1904 through November 1908, then skips to April 1910, where it ends.