Recent For the Record articles have advertised on-line publication of “resource records” for significant Municipal Archives collections. On the Waterfront: A Dip Into New York City’s Most Valued but Least Understood Real Estate highlighted the waterfront survey map series. “A True and Perfect Inventory” - The Municipal Archives Collection of 18th and 19th-century Estate Records, Part One and “A True and Perfect Inventory” - The Municipal Archives Collection of 18th and 19th-century Estate Records, Part Two described the estate record collection.
Fireman and two Dalmation dogs, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Resource records provide complete information about collections, including finding guides, inventories and links to digital assets. This week, For the Record focuses attention on the resource record published for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Photograph Collection.
Fire in progress, location unknown, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Transferred to the Municipal Archives in the 1980s, the images consist of 720 black and white photographs, the bulk of which are glass negatives. There are also a small number of vintage prints, glass transparencies, and color negatives and prints. Although the date range is 1900 to 1969, most pre-date 1931.
Not surprisingly, the pictures depict New York City Fire Department personnel, facilities, apparatus, and fire scenes. There are a few instances, however, where relevance to the Fire Department is not obvious. For example, there are several photographs of the White House in Washington D.C. Based on the presumed date, 1901, it seems possible that the Fire Department sent a photographer to document the inauguration of New Yorker and former Police Department Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt.
Statue of Andrew Jackson with White House in background, Washington, D.C., 1901. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
The good news is that the glass-plate format provides crystal sharp images; the less-than-good news is that any extant caption information did not survive transfer to the Archives. Processing archivists identified the pictures as much as possible based on clues such as license plates which previously included the year when the State issued the tag.
Firemen demonstrate resuscitation techniques, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
The bulk of the pictures in the collection pre-date establishment of the Fire Department Photographic Unit in 1956. The pictures are apparently “official” in the sense that the photographer must have been employed by or in some way connected to the Fire Department. One photographer, E.A. Waterman, has been positively identified as responsible for some of the pictures.
Although relatively few in number (less than one thousand) compared to most Municipal Archives photograph collections, and somewhat light on descriptive information, their glass-plate format and often dramatic scenes make it an exceptionally valuable collection. Take a minute to view these examples and then take a dive into the full collection.
Horse-drawn Steamer, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire Department Headquarters, Brooklyn, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
1937 Ward La France, Searchlight No. 1. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire and Police Department Baseball Teams, with Mayor James J. Walker, City Hall, ca. 1926. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire Company, location unknown, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire Department Band, City Hall, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire in progress at Dow’s Stores, New York Dock Company, Pacific Street, Brooklyn, n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Fire at the Fulton and Flatbush Storage Company, 437-445 Carlton Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y., n.d. Fire Department of New York Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.