On a recent tour of the Archival collections, a visitor asked to view the contents of a box from the collection of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The collection is large, more than 720 cubic feet and includes records from his service as a member of Congress through his three terms as Mayor. This particular box had an intriguing label: “Greeting Cards.”
The Old Town Records Collection: A Frenchman’s Possessions
Records in the Municipal Archives sometimes offer a glimpse of what people owned in the past. An entry in the Town of Bushwick records gives us a rare glimpse into the belongings of a Brooklyn resident more than 350 years ago. The entry is titled “Inventory of the property which was found in the house of Jan Maljaart, a Frenchman, on April 29, 1664.”
Birds of America
The proposed sale generated controversy, much of which was spelled out in letters to The New York Times. The president of Lathrop C. Harper, an antiquarian book dealer, wrote that selling the folio was “poor stewardship.” Even more problematic was the plan to sell the prints separately, “The city has been extremely ill advised by Sotheby’s to embark on a course of destruction of historical and bibliographical evidence.”
New Utrecht: A Library Catalogue, circa 1796
New Netherlands. Long Island. Kings County. Brooklyn. New York City. New Utrecht can claim being part of all these jurisdictions during its long history. Established in 1652 as one of the original six towns in Kings County, New Utrecht is now better known as the Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst neighborhoods in the Borough of Brooklyn.
Recently, archivists processing the Old Town record collection discovered a document titled, “Catalogue of Lane District Library New Utrecht” that gives us unique insight into colonial-era libraries and schools.
Auctions
This week we announced that several non-archival artifacts are available for purchase at an auction of selected Gifts to the City. Proceeds of the auction will benefit the Municipal Archives Reference and Research Fund (MARRF) which supports the work of the Municipal Archives and Library.
The Municipal Record Keepers: Eugene J. Bockman
This week’s article features Eugene J. Bockman, Municipal Reference Library Director (1958-1975), and DORIS’ first Commissioner (1977-1989). Born on July 23, 1923, Bockman served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, flying 29 missions in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Science at City College, and a Bachelor of Library Science at Pratt Institute in 1950.