New York City preservationists are the protectors of our historic structures, and on occasion architecturally significant buildings are reused to serve contemporary needs.

The building which houses the Baruch College Library and Technology Center, 151 East 25th Street, is a building with a past, part of which is revealed in the December 14, 1895 edition of the Record and Guide which is part of our Durst Collection.

The Lexington Building, Record and Guide 1895

The article tells us that: “The building which has just been completed for the Lexington Avenue Cable Road to be known as the Lexington Building, is a monument of strength and beauty, and marks the era of a new departure in modern and progressive building for that vicinity.”

Although the Metropolitan Street Railway Company occupied the lower portion of the building, offices were available on the upper floors, and the publishing houses that were making their home in the surrounding area were possible new tenants.

McClure’s Magazine, beginning in 1896 (Trow’s, 1896) occupied 141 East 25th Street (the address of the building was 141-151 East 25th Street) and remained a tenant through 1903 (Trow’s, 1903). McClure’s Magazine is significant in periodical history for having started the tradition of investigative journalism known as muckracking, which helps define the reform movements of the early 20th century. Some of the contributors over the years were Willa Cather, Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell.

McClures Magazine 1901. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McClure’s

At the same time that McClure’s Magazine occupied 141 East 25th Street, our distinguished alumnus, Upton Sinclair was attending classes two blocks away at 17 Lexington Avenue, the home of the College of the City of New York, graduating in 1897. After college he achieved his fame when he joined the ranks of the muckrackers. His investigation of the Chicago meat-packing industry, resulted in his writing The Jungle in 1906 which immediately became a success.

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair

The experiences of Upton Sinclair during his years as a student at the College of the City of New York were the seeds from which his genius grew.  Upton might have walked past 141-151 East 25th or he might even have visited the offices of McClure’s. We will probably never know, but we do know that this building has undiscovered ghosts which remain for the researcher to discover.

Working in an archive, an archivist never knows what might turn up. This week when researching information for another blog post I was reading through a 1900 edition of Washington Irving’s The Knickerbocker History of New York, when I turned the page and nestled between the pages was a certificate for perfect attendance for Susie Wright at P.S. 38 in New York City. How it got there or why it was in this book is a mystery which will never be solved. However, we can conjecture that perhaps this was her book and she placed the certificate there later in life for safe-keeping, but no one can be certain.

Knickerbocker’s History of New York by Washington Irving, 1900.

Testimonial of Merit is Awarded to Susie Wright P.S. 38, March 1878

What secrets can this certificate reveal?  How can we go about finding more information? The first task is to identify what kinds of primary sources can be used for finding more information. The possible sources that might help in our quest include New York City directories, directories of the Board of Education, maps, photographs, and possibly contemporary periodical or newspaper articles.

To locate the directories I used our database Gateway to North America: People, Places and Organizations of 19th Century New York. I wanted to see where P.S. 38 was located and the Directory of the Board of Education of the City and County of New York, January, 1878, provided that information. I found that it was on the corner of 118th Street and Avenue A. Miss Helen E. Boyce had signed the certificate as the Principal of the school and she was listed in the directory with her home address which was 525 East 86th Street.

Miss. Helen E. Boyce, Principal of Primary School 38, corner of 118th street and Avenue A, Twelfth Ward. Courtesy of Directory of the Board of Education of the City and County of New York, 1878.

I checked the same directory for the year 1877 and Miss Boyce was listed. Unfortunately the database doesn’t have directories for 1874-1876 and the 1873 one is incomplete. I checked the 1870 volume and Miss Boyce was not there, concluding that she began her tenure at P.S. 38 between 1871 and 1877. She does show up in the 1879 volume but by 1881 she disappears. To find out more about Miss Boyce I checked Trow’s New York City Directory where her occupation and street address would be listed. In the 1880 volume she is listed as a teacher with a new street address, 227 East 116th Street, very close to the school. However, our story ends because the next year, 1881, she is no longer in the directory.

Now, can we find anything about our scholar, Susie Wright? That is more difficult and unfortunately I was unable to unlock anything about her. The route I took to try and find out information was to check the New York City directory for 1878 for Wrights but that is a very common name and many Wrights lived in the vicinity of the school, so that would take a search of census records and using Ancestry.com I did not yield any positive results.

What would other sources reveal? Using the New York Public Library Digital Gallery I had access to Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases which began to be published in 1867 and showed in detail what was on every street in New York City. An 1885 image showed the school and the surrounding area. What we also discovered was that a year after Susie received her certificate, Avenue A became Pleasant Avenue. We also located some pictures of the street in 1920 which was a surprising find.

Map of Primary School 38, Pleasant Ave (Former Ave. A) and 118th street. Courtesy of NYPL: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-09a6-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Views of the block of P.S. 38 118th Street, between Pleasant Ave and the East River Drive (FDR Drive).
Image on Left: Students playing on the street of P.S. 38 (can be seen on the far right), Circa 1920s courtesy of NYPL: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-171e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Image on Right: Contemporaneous image of 118th street. Courtesy of Google Maps.

Building on the left, former PS 38. Courtesy of Google Maps

Susie Wright would have been forgotten had it not been for this single sheet of paper and two inquisitive archivists.

At the end of the 19th century there emerged a new class of wealth in America. Fortunes had been made by industrialists, businessmen and other enterprising entrepreneurs who lived extravagantly and often flaunted their fortunes. They were able to obtain everything that they wanted, but often entrance into the social elite world of old American money was unobtainable. To strengthen their case for acceptance, many of these fathers sent their daughters to England to find a husband among the aristocracy, consequently giving their daughters status and a title.

The popular television show “Downton Abbey” provides a fictionalized account of a woman who married for a title. During the period from 1870 to World War I at least 350 American heiresses married British aristocracy. These unions had a dual purpose. For the wife, she achieved the status of a title, and for the husband, he received an influx of money, which was often needed for the upkeep of their immense estates.

As part of the Durst collection, we have a rare copy of Titled Americans. A List of American Ladies Who Have Married Foreigners of Rank (New York: Street & Smith Publishers, 1890). It claims that it is revised annually, but there is no evidence another edition was printed until 2013 when there was a reprint published of the 1890 volume probably in response to the popularity of “Downton Abbey.”

Titled Americans: A List of American Ladies Who Have Married Foreigners of Rank, 1890

The volume included a listing of eligible bachelors listing their income, property value and net worth. It was a who’s who of British aristocracy.

Another section listed the women who had married aristocracy. Among those listed was Jennie Jerome, mother of Winston Churchill. Jenny was born in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn in 1854 (Brooklyn was not part of New York City until 1898). Her father was a financier, sportsman and speculator. He sent his daughter abroad where she married Lord Randolph Churchill in 1874.

Miss Jennie Jerome. Source: http://s289.photobucket.com/user/EnaBatt/media/JENNIE/Jenncloseup.jpg.html

‘Miss Jennie Jerome, Daughter of Leonard Jerome, Esq., of New York’ from Titled Americans, 1890.

Earl of Dudley. Source of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/William_Humble_Ward_2nd_Earl_of_Dudley.jpg

Earl of Dudley’s family jewels worth $3 million ($77,848,502 in today’s money).

Earl of Dalkeith’s inheritance of $4,000,000 would be $103,798,003 in today’s money.

Although the 20th century saw a few American women marrying foreign nobles, the attraction of a European union lost popularity.

Happy Women’s History Month!

David T. Valentine in 1841 realized that what the young city of New York needed was an annual compilation of historical information to show the citizenry the progress the city made each year. It was published under the title, Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, a compendium of historical materials with illustrations, but it became known as Valentine’s Manual. It included maps, lithographs and woodcuts, and contained many statistical tables, lists of social institutions, banks, schools, churches etc. Unfortunately, it did NOT contain love potions.

Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, 1847

The volumes are considered the first illustrated histories of New York City. Valentine published the volumes from 1841 until his death in 1866. For the next three years the manuals were published by Joseph Shannon in 1868 and 1869 and in 1870 by John Henry.

Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York 1868

The Durst collection does not have any of Valentine’s original manuals as part of its collection, but does have the volume published by Joseph Shannon. However, the Baruch Library, Special Collections, does house several years of the original Valentine’s Manuals.

It is interesting to note that there was enough of a demand for the volumes that a second set was published from 1916 to 1923 by Henry Collins Brown, founder of the Museum of the City of New York. In our Special Collections we have copies of many of these volumes.

University of the City of New York, 1868

Monthly List of Prisoners Confined in the Provost, 1868

View in 6th Avenue Between 55th and 57th Streets Looking West, 1868

Comparatively, a View of 6th Avenue and 56th Street Looking West (Google Maps), 2015

Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans 1868

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. (19–). A valentine message. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-faee-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

The conflict caused by the Civil War made its way to New York City. Although New York was a northern city, it had significant commercial ties to the south. Consequently, when the first federal draft was implemented in New York City, in July of 1863, riots ensued. The large immigrant Irish population was enraged, feeling that they were being sacrificed to war for freed blacks who would arrive from the south and take away their jobs. In addition, these workingmen did not have the advantage of paying $300 to be exempt from the draft as did wealthy New Yorkers. The rioters attacked armories, black churches, homes and individuals, as well as homes of the wealthy, including Mayor George Opdyke.

The riots in New York: the mob burning the provost Marshals office (1863), New York Public Library.

The Rioters Dragging Col. O’Brien’s Body Through the Street (1880), New York Public Library.

‘To the laboring men of New York’ (1963), Library of Congress.

Mayor Opdyke in the midst of the draft riots abandoned City Hall and took shelter at the St. Nicholas Hotel. He was not willing to compromise with the rioters.

The Durst collection includes the Official Documents, Addresses, Etc. of George Opdyke, Mayor of the City of New York, During the Years 1862 and 1863. New York: Published by Hurd and Houghton, 1866. The volume includes letters from the Mayor written during the riots.

New York (N.Y.). 1866. Official documents, addresses, etc., of George Opdyke mayor of the city of New York during the years 1862 and 1863. New York: Hurd and Houghton.

In 1785, the capital of the new United States of America was located in New York City. Although short-lived, this designation lasted until 1790 when the capital moved to Philadelphia. However, in this short period of time, the metropolis grew rapidly, and in the years that followed, it surpassed its rival cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston, not only in population but in the growth of commerce, and municipal resources.

Source: Christian Advocate and Journal (1827-1828); Aug 3, 1827; 1, 48.

The volume “Sketch of the resources of the city of New-York, with a view of the municipal government, population, &c. &c. from the foundation of the city to the date of the latest statistical accounts,” published by Messr. G. and C. Carvill in 1827, served as “booster” literature to a population eager to prove its superiority.

Source: Longworth’s American Almanac, 1827.

By 1827 booksellers and publishing houses congregated in lower Manhattan, where G. and C. Carvill resided. According to New York City directories, they remained at 108 Broadway until 1844 when they moved to 86 Cedar Street, remaining there until the mid 1850s.The publishing industry developed in New York City after the Revolutionary War, but most of the earlier books printed here were still British titles. Nationalism fueled the publishing industry and authors and publishers retained bragging rights when it came to praising the city in either the periodical press or in books.

By the early 19th century New York City had surpassed both Boston and Philadelphia as the nation’s most prolific and important publishing centers.

Sketch of the Resources of the City of New-York with a View of its Municipal Government, Population, &c, 1827

Statistics from the US Treasury illustrating the “importance of New-York as a commercial emporium.”

Bibliography

• Andrews, William Loring. The Old Booksellers of New York and Other Papers. New York, 1895. Internet Library.
• Dix, John A. 1827. Sketch of the resources of the city of New York. With a view of its municipal government, population, &c. &c. from the foundation of the city to the date of the latest statistical accounts. New York: G. & C. Carvill.
• LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC. (1827, Aug 03). Christian Advocate and Journal (1827-1828), 1, 191. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/126033041?accountid=8500.
• Longworth’s American Almanac, New York Register & City Directory, for the Fifty-Second Year of American Independence: Containing An Almanac for the Fifty-Second Year of American Independence; a List of All the Banks & Insurance Companies & Chart. 1827, p115-155. 41p.
• Pomerantz, Sidney. New York, an American City. 1783-1803: a study of urban life. Port Washington, New York: I.J. Friedman, 1965.

There is no problem today finding who lives on your street or what the schools, churches, restaurants and other commercial establishments are in your area. With a quick internet search on your smartphone or computer all of your directional and informational questions are answered. This was not always the case, and the public relied on print sources such as directories to provide answers to their queries.

Directories can be traced to the late 17th century France and England where directories listed commercial suppliers of goods and services. In the United States this genre has been around since the mid-1700s, when in 1752 the first printed directory was published in Baltimore listing English families. The first actual city directory was the 1785 Philadelphia directory by  Macpherson, followed in 1786 by David Carroll Franks, The New-York Directory.

New York Map, 1782

These new city directories recorded the names, addresses, professions and business addresses of city residents, in addition to listing churches, schools, colleges, clubs, parks, hospitals, museums and other city institutions. Many publishers followed the lead of Macpherson and Franks and in the hall of fame of New York City directory publishers there was Hodge, Allan and Campbell; William Duncan; David and Thomas Longworth; John Doggett; John Fowler Trow and Ralph Polk.

Number of Inhabitants in the City and County of NY.

Many of the early city directories included images and maps. Small advertisements were posted by the second half of the nineteenth-century and maps that were often folded into the volume. In New York City the directories were printed from 1786 to 1934, overlapping the early telephone books. The first telephone directory appeared in 1870, but it took several decades until the telephone directory replaced the city directory. Originally these volumes were supposed to be used for a year and then discarded, much like almanacs. However, we are fortunate that many of these volumes have survived and represent a primary source which can help tell the story of the growth and vibrancy of the city.

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Bibliography:

• Directory of American society. 1929. New York: Town topics.
• Franks, David C., and Noah Webster. 1786. The New York directory for 1786, containing, a valuable and well calculated almanack, tables of the different coins, suitable for any state. New York: Printed by Shepard Kollock.
• National Newark & Essex Banking Company. 1835. Directory of Newark, for 1835-6: with an historical sketch. [Newark, N.J.]: [National Newark and Essex Banking Co.].
• Real Estate Board of New York. 1917. Diary and manual of the Real Estate Board of New York. New York: The Board.

When we travel today, and want recommendations on where to stay, what to eat, and the best sights to see, we probably rely on one of the many guidebooks published to help us enjoy that well deserved vacation.

Guidebooks are not a new genre, but can be traced back to the 19th century. European travelers to America often recorded their experiences and found that there was a market abroad by prospective travelers for information about what awaited them if they ventured to America. In 19th century America guidebooks had a different audience and many of the earlier examples were focused on the expansion of the American West, and tales of magnificent scenery, friendly people and a healthy environment lured people west, either as emigrants or as tourists. Land companies and railroads published this “booster literature” and made the journey and the destination inviting.

The guidebooks that were published for New York City visitors focused on the excitement of a growing metropolis. These volumes enticed tourists by boosting that New York City had the best of everything, and that there was something for everyone to enjoy. As with present day guidebooks, the 19th century variety did offer advice on where to stay, where to dine and options on how to negotiate the confusion of city streets. Many of these guidebooks were underwritten by hotels or commercial establishments, which had a stake in the tourism industry.

Browsing New York City guidebooks today, we can gain insight into the social, political and economic life of the city during a different time. The Durst Old York Collection contains several examples of this genre, and is available to be studies and evaluated as a primary source helping to tell the story of a vibrant, growing urban area.

Hotel Guests’ Guides for the City of New York, 1871. This particular book was property of Earle’s Hotel, but copies were distributed in other hotels such as the Astor House, Gramercy Park house, St. James Hotel and Grand Central Hotel.

Commercial advertisements made up nearly half of this publication to promote businesses in the NYC area.

King’s Handbook of New York City, 1871.

Early image of Madison Square Park, 1871.

Map of the neighborhoods surrounding Baruch College from A Historic Guide to the City of New York, 1909. #34 represents the site of the Free Academy, the founding college of CUNY.

The Mall from Terrace. Image of Central Park from The Metropolis Explained, 1871.

Some illustrated guidebooks provided readers with humorous tours of New York City with a satirical twist. Irvin S. Cobb wrote many “’guyed’ books providing social commentary of the people and political climate in NYC. His opinions range from the displacement of the Iroquois and the influence of bootlegging to the death of civic pride.

New York by Irvin S. Cobb, S. 1924.

This copy of New York contains a signature from Irvin S. Cobb.

“Map of the United States as it looks to a New Yorker.”

Bibliography:

• City History Club of New York, and Frank Bergen Kelly. 1909. Historical guide to the city of New York. New York: F.A. Stokes Company.
• Cobb, Irvin S. 1924. New York. New York: George H. Doran Co.
• King, Moses. 1871. King’s handbook of New York City. Boston: Moses King.
• Macoy, Robert. 1876. History of and how to see New York and its environs. New York: R. Macoy.
• The metropolis explained and illustrated in familiar form. 1871. New York: Devlin & Co.
• New York Edison Company. 1911. Glimpses of New York: an illustrated handbook of the city, together with notes on the electric industry therein and thereabout. [New York]: New York Edison Co.
• Prescott, Charles Edwin. 1871. The hotel guests’ guide for the city of New York. New York: Wm. P. Cleary.
• Souhami, C. 1914. New York illustrated. New York: Success Postal Card Co.