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