Urbahn family papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection consists of photographs, artifacts, and ephemera relating to the Urbahn family of Brooklyn, New York, dating from circa 1880s to circa 1920s. The family operated a textile manufacturing business under the name A. Urbahn's Sons, and the collection includes samples of goods such as spun and dyed silk, silk ribbons, terry cloth, spools of thread, a woman's stole, and hat ornaments. It also includes family photographs, business and trade cards, hair belonging to Norma (Urbahn) de Castillia, and genealogical information on the Urbahn family.
Biographical / Historical
A. Urbahn and his family immigrated from Germany to New Jersey beginning in the late 19th century, although they periodically returned to Germany before permanently settling in the United States in 1889. They later moved to Brooklyn, possibly following a conflict with a business partner. The family operated the textile manufacturing business A. Urbahn's Sons, which produced a variety of textiles and garments. The Textile World's Directory of the Mill Trade in the United States lists the business's address as 323 Kosciusko Street in 1897, the company relocated to 158 Marion Street by the 1910s.
Sources:
Textile World's Directory of the Mill Trade in the United States, 1897
A. Urbahn's Sons business and trade cards, 1910s
Collection inventory, provided by Charles V. Lucier with the assistance of Norma (Urbahn) de Castillia, 1993
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of photographs, artifacts, and ephemera relating to the Urbahn family of Brooklyn, New York, dating from circa 1870s to 1920s. The family operated a textile manufacturing business under the name A. Urbahn's Sons, and the collection includes samples of goods such as spun and dyed silk, silk ribbons, terry cloth, spools of thread, a woman's stole, and hat ornaments. It also includes family photographs, business and trade cards, hair belonging to Norma (Urbahn) de Castillia, and genealogical information on the Urbahn family.
The photographs include a portrait of an unidentified woman (produced in Germany, circa 1870s); prints documenting the family business/residence at 158 Marion Street (including images of textile manufacturing machinery, circa 1910s-1920s); a view of Marion Street (circa 1920s); images of Norma (Urbahn) de Castillia, her son Carlton de Castillia, and family friend Alfred Johnson; a picture postcard from A. Urbahn's hometown, Bursheid, Germany; and three souvenir photographs of Grimsby Park, Ontario, Canada (circa 1890s).
Subjects
Organizations
Families
People
Topics
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
The collection may only be used in the library and is not available through interlibrary loan.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Urbahn family papers, ARC.307, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Material Specific Details
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Norma (Urbahn) de Castillia, 1993.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
Other Finding Aids
Artifacts found in the collection are described at the item level in our artifact database under call number M1993.4. Many of these objects are also available to view on the digital collections portal.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection combines two accessions: 1993.010 (documents and photographs) and M1993.004 (artifacts and ephemera). M1993.004 was processed and described at the item level by Anna Schwartz in October 2014. The collection's documents and photographs were processed by John Zarrillo, who authored the collection's finding aid in February 2016.
