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Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera

Call Number

2011.002

Dates

1857-2007, inclusive
; 1890-1950, bulk

Creator

Fribourg family

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet in one manuscript box, four odd-size or oversize boxes, and two phase boxes

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, while parts of family prayer books are in Hebrew.

Abstract

The Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera collection is comprised of materials relating to and documenting the family and professional life of Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg, a Jewish-American Brooklynite whose life spanned nearly the entire 20th century. Eugenie Fribourg became a doctor at a time when the medical profession was dominated by men, and she remained active in the field for more than 60 years. The collection provides a rich visual document of Jewish-American family life in the early-20th century, historical photographic materials in various formats, 1940s French wine and spirits, and a visual history of various neighborhoods in Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)

Biographical note

Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg was the daughter of Gustave Fribourg and Hortsense Merzbach. Gustave's parents, Eugene and Leonie Fribourg were raised in French Alsace, while Gustave was raised in New York. Eugenie's mother Hortense was of German and French descent. She was born in New York to Louis Merzbach and Clementine Loeb. Louis Merzbach had emigrated from Hanover, Germany, where his parents were jewelers, and continued the family business in New York. Clementine Loeb came from a family line of restaurant owners in France. Like the Merzbachs, the Loebs carried on their family business in America, where Clementine's father Joseph owned a restaurant on the Bowery.

Eugenie Fribourg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908. She had a twin brother Louis and an older brother Albert (born c. 1904). Eugenie and her siblings grew up in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eugenie and Louis had their Confirmations at Congregation Beth Elohim (also known as Garfield Temple) in Park Slope in 1923.

The Fribourgs were Alsatian Jews who maintained a strong connection with their ancestral heritage in the region, returning to France to visit on at least one occasion in the 1920s.

Eugenie's brother Albert married Ruth "Jim" Brindze. "Jim" Brindze gained some renown as a consumer activist and author who penned columns for The Nation magazine, and books on the subjects of radio advertising and civil liberties. She later wrote children's books about science and exploration.

Eugenie Fribourg married Phillip Tykulsker in 1948. He died in 1961.

After graduating from Barnard College in 1929, Eugenie Fribourg worked briefly in fashion advertising. However, she spent the bulk of her professional life practicing medicine. Eugenie graduated from the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) in 1939, one of eight women out of the 61 graduates in her class. In 1945 she began working at Brooklyn Hospital in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eugenie spent approximately 45 years as a M.D. specializing in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. After she retired in 1994, Eugenie remained active in various medical associations. She established the Eugenie M. Fribourg Scholarship Fund for female medical students in financial need at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In 1996, Eugenie received a Walter E. Reed Medal recognizing her lifelong service to the Brooklyn Hospital patients and community.

Eugenie Fribourg lived nearly her entire life in Brooklyn, New York. She died at age 99 in 2007.

Arrangement

Arranged into four series: Series 1. Photographs; Series 2. Correspondence; Series 3. Prayer books; Series 4. Wine and spirit bottle labels. Series 1. Photographs is arranged into Sub-series by format. Materials had no prior arrangement when donated.

Missing Title

  1. Series 1: Photographs
  2. Series 2: Correspondence
  3. Series 3: Prayer books
  4. Series 4: Wine and spirit bottle labels
  5. Series 5: Artifacts

Materials were donated to Brooklyn Historical Society in no particular order. They were arranged into series by medium. The largest series, Photographs, was arranged chronologically.

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of materials documenting, relating to, or collected by Eugenie Fribourg and her family. The materials were created between 1857 and 2007. The collection includes photographs in several formats, including mounted and un-mounted prints, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and one print on opaque ceramic. The collection also includes personal and professional correspondence, French wine and spirit bottle labels from the 1940s, and two family prayer books. The collection documents Eugenie Fribourg's life in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope and Flatbush, and her ancestral homes of France and 19th-century New York.

See Series Scope and Contents notes for more detailed description.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright holder for most materials is unknown. Unpublished materials enter public domain 120 years after the date of their creation. Please consult library staff for additional information.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Eugenie Fribourg family photographs and ephemera, 2011.002, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials donated by David Tykulsker in 2011.

Collection processed by

Michael Satalof under the supervision of Julie I. May.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:20:19 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Collection arranged and described by Mike Satalof in 2012.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201