Albertype Company viewbooks of Brooklyn
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Abstract
The Albertype Company viewbooks of Brooklyn was published in 1903 and 1904 and contain images of Brooklyn including parks, buildings, and monuments located throughout the borough.
Historical note
The Albertype Company was a Brooklyn-based publisher that was founded by brothers Adolph and Herman Wittemann in 1890. The publishing company, originally known as Wittemann Brothers, operated from 1890 to 1952 and produced over 25,000 prints. Albertype Company produced their own photographs, as well as reproduced photographic images produced by other companies or individual photographers. The company published postcards and viewbooks. Viewbooks, also called souvenir albums or view albums, are books that contain commercially published groups of photographs depicting a place, activity, or event.
Sources:
- Getty Research Institute: Art & Architecture Thesaurus. "Viewbooks." Accessed June 28, 2011. http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=viewbooks&logic=AND¬e=&english=N&prev_page=1&subjectid=300026684
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "Albertype Company Photographs, 1910-1950 (V-18A)." Accessed July 1, 2011. http://discover.hsp.org/Record/hsp.opac.v01-165628
Scope and Contents
The Albertype Company viewbook of Brooklyn published in 1904 contains images of Brooklyn including parks, buildings, and monuments located throughout the borough. Images of Prospect Park, the New York Naval Shipyard (now the Brooklyn Navy Yard), and the neighborhoods of Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights are well-represented in the viewbook. The viewbook consists of 27 pages and page size is 9.5 x 11. Its original softcover has been recovered with a hardcover, library binding and the pages are brittle and have separated from the binding. Digital versions of the images from the viewbook are available via the image database located in the library.
The 1903 viewbook contains similiar material as the 1904 edition, and includes images of bridges, Coney Island, Wallabout Market, sugar refineries, and assorted buildings throughout the borough.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Reproduction rights of images from the viewbook have not been evaluated. For information on securing rights to publish or reproduce, please see the Brooklyn Historical Society Reproduction Rights Policy.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Albertype Company viewbooks of Brooklyn, V1986.017, Box number, Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition for this collection are unknown. The collection was formally accessioned in 1986.
Other Finding Aids
Item level description and digital versions of images of the 1904 viewbook are available for searching via the image database in the library. Please consult library staff for more information.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
1903 viewbook added to the collection by John Zarrillo in March 2017.