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John Judson Trappan photographs

Call Number

PR 071

Date

1888–1912, undated, inclusive

Creator

Trappan, John Judson, 1867-1957

Extent

10.3 Linear feet in 15 boxes.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

A record of the travels of bicycling and photography enthusiast John Judson Trappan (1867–1957), a Brooklyn, New York native whose trips took him to Long Island, upstate New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More distant visits found Trappan in Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition (1893), in Buffalo for the Pan-American Exposition (1901), in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt (1901), and in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. for his honeymoon (1903), all of which are documented by photographs in the collection. Other scenes depict his family in Brooklyn, a church dinner, local outings, landmarks in various cities, and some of Trappan's coworkers at Bruce & Cook, the Manhattan sheet metal firm where he was employed as a bookkeeper. Formats include 10 albums (containing 462 photographic prints), circa 290 loose and mounted prints, and 659 negatives (385 glass, mostly 4 x 5 inches, and 274 film). The collection is supplemented by the photographer's logbook, two handwritten journals, a few postcards, souvenir view books, clippings, bicycling ephemera, travel brochures, a painted canvas book cover, and material from Bruce & Cook.

Biographical note

John Judson Trappan was born in 1867 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to John J. Trappan, a gasfitter, and Susanna Park. As a young man he was interested in boating and bicycling, and actively pursued both pastimes. Trappan took many bicycle trips, which often involved overnight camping. He journeyed, mainly by bicycle, to Connecticut, upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., to attend religious conventions, see World's Fairs and presidential inaugurations, and to enjoy natural wonders and the company of his friends. He spent summers boating off the coasts of Queens and Long Island, and was active in the Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church.

Trappan was employed as a bookkeeper for the firm of Bruce & Cook, located on Water Street in Manhattan. After his father's death, John continued to live with his mother and two younger sisters, Ella and Caroline, and supported the family. Ella and Carrie both worked as schoolteachers, and accompanied John on many of his boating adventures.

John Judson Trappan married Ada in 1903, and they moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey, where they raised four daughters: Ruth (1904–1997), Grace (1905–1998), Jean (1907–1998), and Elizabeth (1909–1996). Trappan died in 1957.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in three series:

Series I.
Photographs, 1888–1909, undated
Series II.
Negatives, 1890–1903, undated
Series III.
Ephemera, 1888–1912, undated

Scope and Contents

The collection spans the period 1888–1912 and documents John Judson Trappan's interest in two popular turn-of-the-20th century American pastimes: bicycling and photography.

Series I. Photographs, 1888–1909, undated is divided in two subseries: Photographic Albums and Loose Photographs. Subseries I.A contains ten travel albums created by Trappan from photographs taken during trips and bicycle journeys in New York, New England, and Montreal, Canada. Two handwritten travel journals that correspond with the trips shown in the albums "A Coastwise Trip Awheel" and "Berkshire Hills Trip" are housed with those albums. In addition to photos, the albums also contain personal materials such as pressed flowers, poems, bars of music, and quotations. The eight titled albums are all arranged in bound, probably store-bought, album covers. Most of these are paper covers, but a few have more substantial vinyl or leather covers.

The albums are arranged chronologically, with undated albums filed at the end. "Haps and Snaps," taken in 1892 at Morris Cove, Connecticut, is comprised of 3x5-inch cyanotypes. "Bits of Scattered Sunshine" documents a trip Trappan took to Massachusetts in 1895 to attend the 14th International Christian Endeavor Convention at Mechanics Hall in Boston. One photo shows the interior of the hall filled with conventioneers. During this trip Trappan also photographed tourist sites in Boston as well as those in Concord, Lexington, Marblehead, Salem, and Northfield. Photos of the homes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne are paired with quotations from those authors. Images of Morris Cove and New Haven, Connecticut are also included.

An album titled "Berkshire Hills" contains photographs taken on a bicycling trip in which Trappan and his friend Edward Oberholser took the Hudson River Day Line up the Hudson to Poughkeepsie, and cycled from there to the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. The accompanying travel journal, which is undated, but was written after the trip, includes some humorous anecdotes of the men's' visit to Vassar College. "A Coastwise Trip Awheel" contains cyanotypes of a bicycling trip Trappan made with his friend George Ellison to Connecticut via Long Island and a ferry between the northern coast of Long Island and New London. This album is also accompanied by a manuscript journal, and two envelopes of loose cyanotypes from the trip.

"Inauguration," includes photos taken at the 1901 presidential inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt. It is unclear if Trappan bicycled to Washington, D.C. Crowds and decorated buildings in Washington are highlighted. "Pan American Exposition" documents Trappan's trip to the Buffalo world's fair in June 1901. Many of these photographs are night views fair's hallmark displays of electricity. Daytime photos show the Exposition buildings and Midway amusements. Trappan seems to have done a combination of bicycling and train plus boat travel on this voyage. On the way to Buffalo he visited and photographed Watkins Glen, Genesee Falls, the Minnehaha Falls, and the Erie Canal. After visiting the Fair he continued to Niagara Falls and then to Montreal. There are several cyanotypes in this album.

"Wedding Trip" is a document of Trappan's honeymoon in 1903. Trappan and his wife traveled to Philadelphia, Hampton, Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Two untitled groups of photographs seem to have been bound into makeshift albums by Trappan himself. One contains photographs mounted onto board that is then bound together with string. These photographs show an unidentified river and waterfall. Stanzas from a poem about a brook are interspersed with the photographs. The other untitled album is made up of cyanotypes clipped together at the upper left edges. They show a group of men bicycling and camping together in an unidentified locale.

Also included in this subseries are photographs mounted together on display boards; most are duplicate prints from the photo albums.

Subseries I.B. Loose Photographs, spans the years 1890–1893 and includes images of Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia. These seem to have been taken during Trappan's travels, but in general are not duplicates of photographs found in the albums. Loose photographs are arranged geographically and then by subject. Most of these photographs are mounted on card. A group of cyanotypes of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 are included in this subseries. New York images include views of Central Park (including the zoo), Flushing (a cyanotype of bicyclists there), and sailboats off College Point in Flushing Bay. Views of Brooklyn include images of Coney Island, Sunday School parades, and several views of cyclists in Prospect Park. Unidentified portraits include more groups of bicyclists, and people in classrooms and at picnics. Several photos show congregants of the Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church dressed up for a "New England" dinner.

Series II. Negatives, 1890–1903, undated is organized in four subseries: Logbook, Glass Plate Negatives (4 x 5"), Glass Plate Negatives (5 x 8"), and Nitrate Film Negatives. The logbook (1890–1901) consists of photocopies of twenty handwritten pages that provide such details as negative number, date, subject, location, time of day, light, exposure, F-stop, plate size, plate maker, plate style, photographer, and remarks. The logbook corresponds to the glass negatives. All the negatives listed in the logbook do not appear in the collection. A list of negatives, with titles taken from the logbook, appears in the box and folder list. Within the series, unnumbered negatives are arranged by subject, while numbered negatives are arranged numerically. No attempt was made during processing to match prints to negatives. Due to the possible combustibility of the nitrate negatives in Subseries II.D, that portion of the collection (Box 13) is kept in cold storage. Before requesting it, discuss the possibility of viewing this material with a staff member, keeping in mind that it requires at least two full days to thaw.

Series III. Ephemera, 1888–1912, undated includes material collected by Trappan relating to his interests. Photographic ephemera includes a copy of the July 20, 1888 issue of Photographic Times. Bicycling material includes two of Trappan's American Wheelmen Association membership cards and an 1897 catalog for Keating Bicycles. Included are several souvenir post cards, travel brochures, and a souvenir booklet from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Material from the steel-working firm Bruce & Cook includes photographs of the firm (see Series II for a few negatives showing the basement of their Water Street office), the centennial celebration dinner (1912) program, and business cards. Also included in this series are two hand-painted covers for a book and photo portfolio.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.

Due to the possible combustibility of the nitrate negatives in Subseries II.D, that portion of the collection (Box 13) is kept in cold storage. Before requesting it, discuss the possibility of viewing this material with a staff member, keeping in mind that it requires at least two full days to thaw.

Use Restrictions

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

The collection should be cited as: John Judson Trappan Photographs, PR-071, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Due to the possible combustibility of the nitrate negatives in Subseries II.D, that portion of the collection (Box 13) is kept in cold storage. Before requesting it, discuss the possibility of viewing this material with a staff member, keeping in mind that it requires at least two full days to thaw.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Ruth Trappan, 1984.

Related Materials

Other photographs of 19th century bicyclists can be found in the Subject File (PR 068) and the Geographic Images Collection (PR 020).

Ruth Trappan, donor of the present collection, also gave the New-York Historical Society a significant portion of material in the Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection (PR 008).

Collection processed by

Julie Viggiano (2003); updated by Jenny Gotwals (2006); migrated to ArchivesSpace by Joseph Ditta (2020).

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:29 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

Julie Viggiano processed this collection in April 2003. Jenny Gotwals updated Viggiano's finding aid in October 2006. Archivist Joseph Ditta migrated that WORD document finding aid to ArchivesSpace in June 2020.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024