Jessica Burstein photographs and memorabilia
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Abstract
The collection consists principally of photographs taken by Jessica Burstein over the course of her career, which began in the mid-1970s at NBC-TV. Three primary subject areas are the construction of the new Yankee Stadium (2006-2009), patrons of Elaine's Restaurant (circa 1990-2011), and still shots from the set of the "Law & Order" television series (1992-circa 2008), including photographs of staged crime scenes she took for a 2003 book. Other subjects include photographs from the set of the "New York Undercover" television series and individual and group portraits from an array of political, entertainment, sports, and literary figures. The collection also holds an assortment of tee shirts, pins and other memorabilia related to the photographic subjects.
Biographical / Historical
Jessica Burstein, born in Nassau County on Long Island, was educated in Switzerland and New York. From an early age she developed an interest in photography, having a dark room by age 11. She began her career in 1974 as the first female staff photographer for the NBC television network. She remained at NBC for about four years taking pictures of everything from news events, such as the 1976 Democratic National Convention, to television shows and movies, such as "Saturday Night Live" and the miniseries "King," about Martin Luther King, Jr. After leaving NBC, Burstein worked freelance on various projects and commissions.
Burstein is a member of an accomplished family, notably in the field of law. Both of her parents were lawyers; her mother, Beatrice S. Burstein, was a judge in the New York state system, becoming a member of the state Supreme Court in 1972. Burstein had four siblings, some of whom also entered the legal profession; these included her older sister, Karen Burstein, who has held positions in all three branches of New York state's government over the course of her career. So it is perhaps not surprising that, by the early 1990s, Jessica considered a switch to law when her photography career hit a dry spell. However, when she mentioned this to Elaine Kaufman, the owner of Elaine's Restaurant on New York's Upper East Side urged her to stay with photography and gave Burstein permission to take photographs in the restaurant, which Kaufman displayed on a wall there. Burstein continued to do so through the closing of the restaurant in 2011.
Burstein had been a regular at Elaine's since the 1970s as her photography career led her into the celebrity circles that frequented that place. Still, it was only in 1990 when Kaufman attended an exhibition of Burstein's work and acquired a triptych of her Truman Capote photographs that Kaufman began to engage with Burstein as a serious photographer and advocated for her work. It was through this connection with Kaufman and Burstein's exposure at the restaurant, that Dick Wolf, the executive producer of the Law & Order television series, asked Burstein to photograph the crime scenes staged for the show in anticipation of a book he visualized on the subject. Burstein took these pictures over the course of the next decade, which eventually led to the publication of "Law & Order: Crime Scenes" in 2003. Along the way, Burstein's role expanded to become the official photographer for Law & Order and its spin-offs through the 1990s and into the 2000s. Burstein was also the photographer for another Dick Wolf television production, New York Undercover.
Burstein's connection with Kaufman also led her to the commission to document a historic New York event: the construction of the new Yankee Stadium from 2006 to 2009. At Elaine's restaurant, Burstein had met George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the Yankees, and Randy Levine, the organization's president. On Burstein's occasional visits to the Steinbrenner suite, she would take photos that Steinbrenner liked. Consequently, Levine suggested that Burstein submit a proposal to get the commission to photograph the stadium construction project, which Burstein won.
Burstein's career includes other publications, exhibitions, and awards. The above items are emphasized in this note because they are the most relevant to the collection held by New-York Historical Society. In 2017, Burstein left New York to live in Camden, Maine. At that time, she donated to N-YHS that part of her work most related to New York City.
(The above note was based on various sources, including her biography on photoshelter.com; a 2015 interview with Straus Media; Burstein's reminiscences in Amy Philip Penn's "Elaine's: The Rise of One of New York's Most Legendary Restaurants"; a 2017 New York Times article ; and others.)
Arrangement
The collection is organized in six series:
I. Yankee Stadium Construction
II. Elaine's Restaurant
III. Law & Order
IV. New York Undercover
V. Sunny Atlantic Beach Club / Atlantic Beach Book
VI. Various Subjects
These series generally follow the subject categories as defined by the photographer, Jessica Burstein. For the first five series, with minor exception, the photographs remain in the boxes as presented to N-YHS by Burstein. There was no particular arrangement of the photographs in the original boxes; some slight rearrangement was done during processing.
The sixth series was a "mix" of subjects. The subject or context of some of these photos was identified by Burstein, but not for most. Accordingly, the processing archivist arranged much of this series.
Burstein's notes and captions are found on many of the photographs and on the boxes themselves. In April 2018, after the collection had been donated to N-YHS, Burstein went through many of the photographs to add identifying information where it was lacking; many of these added notes were written in blue pencil and are identifiable in that way.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists principally of photographs taken by Jessica Burstein over the course of her career. Three primary subject areas are the construction of the new Yankee Stadium (2006-2009), patrons of Elaine's Restaurant (circa 1990-2011), and still shots from the set of the "Law & Order" television series (1992-circa 2008), including photographs of "Law & Order" staged crime scenes she took for a 2003 book.
Other subject areas dating from before, during and after her tenure with NBC include individual and group portraits of figures from politics, movies and television entertainment, music, sports, literature and journalism, business, and others. Her portfolio of images from the Sunny Atlantic Beach Club on Long Island and photographs from the television show "New York Undercover" are also in the collection.
In addition to photographs, the collection includes memorabilia related to the photographic subjects. Some of this is text-based, such as cast calls and other documents for "Law & Order" and other TV and movie sets. Other memorabilia includes tee shirts, caps, pins, and other items.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from: Rights and Reproductions The New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West New York, NY 10024 Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 270 Fax: (212) 579-8794
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: Jessica Burstein Photographs and Memorabilia, PR 361, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the photographer, Jessica Burstein, in December 2017.
Credit line: Gift of Jessica Burstein.
Separated Materials
A portfolio by Bert Stern titled Levis in America was included by Burstein in her gift. Burstein told the processing archivist that this was given to her by Stern as an in-lieu payment for work done. The portfolio was separated and cataloged individually (PR 376).
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed by archivist Larry Weimer in December 2018.