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Herman N. Liberman, Jr. photograph albums

Call Number

PR 36

Date

circa 1938-1973 (bulk 1966-1973), inclusive

Creator

Liberman, Herman N., Jr., 1910-1973

Extent

7.2 Linear feet in 5 boxes of various sizes

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are photographic, with any text in English.

Abstract

Eight albums of photographs taken by hobbyist Herman N. Liberman, Jr. (1910-1973). Four of the albums hold about 950 color snapshots of churches, synagogues, temples, storefront missions, and other places of religious worship found throughout the length of Manhattan, taken between 1966 and 1973. One album consists of photographs and related material dating from the 1940s to 1970s concerning the upper Manhattan townhouses and mansions of the wealthy elite. Three albums hold a variety of images of buildings and building construction from the 1950s into 1973, especially from the Wall Street/Financial District area, including World Trade Center construction.

Biographical / Historical

Herman N. Liberman, Jr. (1910-1973) was born in New York City and lived in Manhattan his entire life. He joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1931 at the age of 21. At his death he still worked there as a member associated with the firm of Kingsley Boye & Southwood. Liberman's hobby was photography, most typically capturing images centered on the exteriors of individual buildings. While it is unknown when he started this hobby, by 1942 Liberman was photographing the mansions and townhouses of Manhattan's elite in anticipation of their eventual disappearance, as documented in his "Private Residences in New York City, 1942-1959," an album of photographs and clippings he compiled, which is in this collection.

Through the 1950s and into the early 1970s, Liberman took various sets of photographs, often connected to Manhattan's built environment, notably its endangered and sometimes demolished past and the construction of its present. Liberman's images from the construction of the Seaman's Bank for Savings at 30 Wall Street (1954-1955) and the World Trade Center (1969-1972) are examples, found in the 3 albums titled "New York City" in the collection. Some of his photographs also have personal connections, such as those of the Grand Street Settlement, for which he had been a trustee and former president of its Board of Directors.

In 1966, Liberman began a major photographic project. Over the next seven years, he walked Manhattan's streets in a serpentine pattern from the southern tip of the island to Marble Hill, Manhattan's northernmost point, across the Harlem River. Along the way, Liberman took 35mm color photographs of the exterior of every house of religious worship he saw, ranging from grand cathedrals to storefront missions. Completed in June 1973, just a few months before his death, Liberman compiled his photographs into four albums titled, "Houses of Worship: Manhattan," which are also in the collection.

(The above note was sourced largely from Liberman's obituary of 27 November 1973 in the New York Times, and from the collection.)

Arrangement

The photographs in the "Houses of Worship" albums were originally mounted, 6-8 to a page with individual captions, in four albums in the geographic and chronological sequence that Liberman took them. In August 2018, because the original mounts were deteriorating such that the photographs and captions were becoming disassociated, all content was transferred to archival enclosures. These enclosures are arranged in the same order as the original albums, noting the album volume and page they were taken from. The covers of the original binders were retained in the collection and are boxed separately from the photographs. A photocopy of the original albums, taken in the 1990s by David W. Dunlap, is boxed with the original binders. The corresponding negatives are also boxed separately, with the images for each house of worship held in its own small envelope, captioned and in the proper geographic and chronological sequence.

The photographs in the other albums remain in their original state, grouped by subject or date.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 8 albums compiled by Herman N. Liberman, Jr., centering on three titles: "Houses of Worship: Manhattan," "Private Residences in New York City," and "New York City." The albums predominantly include photographs taken by Liberman, but also include some other documents including Liberman's captions and newspaper clippings and other related material.

There are approximately 3,000 photographs across all the albums. The four albums titled "Houses of Worship" holds about 950 of these, showing the exteriors of about 889 (by Liberman's count) Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim houses of worship, which are identified by name and address. These are generally all 3" x 5" color photographs, taken methodically by Liberman across all Manhattan from 1966 to 1973. Liberman appears to have photographed any building identifying itself as a house of worship and consequently the range of structures is wide and includes storefront missions. The collection also holds the related 2,500 35mm color negatives; there are many more negatives than prints. There are also three portraits of Liberman at the end of these albums.

The "Private Residences" album mixes photographs of uptown mansions and townhouses Liberman took in the 1940s with later photographs into the early 1970s, newspaper clippings, and captions with some commentary to form a rough narrative around the losses and successes of historic preservation of the wealthy elite's former residences in Manhattan. The photographs are generally 3" x 5" or smaller; earlier photos are black & white and later ones are in color.

The three albums titled "New York City" consist of a variety of images, mostly of views of the exteriors of commercial and public buildings, in particular those in the Wall Street area, 1950s-1970s. Most of these images are grouped into small thematic sets, such as those of the World Trade Center construction and the renovation of the front steps and plaza of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1969). The container list provides further detail on the specific content. These photographs are also generally 3" x 5" or smaller with a mix of color and black and white.

Access Restrictions

For more information on making arrangements to consult the collection, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Conditions Governing Use

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

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

This collection should be cited as Herman N. Liberman, Jr. Photographs, PR 36, Department. of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

For more information on making arrangements to consult the collection, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Mrs. Julian (Hope) Bach, 1977, the wife of the late Herman Liberman. The photocopy of the "Houses of Worship" albums was donated to N-YHS in August 2022 by David W. Dunlap.

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:47:20 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

The "Houses of Worship" albums were rehoused in August 2018 by archivists Alexanne Levengood, Larry Weimer, Marybeth Kavanagh, and archival intern Zora Arum. The overall collection was processed and described in a finding aid by Larry Weimer in September 2018. The photocopy of the Houses of Worship albums was added in August 2022 by Larry Weimer.

Repository

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