James Olinkiewicz collection of photographs and ephemera
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Abstract
673 stereograph cards of New York City (i.e., Manhattan) landmarks (1850s-circa 1900); one box of photographs and ephemera documenting the activities of the Kit Kat Club, an association of New York City-based artists (1888-1908, 1932); and a scrapbook of theater and recital programs, tickets, and photographs of Boston and some New York productions attended by one Mary E. Thayer (1904-1908, 1910).
Arrangement
This collection is organized in three series:
- Series I.
- Stereographs of New York City and Elsewhere, 1850s-circa 1900
- Series II.
- Kit Kat Club Photographs and Ephemera, 1888-1908, 1932
- Series III.
- Mary E. Thayer Scrapbook, 1904-1908, 1910
Scope and Contents
This collection combines three unrelated parts received together from the same donor:
673 stereograph cards with mid- to late-19th century views of New York City (i.e., Manhattan) landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Trinity Church, Central Park, Broadway, and the Tombs prison. Brooklyn and Staten Island are represented by a few cards, as are various locations throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Photographs, bylaws, printed programs, and invitations documenting the activities of the Kit Kat Club, a New York City-based association of artists organized in 1881 and incorporated in 1884. The club counted among its members such notables as lithographer Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896) and Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase (1841-1916). The Kit Kats sponsored annual summer sketching and painting excursions, three of which are represented by photographs and ephemera here: a week-long trip by barge on the Delaware and Hudson Canal (1895); a camping trip to Pelham Bay on Long Island Sound (1896); and a sail by schooner to Stony Brook, Long Island (1897). This material was assembled by William C. Ostrander, onetime president of the Kit Kat Club, and includes some items from the Salmagundi Club and the Black and White Club, other arts organizations which counted Ostrander as a member.
A scrapbook of programs, playbills, ticket stubs, and photographs from theatrical productions and musical recitals attended by one Mary E. Thayer, mostly in Boston with a few in New York, between October 1904 and September 1908. Thayer notes in the margin who attended each performance, e.g. "Norma & I," "Bert, Blanche & I," etc.
Subjects
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Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections 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
The collection should be cited as the James Olinkiewicz Collection of Photographs and Ephemera, PR 404, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Credit line for exhibitions: James Olinkiewicz.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of James Olinkiewicz, 2018 (accession no. PPAC-2018-037).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta arranged and described this collection in September 2019.