Troy E. Tull photographic slides of New York City and elsewhere
Call Number
Date
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
101 color photographic slides of New York City documenting the construction of the original World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center at Christmas. Includes some views of Boston, San Francisco, and London.
Biographical Note
Troy Eugene Tull was born 1 April 1932 in Morrison, Oklahoma, and died 2 September 1995 in Edmond, Oklahoma. Tull was an IBM engineer whose career focused on the creation of UPC (Universal Product Code) technology and point of sale equipment. Between (roughly) 1960 and 1965 he lived and worked for IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. The company next moved Tull to Boulder, Colorado, to manage the plant there. IBM then brought him back to New York in 1968–1971. During this period Tull lived with his family in Teaneck, New Jersey, and apparently also kept an apartment in Brooklyn. He later moved back to Boulder and then to his native Oklahoma, where he went into sales.
Tull was a camera enthusiast with his own darkroom who took thousands of rolls of film and photographic slides. He documented scenes that excited him, such as the construction of the original World Trade Center towers, which were rising during his second stint in New York (1968–1971). During a visit to Manhattan in the 1980s, to be close to the towers, he insisted on staying at the adjacent Vista International Hotel (later renamed Marriott World Trade Center).
[The preceding was adapted from notes supplied by the photographer's son, Michael Tull.]
Arrangement
The slides are grouped by topic and housed in a single box of six folders.
Scope and Contents
Tull's photographs capture three of the main tourist sites in New York City: Rockefeller Center at Christmas, the Statue of Liberty, and the original World Trade Center. Tull photographed the latter in the early 1970s, when the WTC's twin towers were still under construction. The collection includes general views of Manhattan (the skyline, prominent buildings, bridges, etc.), other locations in the United States (Boston, San Francisco, and Tull's home in Teaneck, New Jersey), Europe (London), and a number of unidentified scenes.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
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 the Troy E. Tull Photographic Slides of New York City and Elsewhere, PR 339, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Credit line (for exhibition labels): Troy E. Tull.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Michael Tull (son of the photographer), April 2017.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by archivist Joseph Ditta, September 2017.