I Know What You Did Last Century
Since Brooklyn's inception it's residents have been employed in an array of occupations tailored to the needs of their growing community. In addition to addresses the early City Directories listed each resident's occupation as well, providing a unique opportunity to examine the labor needs of Brooklyn in the 19th century. Coopers, rope-makers, doctors, teachers, laborers, sailors and many others played a crucial role in the daily life of early Brooklyn. Looking through a directory by hand for every wheelwright, or blacksmith is an ardous, and labor intensive job though…
The Faces of Halloween
October ushers in one of the most celebrated of Autumn holidays, Halloween - that historical mash-up of Celtic culture, popular culture, Christianity, pagan folk-lore, superstition, and Horror. In the Brooklyn Collection we have photographers that have captured the many aspects of this holiday, from the humorous to the mysterious, and from the gory, to the adorable. Lev Dodin Lev Dodin's work is distinguished by his composition and use of vibrant saturated colors. His demonic hobgoblins contrast vividly with the green and blue background, and his group…
Badges of Honor
Most of the exhibitions we create here in the Brookyn Collection are comprised solely of material from our numerous holdings - historical photographs, letters, prints, maps,etc. We took a slightly different approach with our curent exhibit, "Badges of Honor: Brooklyn's Protectors". The result is an exciting collaboration, pairing the Brooklyn Collection's resources, with the unique Brooklyn badge collection on loan from Art Sinai. Brooklyn born Art Sinai started acquiring badges in 1978 when he worked for the Treasury Department. His first badge was a gift from a colleague…
Birth Records for the Enslaved: 1799-1801
To find the birth records for Kings County during the 19th century, we usually refer people to the Municipal Archives. There you will find the names of people born in Brooklyn from 1866 to 1909. But here we are fortunate to have some earlier records as well. Donated by St. Francis College some years ago, these microfilmed records span the years 1799 - 1801 and they chronicle births in Flatbush, which at the time was its own municipality. The records are written in meticulous, precise calligraphic handwriting.…