Neighborhood Nostalgia: Astoria, Queens Photos
by Tracy O'Neill
June 18, 2015
Remember how the neighborhood used to look? Well, for a very happy #TBT, we're indulging in some neighborhood nostalgia for Astoria, Queens. After all, Astoria is the birthplace of some of our most beloved cultural icons from Tony Bennett to Jesse Eisenberg, Maria Callas to Christopher Walken. Even A Bronx Tale was, in fact, shot in Astoria. So join us for a stroll down memory lane in Astoria.
This William Meyers' 1999 photo features a sign of good things to come. See a checkered table cloth and condiments in Astoria, and there is sure to be good food on the
Meet the Artist: David Penner
by Sherri Machlin, Mulberry Street Library
June 15, 2015
On view now through June 29, 2015 in the Community Room of Mulberry Street Library are the photographs of David Penner.This series he is presenting is called "Manhattan Pairs" and features portraits of pairs of people in various NYC locales. I spoke with David recently about his photography.
Neighborhood Nostalgia: Bushwick, Brooklyn Photos
by Tracy O'Neill
June 3, 2015
Remember how the neighborhood used to look? Well, for a very happy #TBT, we're indulging in some neighborhood nostalgia for Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Sinatra at the Stage Door Canteen
by Barbara Cohen-Stratyner
May 18, 2015
We have received many questions recently about this photo, the secondary key image for the exhibition.
Interpretations of Timothy O’Sullivan’s "Ancient Ruins"
by Maya Wali Richardson
May 8, 2015
This incredibly stunning image depicts ancient architectural structures embedded within a cave of a large cliff. The image is often on view in art museums, even though the image was first created for a topographical survey. It is fully embedded with photography’s complex relationship to science and art.
Ask the Author: Sally Mann
by Lynn Lobash, Manager of Reader Services
May 6, 2015
Sally Mann comes to Books at Noon next Wednesday, May 13 to discuss her latest work, Hold Still: A Memoir With Photographs. We asked her six questions about what she likes to read.
May Author @ the Library Programs at Mid-Manhattan
by Elizabeth Waters, AskNYPL
May 1, 2015
Dance in unexpected places... walking through literary New York... New York's incredible abandoned spaces... photographing fashion's trendsetters... recipes in literature... unusual hiking destinations... coming of age in postwar America... the art and science of what we eat... southern Italy's most celebrated gardens... urban transformation in Chelsea... the influence of our infrastructure...
The Internet Loves Digital Collections (March 2015)
by Josh Hadro
April 1, 2015
What was the most viewed image on
NYPL's Digital Collections platform in March 2015? It was a door.
Black Life Matters Feature of the Week: A Bit Of Life
by Candice Frederick
March 13, 2015
In today's feature of the week, Mary Yearwood, our in-house Curator of the Photographs and Prints Division, discusses the brilliance of renowned shutterbug Richard Saunders, and how he inspired her contribution to the exhibition.
Street Prostitute, Fort-Monjol, April 19, 1921, by Eugène Atget
by Lucy Sante
March 6, 2015
Eugène Atget took relatively few pictures of people. There is a series dating from about 1898 to 1900 of people in the small trades (petits métiers): the ragpicker, the organ grinder, ambulatory vendors of herbs, lampshades, plaster statues, baskets. And then there is a small series on prostitutes, from 1921.
Bill Barvin's Location Photography
by Dina Selfridge
March 5, 2015
William "Bill" Barvin worked for over two decades as a location manager and scout for television and film, taking thousands of photos during the course of his career of New York and New Jersey streets, apartments, storefronts, and rooftops; bars, clubs, restaurants, and theaters; hotels, hospitals, laundromats, and churches.
The Photography of Helen Levitt
by Francine Prose
February 5, 2015
Helen Levitt was one of this century’s great photographers. Were I to say this about her great friend Walker Evans, it would seem like a tautology, rather like saying that Shakespeare was an important writer. Readers can judge for themselves why this should be the case, why one should need to say this about Helen.
Then & Now: Dinanda Nooney in 1970s Brooklyn
by David Lowe
January 14, 2015
Between January 1978 and April 1979, Nooney networked her way through Brooklyn documenting residences and their occupants, asking each for a referral to another willing subject. Over 150 families or individuals entrusted her to capture glimpses into their private worlds and personal tastes.
A Photographic Bible Fit for a Queen
by Kara Fiedorek, Photography Collection, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
December 30, 2014
Frith made his photographs available in various formats that suited different budgets, from inexpensive stereographs to multi-volume books illustrated with tipped-in albumen prints. His books are currently on view in the Library’s exhibition, Public Eye: 175 Years of Sharing Photography.
Podcast #42: Thomas Struth on Collective Memory and Family Photos
by Tracy O'Neill
December 30, 2014
During his conversation with Paul Holdengräber, Struth challenged the cliché that photography is deceptive, preferring to focus on the interpretive work of the viewer or viewers.
Sharing Is Caring: A Photographic Locket of Mr. and Mrs. General Tom Thumb
by Kara Fiedorek, Photography Collection, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
October 29, 2014
The Photography Collection has recently acquired a rare brass locket containing twelve miniature albumen prints of the famous couple made shortly after their wedding.
Artist Q&A: Ner Beck’s NYC Found Faces & Window Reflections
by Sherri Machlin, Mulberry Street Library
September 23, 2014
We welcome back Ner Beck to the Mulberry Street Branch of the New York Public Library for his exhibit NYC Found Faces & Window Reflections, on view through November 5th, 2014.
Art Books: Various Small Books: Referencing Various Small Books By Ed Ruscha
by Jessica Cline, Picture Collection, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
September 4, 2014
“In plain sight, but overlooked, the gas station excites interest in Ruscha” (p. 21), but also serves as a document of the everyday world that co-exists with our routine and triggers our nostalgia as we see it change over time.
August Author @ the Library Programs at Mid-Manhattan
by Elizabeth Waters, AskNYPL
August 4, 2014
Philosophical inquiry at the movies… a looming retirement crisis… familiar New York landmarks seen from unexpected angles… the birth of NYC’s power system… the language hoax… the hidden history of the mob in NYC… Tomorrow-Land, the 1964-1965 World’s Fair… the great Boston - New York subway race… the Kitty Genovese murder… the inventor of electric traction… the hospice movement… the makers of modern Manhattan…
How to Find Historical Photos of New York City
by Carmen Nigro, Assistant Director, Map, Dorot Jewish, and Local History & Genealogy Divisions, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
July 30, 2014
Researchers commonly seek photographs of places in New York as they once existed in history. HistoryPin.com and WhatWasThere.Com have done admirable work in placing historic photos in their geographic context, however they represent but a fraction of available photos, and associated descriptive metadata can vary in accuracy and precision.
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