Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
Art & Architecture Collection

Photographs, Ephemera and Clipping Files

Through the years differing institutions collected all types of ephemeral materials on the neighborhoods and boroughs they served.  Here are some of the more richly accessible collections:

The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History & Genealogy (Room 121)
A vast collection of photographs and clippings of New York City made up of the following:

  • Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s to 1970s - over 54,000 photographs arranged by borough and street, now accessible online at http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/
  • Collection of Photographs of New York City by the Wurts Brothers
  • Lloyd Acker Collection of New York City Photographs 1935-1975
  • New York City Clippings Files
  • New York CityIllustrations File Card Index
  • Scrapbooks, postcards and clippings by street and neighborhoods
  • Real Estate Brochure Collection

    • Municipal Archives
    Access to several very important microfilm collections made up of the following:
  • Department of Taxes Photographs (1939 to 1941) - every building in the five boroughs of New York City were photographed for valuation of real property
  • Photographs, 1889-1956
  • WPA-Federal Writers' Project - photographs (1936 to 1943) that were taken to illustrate New York City guidebooks Borough President Collections (Manhattan, Bronx and Queens – photographs (1900s to 1950s) taken to document construction of parks, beaches, highways, public buildings etc…

    • New York Historical Society
    An extensive collection of materials relating to New York City that consists of prints, photographs, architectural drawings, maps, atlases and directories
    Museum of the City of New York
    Access to the Byron Collection a database that consists of over 22,000 photographs of New York City taken by the Byron Company between 1890 and 1942
    Artist Files
    A clippings file of ephemera on microfiche, located in the
    Art & Architecture Division, Room 300. It provides entries for architects, as well as architectural firms
    Picture Collection at Mid-Manhattan Library
    A collection of images located at the Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection of the New York Public Library