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Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs Finding Materials in the Collection: A Research GuideLocating Original PhotographsThe primary means of searching the Photography Collection is by photographer’s name. Click here to view a list of photographers whose work is represented in the collection. Some of the Photography Collection’s images are available online via the NYPL Digital Gallery. The images in the NYPL Digital Gallery also can be searched by place, subject and genre. Some of the larger photographic collections, such as the Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views and the Romana Javitz Collection, have been cataloged by subject, photographic process and time period as well as by photographer. These collections can be accessed via CATNYP, the New York Public Library's on-line catalog. Many important collections are also accessible via albums of reproductions that can be viewed in the Prints and Photographs Study Room (Room 308). The New York Public Library has long been known for its holdings of photographs of New York City. The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy maintains an important file of archival photographs of the city dating from the 1870s to 1980. The bulk of the collection comprises photographs from the late 1920s through the 1940s, a period during which the Library commissioned Percy Loomis Sperr, a Staten Island photographer, to document changes in the city through a series of nearly 30,000 photographs. The Photography Collection has complementary holdings, including important collections of work by Lewis W. Hine and Berenice Abbott. Historically, the collection has been stronger in New York photographs from the first half of the century, particularly work associated with documentary and social movements, such as photographs made for the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project or by members of the New York Photo League (1936 –51). Additional images held by The New York Public Library can be accessed via the Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection. The Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection is a picture resource that is comprised of 30,000 digitized images. These images include illustrations and photographs from books, magazines and newspapers. This collection is catalogued and is searchable by subject. Researching photographs can be facilitated by consultation with the staff of the Photography Collection, during the hours of public service. Telephone reference service for brief queries is available at (212) 930-0837 or via FAX at (212) 930-0530. Written reference queries will be answered in the order received regardless of means of transmittal. |