The New York Public Library, c1950s

 

NY1188

1925, Library, Theodore Roosevelt House, New York, New York

LIB040711

H.W. Wilson Co., Library Publishers, New York City, New York

[LIB11236] - The H. W. Wilson Company was founded in 1889 by Halsey William Wilson, a student working his way through the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Together with his roommate, Henry S. Morris, Wilson started a book selling business serving educators and students at the university. When it was time for Morris to graduate, he sold his share of the business to Wilson. The H. W. Wilson Company's first original reference title was the Cumulative Book Index, first published in 1898. This was followed by the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature in 1901.

1905, Public Library, New York, New York

[LIB11051] This looks like an architectural model for the library. As the sender says, "It is a grand one inside."

2000 Library, New York, First Day Cover

[LIB11009] A First Day Cover (FDC) is an envelope or card bearing a stamp which is cancelled on the day the stamp is initially placed on sale by the postal authorities.

1926, Library, Manhattan, New York City, New York

[LIB10995] This is an original 1926 halftone print of pigeon feeders outside of the New York Public Library.

Columbia University Library, New York City

[LIB9261] This monumental edifice, combining the Roman Classic Style with Greek Refinements was erected in 1897 at a cost of $13,000,000, a gift of President Low. It is the focal point of the general campus layout, occupying a commanding position on Morningside Heights, and has an estimated capacity of 1,500,000 volumes. [from the back of the card]

1943 The Frick Art Reference Library, New York, New York

[LIB4402] - The Frick Art Reference Library was founded in 1920 to serve “adults with a serious interest in art,” among them scholars, art professionals, collectors, and students. The Library’s book and photograph research collections relate chiefly to paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints from the fourth to the mid-twentieth centuries by European and American artists. Known internationally for its rich holdings of auction and exhibition catalogs, the Library is a leading site for collecting and provenance research. Archival materials and special collections augment the research collections with documents pertaining to the history of collecting art in America and of Henry Clay Frick’s collecting in particular. [From the website]

1912 New Public Library, 42nd St. and Fifth Ave., New York, New York

[LIB5221]

January 9, 1854, Astor Library opened, New York City

New York Public Library, New York City, Manhattan

A nice hi-def video showing the great reading room of the New York Public Library.

The following information is from the NYPL website: The Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room is a majestic public space, measuring 78 feet by 297 feet—roughly the length of two city blocks—and weaving together Old World architectural elegance with modern technology. The award-wining restoration of this room was completed in 1998, thanks to a fifteen million-dollar gift from Library trustee Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick Phineas Rose, who renamed the room in honor of their children.

Here, patrons can read or study at long oak tables lit by elegant bronze lamps, beneath fifty-two foot tall ceilings decorated by dramatic murals of vibrant skies and billowing clouds. Since the General Research Division’s opening day on May 23, 1911, vast numbers of people have entered the main reading room. Literary figures such as Norman Mailer, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Elizabeth Bishop, E. L. Doctorow, and Alfred Kazin have cited the division as a major resource for their work. In one of his memoirs, New York Jew, Kazin described his youthful impression of the reading room: “There was something about the . . . light falling through the great tall windows, the sun burning smooth the tops of the golden tables as if they had been freshly painted—that made me restless with the need to grab up every book, press into every single mind right there on the open shelves.”

Low Memorial Library, Columbia University, New York City

[LIB2620]

1913 The Library, Columbia University, New York City

[LIB2605] Jewels in Her Crown: Treasures of Columbia University Libraries Special Collections
Digital exhibition in honor of Columbia's 250th anniversary celebration (on display October 8, 2004 - January 28, 2005). Includes materials from Columbia's East Asian Collections. [Website]

The New York Public Library, New York City

[LIB1653]

Special Collection: Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s-1970s

More than 54,000 New York City archival photographs (and their captioned versos) from the 1870s-1970s arranged by borough and street; the majority are exterior building views and neighborhood scenes from the 1910s-1940s. [Website]

The Library of Columbia University, New York City, New York

[LIB1232]

Public Library, New York City

[LIB672] Click on the image to order a reproduction of this postcard!

1910 The Library of Columbia University, New York, NY

[LIB645] - Sorry, no reproduction available.

Seth Low Library, Columbia University, New York City

[LIB0381]

Library, Columbia University, New York City

[LIB0372]

Public Library, New York City 1915 Vintage Poster

A reproduction of a beautiful post card shows the world-famous Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. This item is of archival quality, high resolution, it has been retouched, recolored in areas, cropped and enhanced. This assures that your item will print with the highest quality possible. Because this is a vintage image, there may be slight imperfections.

Public Library, New York City 1915 Vintage by markomundo
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