Frequently Asked Questions for Rights & Reproductions
We receive many inquiries at the Museum of the City of New York regarding rights and reproductions for objects in our collections. Below are some frequently asked questions and responses. … Continue reading
Minnie Fisher, Immigrant and Labor Activist
The Museum completed processing our Pamphlet Collection over the past summer and shared the finding aid online with funds from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and has now completed item … Continue reading
Young Chuck Connors, Mayor of Chinatown
“Mayor of Chinatown” Chuck Connors enthralled New Yorkers around the turn of the century with tall tales and colorful language describing the ethnic neighborhood he inhabited. Connors claimed to have … Continue reading
How a Colonial Relic Became a Civil War Memento: Tracing Object History in the Silver Collection
Over the course of digitizing the Museum’s silver collection, we’ve come across many objects with storied histories, but not many can weave a historical path through our collection with the … Continue reading
Napoleon Sarony: Celebrity Photographer
Before paparazzi and the celebrity media we all live with today, there were 19th century photographers, like Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896), who became internationally renowned for their celebrity portraits. Born in Québec, Sarony began his … Continue reading
Rufus King: Early New York, lawyer, diplomat and statesman
If you have found yourself wandering around the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, anytime in the last two centuries, you’ve possibly happened upon a farmhouse, situated between 89th Avenue, 150th street, … Continue reading
Revolutionary sisters: Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin
If you’ve never heard of Victoria Woodhull or her younger sister Tennessee “Tennie” Claflin, you’re not alone. When I first came across them in the Museum’s Portrait Archive, I was … Continue reading
Happy 25th Birthday to the Internet
Last week the Internet turned a quarter of a century old. On March 12, 1989, a British computer scientist named Sir Tim Berners-Lee proposed what he called an “information management” … Continue reading
Power, corruption, and Tammany Hall: sketches of lesser known New York City mayors, 1869-1913
Today the 109th mayor of New York City will be elected. In honor of this occasion, we delved into our portrait archive to find some of the most fascinating mayors … Continue reading
Vanderbilt Ball – how a costume ball changed New York elite society
In the spring of 1883, the solemnity of Lent didn’t stand a chance against the social event on the mind of all of New York’s elite society: Mrs. W. K. … Continue reading
Mora – Photographer of the Rich and Famous
What do rich Gilded Age socialites, stuffed bears, and elaborate costumes have in common? They’re all features in these very atypical Gilded Age portraits. As I was cataloging the Museum’s … Continue reading
The “Forgotten” Father of Greater New York: Andrew Haswell Green
November 13, 1903. An 83 year old man leaves his office at 214 Broadway and gets on the Fourth Avenue street car by City Hall to join his nieces for … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 