Selling the holidays
The holiday season brings with it a barrage of advertisements, on television, online, in your inbox, and printed in magazines and newspapers. The holidays are also a time for sending … Continue reading
Gustavademecum: a dining guide for engineers and explorers
As fluid as the New York restaurant scene has always been, one thing has stayed the same: We are a city of discerning diners. So what did New Yorkers do before restaurant apps, before dining … Continue reading
The Space is the Place; the Museum’s Collection on Theaters
With Archtober – New York City’s annual Architecture and Design Month – almost upon us, it has got my theater archivist’s mind turning to the city’s history of theater buildings. So this week I offer … Continue reading
Tea, a New York drink
Okay, coffee is more popular, be it a regular deli cup (hot, light, and sweet) or a compostable cup of slow-drip, cold-brewed, artisanal bean. With your alluring caffeinated goodness and … Continue reading
Brigs, Barges & Wild Rovers: Transit from the Port of New York
Before the mid–20th century, when air travel took over as the fastest mode of transporting people and our things around the globe, our ancestors primarily relied on ships for trade … Continue reading
The short, sad story of actress Clara Bloodgood
On the evening of December 5, 1907, respected actress and society woman Clara Bloodgood fatally shot herself in a Baltimore hotel room. She was in town to star as the … Continue reading
The New York Women Who Dismantled Prohibition
Women have been considered some of the most visible advocates of the temperance movement—the movement beginning in the nineteenth century to voluntarily abstain from drinking alcohol. Less known is … Continue reading
Hygienic whiskey and little nerve pills: The rise of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising
Before the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, the manufacture and sale of so-called “medicine” in the United States was unregulated. This wild west atmosphere enabled … Continue reading
Cymbeline; what’s a love story without some scandal?
It was January 25, 1897, the opening night of William Shakespeare’s romance Cymbeline, based on the legend of an early Celtic British king, at Wallack’s Theatre. The lavish production starred … Continue reading
Company Songs
While cataloging ephemera under the National Endowment for Humanities grant, I couldn’t help but notice how many companies, clubs, societies, and associations had songs written and printed for special occasions. … Continue reading
The Civilian War Effort in New York City During World War I and World War II
This week, we have a guest post from one of our Collections interns, Emily Arbuckle. Emily is completing her Masters Degree in Information and Library Science and Archives Certificate at … Continue reading
The origins of dining out in New York City
The holiday season is upon us, bringing with it numerous opportunities for eating and visiting restaurants. As we prepare the City Museum’s ephemera collections for digitization as part of a … Continue reading
Visiting New York City’s Hotels
The holidays are prime tourist season in New York City – we’re coming up on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade next week, department stores are mounting their holiday window displays, … Continue reading
