Byron Company

For half a century, the Byron Company (1892-1942) was one of New York City's preeminent commercial photography studios. Two major areas of specialization - stage and ship photography - provided steady work for the firm while it pursued thousands of other commissions....

Broadway Productions

The City Museum has received generous funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to digitize its theater production files--more than 30,000 photographs documenting over 5,000 Broadway productions. They'll be made available here as they're digitized...

Jacob A. Riis

Danish-born Jacob Riis (1849-1914) was a journalist, social reformer, and social documentary photographer. He is best known for his 1890 book How the Other Half Lives, which brought public attention to New York's squalid housing, sweatshops, bars, and alleys. The...

1939 World's Fair

The 1939 New York World’s Fair was a significant marker in New York City history and American culture. It contributed to the physical development of the city through major infrastructure projects, but equally importantly, it captured the spirit of its era. The...

Yiddish Theater

The City Museum holds a major collection related to theatrical productions performed or originated on New York's Yiddish stage. Highlights include works translated into Yiddish and performances of works originally written in Yiddish but translated into English....

Wurts Bros.

Thanks to generous grants from the Leon Levy Foundation, the Wurts Brothers Collection is now available online. This collection gives visual life to the growth of New York’s built environment in the 20th century. The studio, founded by brothers Norman and Lionel...

Samuel H. Gottscho

As a young man, Samuel Gottscho (1875-1971) recorded the nighttime glories of Coney Island's early 20th-century amusement parks, but he became a professional success with the establishment of his own architectural photography firm in 1925. He received numerous...

Byron Company

For half a century, the Byron Company (1892-1942) was one of New York City's preeminent commercial photography studios. Two major areas of specialization - stage and ship photography - provided steady work for the firm while it pursued thousands of other commissions....

Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein joined LOOK Magazine as a staff photographer in 1940 and, upon returning from serving in World War II, was named the Director of Photography, a position he held until the magazine’s demise in 1971. Before joining LOOK, Rothstein cemented his reputation...

J. Clarence Davies Collection

Bronx real estate mogul J. Clarence Davies (1868-1934) assembled his collection of New York City imagery over a forty year period, collecting voraciously and comprehensively. In 1929 he gave his collection to the City Museum. At the time, the gift was valued at...

Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein joined LOOK Magazine as a staff photographer in 1940 and, upon returning from serving in World War II, was named the Director of Photography, a position he held until the magazine’s demise in 1971. Before joining LOOK, Rothstein cemented his reputation...

Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein joined LOOK Magazine as a staff photographer in 1940 and, upon returning from serving in World War II, was named the Director of Photography, a position he held until the magazine’s demise in 1971. Before joining LOOK, Rothstein cemented his reputation...

Federal Art Project

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) was created in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, to provide work relief for the unemployed. Under the auspices of the WPA, the Federal Art Project (FAP) was created specifically to aid visual artists by...

Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein joined LOOK Magazine as a staff photographer in 1940 and, upon returning from serving in World War II, was named the Director of Photography, a position he held until the magazine’s demise in 1971. Before joining LOOK, Rothstein cemented his reputation...

Currier and Ives

In 1857, Nathaniel Currier formed a partnership with James Merritt Ives, creating the printmaking firm of Currier & Ives. Located in lower Manhattan, the business was spectacularly prolific, producing an average of three or four new prints of a wide variety of...

Sophie Tucker Collection

Singer, comedian, and actress, Sophie Tucker was one of the most well-known entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Making her professional stage debut in 1907, Tucker’s big voice and even bigger stage presence were a hit on the vaudeville and burlesque...

Wurts Bros.

Thanks to generous grants from the Leon Levy Foundation, the Wurts Brothers Collection is now available online. This collection gives visual life to the growth of New York’s built environment in the 20th century. The studio, founded by brothers Norman and Lionel...

Posters and Patriotism

This selection of images from the World War I poster collection donated to the Museum by railroad executive and financier John W. Campbell (1880-1957) in 1943, is representative of many shown in Posters and Patriotism: Selling World War I in New York. When the...