Three 'Manuals of Old New York' 1916–1919 Vintage Valentine's 1st Edition Volumes I, II & III

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A sequential set of early 20th-century hardback annual editions and series titled Manual of Old New York. Originated by David … Read more A sequential set of early 20th-century hardback annual editions and series titled Manual of Old New York. Originated by David Thomas Valentine, the revered archivist and Chief Clerk of the New York Common Council, who founded this legendary franchise in 1841. Meticulously compiled from hundreds of manuscripts and photographs, this early monograph appeared in the celebrated "New Series" revival of Valentine’s Manuals, compiled by noted American preservationist Henry Collins Brown and re-edited between 1916 and 1919. The resulting consecutive three-volume keepsakes are designed to carry Valentine’s exact methodology for rescuing forgotten municipal archives from oblivion. They are bound in their original deeply textured blue cloth bindings with gold-stamped vignettes on the hardcovers, two of Henry Hudson’s ship insignia. Each delicate antique book volume features sophisticated, scarce histories, highly curated archival legends, and stories with old-world gravity from the age of Peter Stuyvesant forward. Reviving David T. Valentine's pioneering passion for rich visual media, editor Brown has packed the volumes with rare and extensive 4-fold to 8-fold lithographic plates tracing Manhattan's shifting topography from Dutch colonial roots to the largest American city of the Late Gilded Age. The densely illustrated books have fine-grain photogravures, street-level directories, and rare archival essays capturing many landmark views of City Hall Park, Wall Street, early skyscrapers, and the original Grand Central Depot, well before modern skyscrapers permanently reshaped the New York skyline. They represent a trove of consecutive breathtaking press releases, large, multi-panel fold-out maps, architectural diagrams, forgotten and unexamined panoramic lithographs of New York, all excellent examples and vignettes for a bookcase with important US memorabilia, an executive desk, or a traditional parlor browsing table. A pristine trio- these books are an irreplaceable set of the forgotten stories within early Gotham, perfectly tailored for the discerning antiquarian eye.

Books ! – III
Valentine's Manual of the City of New York for 1916-7
Edited by Henry Collins Brown
Valentine Publishing Company, 256p

Valentine's Manual of the City of New York for 1917-1918 New Series No. 2
Edited by Henry Collins Brown
The Old Colony Press, 448p


Valentine's Manual of Old New York
Volume III New Series 1919
Edited by Henry Collins Brown
New York 1919 Valentine's Manual Inc., 381p See less