Subject: New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs

Color postcard depicting a Jewish store in the Jewish Quarter of New York City. Part of the U.S. Series 109/4. Published circa 1904.

Cabinet photograph depicting the Levy Sisters and a newsboy in New York, New York. The photograph appears to be a color image showing well-dressed sisters in tights. Date of creation is estimated to be around 1890.

Cabinet photograph depicting a newsboy and the Levy Sisters. The photograph was taken in New York, New York, United States, sometime around 1890. The image shows the sisters, who appear well-fed, wearing tights.

Cabinet photograph of the Levy Sisters, identified as "The Queens of the Ostrich Plumes in King Kodak." The image shows the well-fed sisters in tights. The photograph was taken in New York, New York, circa 1890.

Carte-de-visite (CDV) photograph of Mrs. Beilmer. The back of the photograph features a full advertisement for Bogardus & Bendann Brothers, located at 1115 Broadway, near 27th Street, in New York, New York. The photograph is undated, but based on the style and the advertisement, it is likely from around 1875.

Partly printed and partly handwritten court document from January 16, 1790, concerning a violation of the public peace by Moses Levey, a chocolate maker, and William Lowerie, a carpenter, in New York City. The document, signed by Alderman Isaac Stoutenburgh, details fines levied against Levey and Lowerie and orders them to maintain civil behavior. The document measures 8" x 12.875" and is in fine to very fine condition.

A letter written by Charles Tobias to his father, Tobias I. Tobias, on January 1, 1850, in New York, New York. The letter discusses business matters and requests the sending of sheet music.

Two-page letter written by David C. Levy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 13, 1848, to T. J. Tobias in New York, New York. Levy expresses gratitude for Tobias' hospitality in New York and describes his new life in Philadelphia, mentioning his family and social engagements.

A one-half page, stampless letter written by Michael H. Samuels in Kingston, Jamaica, to T. I. Tobias in New York City on November 6, 1824. Samuels requests Tobias forward a letter and mentions Asher Levy, describing him as "quite rich and equally eccentric as he was 20 years ago." He also asks that regards be sent to their mutual friend U. Hendricks.

A single-page letter written on October 1, 1850, by Mordecai Manuel Noah to his son, Jacob Noah. The letter, written in New York, New York, discusses family matters and business dealings, including advice on interacting with an important individual.

A letter written by Solomon Moses to Hendricks & Brothers on January 18, 1842, concerning copper. The letter mentions the death of Harmon Hendricks and Solomon Moses' involvement in Jewish affairs and his family connections to Rebecca Gratz. The letter was written from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and sent to New York, New York.

Match safe featuring a nude image on the front and the name "GRANT / GREENBERG" above on the back in a printed placard. The match safe is associated with New York and Brooklyn, New York. Date is approximated based on available information.

Issue of the New-York Mirror newspaper from March 28, 1835, featuring Mordecai Manuel Noah's morality story, "A Day at Carthage." Published in New York, New York.

Pair of oil on canvas wedding portraits of Manuel Josephson (1729-1796) and Rachel Josephson (1732-1797), painted in oval format (29 x 24 1/2 in. or 73.7 x 61.6 cm each). Attributed to Lawrence Kilburn (American, 1720-1775). Painted circa 1760 in New York, New York. The portraits were originally owned by Dr. I. Minnis Hays of Philadelphia and were featured in Hannah R. London's 1926 book, "Portraits of Jews." Currently on long-term loan to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

Six-page sheet music for "To The Young Ladies Of New York Mirabel Schottich," composed by Abram Nussbaum and published in New York by Sarony & Knapp circa 1845. The sheet music features a color portrait in the center of the cover. Shows some age-related darkening at edges.

A streetcar ticket for the Fourth Avenue Line, used on a Sunday in 1908. The reverse side features an advertisement for evening school courses offered by the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) at 17th Street and Lexington Avenue, starting September 28, 1908. The ticket itself is dated September 27, 1908. The advertisement lists 17 courses.

Trade Card & Broadside - Front: Golding Bros.(not Jewish), 8th Ave., Corner 36th St…. Note: Image captures the contentious spirit of the day -- athletics, "uniforms" for teams, strongmen, etc. More importantly, it depicts the tug of war between labor and industry, legislation and free enterprise / business.....IMPORTANT Reverse: "Grand Annual Ball of the Cigarette Makers ~ 1881."… "Music by Boswald's Full Orchestra ...." to be held at Tammany Hall, Saturday evening, Nov. 12th, 1881. "OFFICERS -- Wm. Rubens, President / Abe Rubens, Sec'y / Barney Kommel, VP / Nathan Cohen, Treas." .... etc. Note: Strong direct link between the trade union and the Jewish community of New York / Bowery. HISTORICAL NOTE on Roosevelt and Social Legislation (from www / Presidential biography): "... when the Cigarmakers' International introduced a bill in the session of 1882 to prohibit the manufacture of cigars in tenement houses in New York and Brooklyn. Samuel Gompers, then in his early thirties and head of the union's strongest local, was its principal proponent. The bill was referred to the Com- mittee on Cities, and Roosevelt was appointed one of a subcommittee of three to investigate conditions. Gompers, who had collected his evidence by making the rounds of the tenements disguised as a book agent with a set of Dickens, immediately approached him. Roose- velt's first reaction was antagonistic because, as Gompers remembered, "he disbelieved the conditions which I portrayed to him." Gompers, however, finally induced him to go with him on one of his rounds, "after which ... his whole manner toward me changed." " It was a fortunate circumstance that Gompers was the first to bring Roosevelt in practical contact with the consequences of the laissez-faire phil- osophy, for Gompers was, of all the labor leaders of his generation, the most moderate and reasonable. The tenement cigar evil was good ground, too, for an open-minded young public servant to gain experience upon. In the early eighties, some 670,000,000 cigars were manufactured in New York City every year, over a third of which were made in tenements, chiefly by Bohe- mian immigrants, ignorant of the English language, hard pressed by competition, and an easy prey for their landlords. Since the landlords were also the manufacturers, they were in a position to compel their tenants both to live and work on the premises. Hours of labor ranged from sixteen to eighteen a day and were spent in dark, crowded rooms, two families often sharing one apartment or even a single room. The tobacco was stowed in corners, alongside the foul bedding or commingled with scraps of food. Little children working under these conditions sometimes fell asleep on piles of tobacco, consump- tives coughed upon it, and victims of other diseases labored on through contagious stages of their illness. The situation was not only a vicious travesty on life for the workers, but a menace to the health of the city. Roosevelt made three visits to the tenements, once with Gompers, once with his colleagues on the subcommittee, and again by himself. What he found filled him with both astonishment and revulsion, and he promptly championed the prohibitory bill. "Businessmen who spoke to me about it shook their heads," he later wrote, "and said that it was designed to prevent a man doing as he wished, and as he had a right to do, with what was his own," but Roosevelt felt that "whatever the theories might be, as a matter of practical common sense I could not conscientiously vote for the continuance of the conditions which I saw...."

Trade card depicting a scene of dancing in a hall at 359 Grand Street, near 10th Street, in New York City. The card is part of Volume 25, Page 12, of archival collection Arc.MS.56. The card dates from circa 1885. The description on the card only includes the address: "359 GRAND STREET, NEAR 10TH; DANCING IN A HALL".

Whiskey jug with the name 'Salzman & Siegelman' prominently displayed. The jug is likely from the late 19th century, circa 1890s, and is associated with the New York City-based business, Salzman & Siegelman. The jug's design suggests it may have been used in the food and beverage industry.