Henry R. Stiles (editor-in-chief)
L.B. Proctor, L.P. Brockett, et al. (contributors)
C.A. Coffin & Rogers (printer)
J. Searle (binder)
The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History and Commercial and Industrial Record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N.Y. from 1683 to 1884 with Portraits, Biographies and Illustrations
W.W. Munsell & Co., New York: 1884
Thick quarto, two volumes in one
Pebbled cloth covers, one quarter calf spine and corners, gilt titles
All edges gilt
12.25 x 9.75 inches; 4.75 inches thick
$950
History of Brooklyn, 1683 to 1884
Huge Illustrated Late 19th Century Book
Huge Illustrated Late 19th Century Book
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Above: View of the New York and Brooklyn (East River) Bridge, shown without the page margins. |
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"Owl's Head." Residence of E.W. Bliss, Esq., at Bay Ridge, L.I. |
View of E.W. Bliss's Machine Shops and Foundries |
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Michael W. Wall and Dr. F.H. Colton, two of the many portraits in the book. |
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Voluminous, detailed late 19th century history of Brooklyn (as Kings County), with numerous engraved portraits of important and famous people of the period, and additional views of notable residences, farms, factories, houses of worship, hospitals, businesses and other sites -- many full page. The text is a series of articles by the editor-in-chief, Henry R. Stiles, a physician, historian, and author; L.B. Proctor, historian of the New York State Bar; L.P. Brockett, a physician, statistician and writer on economics; and others.
W.W. Munsell & Co. published and printed several histories of New York and Pennsylvania counties in the 1880s, including one offered on our site of Suffolk County, New York. Stiles explains in the preface that his goal was to create a comprehensive work that updated his previous three-volume work, A History of the City of Brooklyn (1867-1870).
Condition: Generally very good, binding tight, professionally rebound with new endpapers. Crack in hinge in interior in front of book not affecting spine or stability of binding. Some minor chips and short tears to preliminary pages professionally restored. A few additional minor short tears to these pages restored with archival filmoplast. Contents otherwise with light toning and handling, basically fine overall. Covers with the usual light handling, toning, soiling, abrasions and fraying to edges. Overall a very good, clean, stable, tight, handsome volume of a scarce work.