Old Brooklyn in Early Photographs, 1865-1929

The 157 photographs in this book, many never reprinted before, recreate the ambiance of Old Brooklyn as it appeared between 1865 and 1829 - a rich, vital and exciting place. Shipbuilding and commerce thrived along its waterfront; its ocean playground at Coney Island and its racetracks were world-famous; its reputation was built on the quality of its residential districts, and it prided itself as being the city of homes and churches. Arranged to retrace the area's growth from the original Dutch settlement of Breuckelen, established in 1646 in the vicinity of the present intersection of Fulton and Hoyt Streets, these photos offer a rare and fascinating glimpse of Brooklyn's development in the nineteenth century.