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History Curatorial Staff

The New York Chamber of Commerce Portrait Collection A donation from The Partnership for New York City Inc., this collection depicts members and associates of the New York Chamber of Commerce, many of whom were prominent in the fields of business, commerce, and politics in the late 18th century through the mid-20th century.

The Weitsman Stoneware Collection consists of about one hundred pieces, including some very unusual ones, donated by Adam Weitsman to ensure that the collection will be preserved for appreciation and study by the public.

The Civil War Drawings of Edward Lamson Henry is an outstanding collection by one of the country's most popular and prolific genre artists at the end of the nineteenth century, and contains a significant group of Civil War images sketched on-site from nature.

The Wunsch Americana Collection consists of furniture, paintings, silver, ceramics, and folk art crafted primarily between 1700 and 1900. The objects are labeled by New York craftsmen, or are documented with a New York State history. The Wunsch Collection illustrates changing stylistic trends and helps us to understand how New Yorkers once lived.

The Women's History Collection contains a vast array of objects that illuminate the lives of women in New York, including tools and products used by women; clothing worn by women and girls; art and crafts created by women; and images of real women and girls at home, at school, at work, and at play.

New York State Agricultural Society Collection contains examples of the most modern tools available to New York farmers of the day, historical implements and exotic, primitive devices from around the world, and forms the core of the present agricultural holdings.

The Shaker Collection is a comprehensive collection begun in 1927 that illustrates the history and activities of the Shakers in this State. It includes photographs of the leaders, of the buildings, of the interiors of the rooms, and the household equipment and various kinds of tools used in the different industries.

The Architecture Collection
reflects almost three centuries of the state's built environment, including significant colonial period components, various exteriors, and a collection of interior architectural elements.
The Art Collection
features a broad spectrum of works relating to the Empire State from the colonial period into the twentieth century. Among the collection's gems is the collection of works by genre artist Edward Lamson Henry (1841-1919).
The Communications Collection
represents various means for recording and transmitting information. Communications devices range from pencils and pens to computers, including the 2,400 cubic foot Univac Mark III used by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to process sales tax returns beginning in the mid-1960's.
The Decorative Arts Collections
consist of furniture, silver, ceramics, lighting devices, and other household decorations. The emphasis is on items made and used in New York State, so as a result many items in these collections are labeled by their makers.
The Firefighting Collection
consists of a group of twelve fire fighting vehicles, ranging from a hand tub acquired by the village of Lansingburgh in 1791 to a 1953 Ward-LaFrance pumper.
The Manufacture Collection
features the tools and machinery of production, as well as the manufactured items from New York's factories, from generic woodworking and metal working equipment to the products of large scale manufacture.
The Measurement Collection
represents artifacts of measurement used in surveying, manufacture and scientific investigation, including nearly 200 historic instruments donated in 1993 by Teledyne Industries, Inc.
The Popular Entertainment Collections
consist of circus, theatre, vaudeville, burlesque, musical comedy, movies, and band material, also including personal memorabilia, costumes, and props. The circus collection contains over 1000 posters spanning the period 1820 to 1990.
The Prints Collection
features nineteenth century engravings and lithographs depicting places, events and daily life in New York State with themes representing agriculture, architecture, industry, transportation, and recreation.
The Toys, Games and Dolls Collection
contains children's' play things, from early board and card games to cast iron fire engines, pull toy animals and bisque dolls, early Barbie dolls and tin clockwork toy appliances, baseballs, gloves and bats and a number of large doll houses.
The Transportation Collection
represents vehicles for the movement of people and goods and features an airplane, a subway car and a number of boats, including sailed and motor types, Adirondack guide boats, St. Lawrence skiffs, a sandbagger and ice boats.