Charter School, 1670
English: Francis Lovelace (1621-1675) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In 1670, Albany’s Schoolmaster Jan Jurians Beecker was having a hard time. Despite the fact that Colonial Governor Richard Nicolls had granted […]
Measure for measure
Dutch roof line (Photo credit: carljohnson) In 1669, New York had been under British rule for five years, but the colony, her cities and her customs were no less […]
Sifting the ashes
Ran across this 1923 Carl Company ad for dustless ash sifters, only $2.98 in Carl’s Busy Basement, and it occurred to me that even though I’ve heard the phrase “sifting […]
Romantic Albany
The Northern Traveller, from 1844, relates an earlier, uncredited, positively gushing description of the capital city on the Hudson: “The younger race of fashionables and semi-fashionables know Albany, or affect […]
Cruising up the Hudson, 1909-style
English: US Postage Stamp, Fulton on the Hudson, 1909 Issue, 2c (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In “The Motor Boat: Devoted to All Types of Power Craft,” author C.G. Davis gave us […]
The Charm House
In 1938, a builder named Primomo was advertising the “Charm House” in the Times-Union. Built in a newly developed section off New Scotland Avenue, these homes featured six rooms (!), […]
Plus ça change
Around the turn of the century (no, the other century), there was some discussion of the City of Albany setting up a municipal insurance scheme. Similar to other public utilities, […]
Boardman, Gray Pianos
Wow, has it really been two years since I wrote about Albany’s claim to being the Piano City? I guess it has. This ad is from 1858, when Boardman and […]
Columbia Safety Bicycles
This has nothing whatsoever to do with Albany, Schenectady or Troy history. However, my first two bicycles were Columbia bicycles, and so I was delighted to find this ad for […]
Guns and automobiles
From the Schenectady Gazette, December 31, 1923, comes this handy little fact about the driving and shooting inhabitants of Rensselaer County. 5,000 permits to carry revolvers had been issued throughout […]