Had I mentioned that Albany was once the Piano City? I thought I might have. Once or twice. This ad from 1899 features only two of the numerous piano companies that operated here through the years, of which Boardman & Gray was the most prominent. The Lumber District may as well have been the…

In 1885, you could take the Peoples Line up and down the Hudson, any day of the week. And from there, you could go just about anywhere. I want to go to there.

A bookplate from the New York State Library, denoting a part of the collection of Books By New York Women. If you’re a fan of bookplates, hie yourself on over to the Pratt Institute’s Ex Libris Collection. Just have a couple of hours handy when you do.

J.C. Moore & Babcock Brick was once one of a number of brickmakers in Albany, which was the northernmost point of the enormous Hudson River brick industry. The yard and office were at the corner of Morton and South Hawk — today you know it as Lincoln Park.

Another wonderful ad from Hoxsie! George W. Hoxsie, “The Genuine Original,” ran the largest bottling establishment outside of New York (well, if it weren’t true he couldn’t print it, right?) at 25 Hamilton Street in Albany. That’s either the land of parking lots now, or it’s just possible that the Hoxsie bottling plant still…

It’s not possible to be interested in Albany history and not to owe a debt of gratitude to Joel Munsell. He was a Massachusetts native who came to Albany in 1827 and established himself as a printer and publisher. In 1850 he began the publication of his “Annals of Albany,” which along with numerous…