Illustrations:
A short summary, thumbnails, and links to the many Illustrations on this site. Several links take you to multiple illustrations, such as the six Views of New Netherland. Many of the illustrations are presented here for the first time.
Guilders, Pelts, Wampum (Part 1) Monetary units of colonial New Amsterdam including coinage, wampum (beads), and merchantable beaver pelts. Also graph ofwampum inflation and estimate of changes in value of pelts. Also typical values of food, commoditites, and domestic items.
Roelantsen House 1642 (Part 1) Six illustrations of colonial Dutch House: major structural components from the front and side; interior room layouts from rear and side; stairs and 2nd floor attic; exterior view.
The Palisade Wall & the Plank Wall (Part 1) Two Illustrations of walls built to secure the borders of the Dutch settlement on Manhattan from potential threats from the English and Indiginous tribes. The path behind the wall gave New York's Wall Street its name.
A Newsham Broadside (Part 1) A Broadside advertisement illustrating the machine in use fighting fire along with tables of specifications of early hand-pumped fire engines.
New Amsterdam circa 1664 (Part 1) Six expanded views of colonial New Amsterdam: down Broadway; Bowling Green with market near the fort; the fort and Harbor, a birds-eye view north up Broadway towards the wall, and a sawmill with a horse eating apples.
Newsham Engine circa 1730 (Part 1) Six views of an early Newsham engine as imported into New York including mechanical diagrams and x-ray views.
The 1770 List of Merchants Favoring Importation (Part 2) List of those favoring importation of British goods published in newspaper in 1770. It was a harbinger of conflict to follow as many on list became Loyalists later including five leaders of FDNY during Revolution.
The Provincial Congress and the Firemen (Part 2) Transcriptions from 19th century historian Henry Dawson detailing the interaction between the Provincial Congress and the fireman in 1775-1776 as the Revolution came to New York.
Van der Heyden - New vs. Old Engine Techniques (Part 2) Illustrations of firefighting equipment - fire engines, hose, and tools and the firefighting techniques developed in 17th-18th century Holland. They provided a model techniques for Europe and America.
Trinity Church Before & After the Fire (Part 2 & 3) Three illustrations of Trinity Church/environs - Trinity Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Free School from the corner of Wall Street and Broadway; View of Trinity Church from the Hudson River slope before and after the 1776.
Advertisement to Replace Firemen/Robinson Appointment (Part 3) Many Loyalist firemen and others who did not feel the new American government would act in their best interest had “removed” to other parts. Each of the five engineers appointed by Robertson formally in 1782 listed their name as a contact for recruitment.
Proposal for a Post-War Fire Department (Part 3) Four of the Loyalist Engineers during the Revolution petition the governor of New York state in November 1783 to continue their management of the FDNY with a listing of engine companies with foremen.