Views of Old New York City: D. T. Valentine's Manuals
1841 - 1870

January 23 - May 7, 2006
David Filderman Gallery, Axinn Library, 9th floor

Valentine's Manuals, each volume officially titled, Manual of the Common Council of the City of New York, are a collector's valued treasure and a historian's basic reference. These books are a source of delight for the eye, containing as they do hundreds of maps, lithographs and woodcuts of New York City and times long past, often of sites long demolished. The Manuals are surely the first illustrated histories of New York City, the first comprehensive portrait of the City, and the first to use prints and maps relating to New York City so extensively and effectively. They are also among the first to organize and present a governmental record of the Corporation of the City of New York, including lists of offices, office holders, election results and financial summaries. In addition, they contain statistics as to numerous social and religious institutions, banks, hospitals, schools and any number of other related materials.