George P. Hall & Son
View of Brooklyn Bridge, ca. 1905
George Eastman House: 1977:0144:0081MP

One year ago, George Eastman House entered the Flickr Commons. We celebrate the breadth and depth of GEH’s collection in this special post.

George Eastman House is the world’s oldest photography museum. It opened to the public in 1949 in the mansion and gardens that George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, called home from 1905 to 1932. Eastman  is often hailed as the “father of modern photography” — and remarkably, this week also saw the 155th anniversary of Eastman’s birth … while this year marked the end of the production of Kodak’s famed Kodachrome film.

One of George Eastman House’s more popular sets of photos is that of Nickolas Muray’s images. From sleek Dodge sedans to women with kittens, Muray’s advertising portfolio has captured the hearts of Commons fans.

Nickolas Muray (set)

The second most “interesting” photograph in the GEH photosteam (right behind that of a rather iconic woman …) is of Grace Sutherland, a carte de visite — the most popular format for portrait photography in the nineteenth century.At turns whimsical, macabre, or poignant, these images are a treat.

Carte de Visites and Cabinet Cards (set)

The Eastman collection on Flickr contains gems from photographic geniuses.The most recently uploaded set contains the timeless work of Eugène Atget, who refused to work with the latest advances in photographic technology (for examples of the technology achieved in his era, check out the GEH’s set of images from William M. Vander Weyde).

Eugène Atget (set)

Personal favorites of mine in their collection are the James Jowers images from the ’60s and ’70s. This street photography is, simply put, stunning.

James Jowers (set)

This past year, George Eastman House, along with other members of the Flickr Commons, celebrated International Women’s Day with a special series of uploads (including, arguably, the most iconic image of a woman ever taken).

Women! (set)

One of GEH’s early uploads is a set from a collection of more than 10,000 glass plate negatives held at George Eastman House by Ch. Chusseau-Flaviens. Not much is known about the collection, so its importance on Flickr cannot be overstated. A rough sampling of comments on this set demonstrate the power of crowdsourcing (and that Flickreenos love these photos!)

Chusseau – Flaviens (set)

In closing, for your amusement and enjoyment, please click through any of these thumbnails to discover treats of the Eastman legacy, and congratulate the museum founded in his name for its first, fabulous year in the Commons.

We celebrate International Children’s Day with a wealth of photographs from the Flickr Commons. Enjoy!

Berenice Abbott
Manhattan Skyline: I. South Street and Jones Lane, Manhattan …, March 26, 1936
New York Public Library: 482569

Changing New York, 1935—1938 is an important set in the holdings of the New York Public Library. This work was made under the Federal Art Project (FAP) in 1935 by acclaimed photographer Berenice Abbott, to document New York City.

Herald Square, 34th and Broadway, Manhattan

Greyhound Bus Terminal, 33rd and 34th Streets between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, Manhattan

The FAP funded many such projects for unemployed artists as part of the New Deal. A book was published of her work in 1939, in time for the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow, NY. The FAP distributed complete sets of Abbott’s images to high schools, libraries and other public institutions.

Tri-boro Barber School, 264 Bowery, Manhattan

Penn Station, Interior, Manhattan

Berenice Abbott was one of the avant garde artists in New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1920s and ’30s. She studied portraiture in France under Man Ray and Eugène Atget. Abbott became best known for her architecture shots and urban street scenes, and she continued capturing the heart of the Big Apple until her death in 1991.

Brooklyn Bridge, Water and Dock Streets, looking southwest

Murray Hill Hotel, from Park Avenue and 40th Street, Manhattan

Won’t you help tag this collection? By tagging the photographs in the Commons, you help others find items more readily. This particular set could use Abbott’s name, “New York City” or “NYC”, as well as the locations and buildings in the photographs.

Bedford Lemere & Co
First class restaurant reception room on the ‘Titanic’, 1912
National Maritime Museum: G10671

On the night of April 14, 1912, on her maiden voyage, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg; it sank less than three hours later, in the wee hours of the 15th of April. 1,517 people perished in the icy North Atlantic waters. Just after 4 a.m., the RMS Carpathia arrived to pick up the 706 survivors from the lifeboats. The White Star Line chartered the cable ship Mackay-Bennett to retrieve the bodies from the sea. Many were interred at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We honor this tragedy with a collection of images from the Library of Congress.

TITANIC life boats on way to CARPATHIA

TITANIC survivors on way to rescue-ship CARPATHIA

Crowd awaiting survivors from CARPATHIA

Crowd in front of White Star offices

Louis & Lola ?– TITANIC survivors

Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron of the Carpathia who rescued survivors of the Titanic

J.J. Astor funeral

Services at seaman’s institute – TITANIC Tablet unveiled – Bishop Greer speaking

Capt. Rostron & under officers of CARPATHIA

Capt. and crew of MACKAY-BENNETT

The wonders of the Ancient World across the Commons …

Read more about this collection in the Flickr Commons group.

Images from the Brooklyn Museum, National Galleries of Scotland, New York Public Library, and the George Eastman House.

The most commented photo from each Commons institution, collected using data from Patrick Peccatte.

A collection of Valentine’s Day images from across The Commons.

A collection of Christmas images from across The Commons.