The photograph collections of the New York City Municipal Archives are deservedly well-known for their extensive documentation of the physical city—the buildings, streets, highways, bridges and parks. The 1940 and mid-1980s “tax” photograph collections are perhaps the best examples. But there are “people” pictures, too, most notably in the mayoral photograph collections.

The Municipal Archives has recently started scanning a collection known as the “Official Mayoral Photographs, 1951–1965.” The first image in the series dates from January 18, 1951—approximately two months after Vincent Impellitteri took office as mayor following a special election on November 7, 1950. Impellitteri was elected to complete the term of William O’Dwyer who had resigned on September 2, 1950. (In accordance with the succession rule in the City Charter, City Council President Impellitteri took over upon O’Dwyer’s resignation and served as acting mayor from September 2, to November 14, 1950.)

The official photographer was apparently stationed in City Hall, or nearby, and was assigned to document every swearing-in ceremony, special event, and visitor. The bulk of the images are taken in the mayor’s office or other City Hall rooms. Photographs of people posing on the City Hall steps and plaza and in the Park are well-represented in the collection. The photographer also shot events at Gracie Mansion and made occasional forays to other venues such as the Municipal Building, or mid-town hotels for gala luncheons and dinners. The photographer used a 4x5 view camera and each image was numbered and captioned.

The “official mayoral photograph” collection serves as an almost daily photographic record of the Impelliteri administration. The official staff photographer tradition continued through Robert F. Wagner’s three terms as mayor, until December 30, 1965, his last day in office.

Further research is needed to determine why Wagner’s successor, Mayor John V. Lindsay (1966-1973), discontinued the practice of having a staff photographer assigned to his office. The Municipal Archives does include a collection of Mayor Lindsay images, but they do not provide a detailed daily record of City Hall events. Similarly, the Abraham Beame (1974-1977) collection is an eclectic mix of photographs. It was not until Mayor Edward I. Koch took office on January 1, 1978, that City Hall would once again have a staff photographer assigned to document the daily activities of the mayor.

The Official Mayoral photographs will be made available for research in the Archives gallery in batches as the scanning and metadata activities are completed. Look for highlights of the collection in future blogs.