From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Schuyler St., Boonville, N.Y. 36.
Image of a streetscape composed of mostly late-19th century commercial buildings viewed from across a broad street on a summer day. The presence of utility poles, multiple overhead electric wires,early motor cars and several horse-drawn vehicles reflect a central New York state town in transition to the modern, gas-powered era. The three-story blocks all feature large glass commercial storefronts, with signs advertising everything from stoves to hats The H.D. Ryder block advertisement for "Ironsteel Paint/ Stoves" and a wrought iron balcony point to the region's iron-rich identity and industry. Next door is a millinery, then a furniture and wallpaper store, a dry goods supply, "Pure Food", a garage, and a "Quick Lunches" place. In the shade of mature Elm trees across the street are an ice cream shop, a cannon, and a Victorian gazebo. This is one of a series of images made in upstate New York state by one of the three Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company photographers assigned to New England or New York state. The glass plates would be sent back to Belfast, Maine, and processed into postcards at the printing plant on High Street.
