Scope and arrangement
The Wurts Bros. Architectural photographs, dating from the 1930s to the 1940s, contains photographs created by the studio that primarily depict New York City buildings and interiors. There are also some images from other locations present, including Philadelphia, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, DC. The bulk of the images are black and white prints, but some copy negatives and exhibition descriptions are also present.
Most of the photographs in the collection depict skyscrapers in New York City, but the Wurts Bros. were also particularly interested in interiors of churches, department stores, hospitals, and restaurants. The studio also shot other smaller documentary series on Quakers, a work camp, and a cooperative living group.
Some photographs have been stamped with the Wurts Bros. studio information and occasionally include descriptive titles or the image's location. The majority of the photographs were taken in New York City, but a "Not New York" file contains pictures of other locations. Norman Wurts took most of the photographs in the collection, with some pictures attributed to Richard Wurts.
In addition to the company's stamp, some photographs were later stamped by the New York Public Library Picture Collection, who also assigned topical subject terms for filing.
The collection holds some copy negatives from 1984 that were sent to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum for an exhibition called Manhattan Skyline. Also present is a press release for the exhibit, Wurts Brothers: New York Architectural Photographs 1895-1960 held at the Museum of the City of New York in 1985.
Arrangement
Arranged by format into Prints, Copy Negatives, and Exhibition Texts. Prints are arranged alphabetically.