The East Bronx History Forum will mainly be going over the topic of “Intimate Sketches of New York” during its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of St. Clare of Assisi Church, located at 1027 Rhinelander Ave. Entry for the meeting is free.
Guest speaker Dr. Janet Butler Munch, a Professor and Special Collections Librarian at Lehman College, will be showing off and discussing a series of sketches relating to the Bronx that appeared in the New York Sun from 1932-1934. Over a 16-month period, the Intimate Sketches of New York newspaper series showed pen and ink illustrations of streetscapes, buildings, perspectives and locales across New York City. Dr. Munch will also contextualize the presentation by talking about why the New York Sun was interested in publishing this series.
The drawings were done by artist Vernon How Bailey and were accompanied by descriptive captioning, courtesy of literary editor Arthur Bartlett Maurice. A total of 381 sketches of sites across all five boroughs of New York City were produced. This includes 17 sketches for the Bronx.
Dr. Munch earned a D.L.S. from Columbia University. Much of her research interests and publications relate to biographical and historical topics, architectural and historical sites and community history. In addition to overseeing Lehman College’s Bronx Institute Archives, she co-edited the 2014 book “Bronx Faces and Voices: Sixteen Stories of Courage and Community.”
Established in 2005, the East Bronx History Forum is a 501(c)3 non-profit chartered by the New York State Education Department. The organization accepts donations through its website at BronxNYC.com. this meeting will mark the organization’s 192nd monthly meeting.
