An Evaluation: ‘The Business of Brooklyn’ at The Brooklyn Historical Society
Who knew that Brooklyn was the hub of the New York City’s commercial enterprise? The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce knew it and supported Brooklyn’s businesses for a hundred years. Now visitors to the Pierrepont building of The Brooklyn Historical Society can learn about “The Business of Brooklyn” in a new exhibit that opened Feb. 23. This compact but excellent presentation will be on display until the end of the year.
Display cases in The Gina Ingoglia Weiner Gallery on the third floor are filled with historic advertisements, mostly from the Society’s collection, that retell the story of the birthplace of Brooklyn’s favorite commercial products. Brooklyn’s love affair with chocolate merges into artifacts from Barton’s, Domino Sugar, Piel’s Brewery and Ebinger’s, as well as pencils from Eberhard, bottles from Virginia Dare, candies from a Chinese business and a Brooklyn-made hat ornament. Photographs of a few of Brooklyn’s countless mom and pop stores line a wall.