Vintage Cincy

Vintage & historical images from the archives of the Cincinnati &Hamilton County Public Library. Powered by the Digital Library.

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Majel Coleman was Cincinnati girl born in 1903. Her family lived in various areas around the city, including Avondale. Her father was Pierce Devon “Percy” Coleman, a baseball pitcher from Mason. He mostly pitched for St Louis but did pitch for the Reds for a single game in 1898. He also pitched for several minor league teams. After baseball, he worked as a traveling paint salesman. Coleman had already received an acting contract offer at 16 when a playwright saw her on a train, but her mother insisted she finish high school first. She graduated from Hughes High School in 1921 and moved to California with her parents. She starred in several films, mostly for Cecil De Mille, though she never had a starring role. While many of her films are lost she can still be seen in De Mille’s epic King of Kings. She married Victor Gangelin, a set director best known by his Oscar win for West Side Story. She remained in California until her death in 1980. Curious about other alumni? Want to find more unknown historical figures for Women’s History Month? Check out our Digital Library!

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Mississippi kite. From John James Audubon’s Birds of America v.02, circa 1834-1834.

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On January 28, 1856, Margaret Garner, her husband Robert, their four children, and approximately 11 other enslaved people crossed the frozen Ohio River. The Garners sought shelter in Margaret’s uncle’s home along Mill Creek. While in hiding, Margaret’s uncle, worried about how to keep the family safe, left his home to consult with Cincinnati abolitionist Levi Coffin.

Before his return home, U.S. Marshals and slave catchers surrounded and ultimately stormed the home. Faced with seeing her children returned to slavery, Margaret ended her two year old’s life just before being apprehended.

Margaret was held for trial in Cincinnati and abolitionists from across the country came to support her. Abolitionist Lucy Stone spoke at her trial stating, “If in her deep maternal love she felt the impulse to send her child back to God, to save it from coming woe, who shall say she had no right not to do so?”

Margaret was returned to slavery. When Ohio authorities got a warrant for Garner to try her for murder, they were unable to find her. She and her husband, Robert, died in 1858 of typhoid fever in Mississippi. Garner’s story inspired Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison’s novel "Beloved".

See this image and more of Cincinnati’s Black history in CHPL’s Digital Library:

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The Cosmopolitan School of Music was the first Black owned and operated music school in the United States. Established in 1921, musicians Artie Matthews and his wife Anna Howard Matthews provided experience, training and education for hundreds of Black musicians seeking a career in music. The most notable musician to train at the Cosmopolitan School of Music was Frank Foster (1928-2011). Frank composed several pieces for orchestras and jazz ensembles all over the world and won 2 Grammy Awards for his musical arrangements. 

Once located at 823 W Ninth Street in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cosmopolitan School of Music provided a wide range of classes to help Black students develop their musical talent. The classes offered were Language, Expression, Public School Music, Theory, Violin, Voice, Piano, Organ, Band/Orchestra and Ensemble and Natural Dancing.

A quote from W.P. Dabney’s book “Cincinnati’s Colored Citizens” quotes the Cosmopolitan School of Music as “One of its most highly prized privileges is the opportunity to share in the perpetuation and advancement of Black music and art.”

To view W.P. Dabney’s book, CLICK HERE to read it on our Digital Library!

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Selections from The birds of Europe v. 04, by John Gould. Plates drawn from life and on stone by J. and E. Gould and E. Lear.

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Reverend Edmund Harrison Oxley Sr. D. D. was born in Trinidad on January 30, 1881. He earned a senior Cambridge certificate at Queens Royal College before immigrating to the United States in 1903. He graduated from Harvard University in 1909, earning prizes in debate and elocution. When Reverend Oxley was called to serve at what was then St. Andrew Mission in 1912 there were 31 parishioners. Through his efforts the mission grew in membership and it became a corporate parish, recognized by the diocese. A new church building was planned and celebrated groundbreaking at 8th and Mound in 1915. Services for the community were also added: a nursery for free child care for working mothers, a free labor bureau and a branch of the Cincinnati Settlement School of music. As a community advocate he also provided leadership on various community committees aimed at providing services for the Black community. 

Explore more on our Digital Library!

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Businessman William Woodward opened the first Woodward High School on October 24, 1831. The oldest public-school west of the Allegheny Mountains, Woodward School was located on Sycamore Street in Cincinnati. In the early twentieth century the original building was razed and the new building was rebuilt and opened in 1907. Woodward found a new home in Bond Hill in the 1950s and as of 2006, the City of Cincinnati opened Woodward Career Technical High School. Famous Woodward graduates include President William Howard Taft. 

To see more images of Woodward Schools through the years, check out our Digital Library!

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Black warrior, from John James Audubon’s Birds of America v.01, circa  1827-1830.

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Strategically located on four locks of the Miami-Erie Canal, the village of Lockland was planned in 1828 by Nicholas Longworth and Lewis Howell. The Miami-Erie Canal was a major transportation route from Cincinnati to Lake Erie which attracted a major industry boom in the village of Lockland. Jobs were abundant with the operation of several water powered mills and the Stearns and Foster Company. People were drawn to this more rural area outside of the city of Cincinnati to lay down their roots and call Lockland home. 

Be sure to visit our Digital Library to see more Cincinnati neighborhood photographs!

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Carrion crow. From The birds of Europe v.03, 1837 by John Gould. Plates drawn from life and on stone by J. and E. Gould and E. Lear.

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On the northern coast of Ohio on South Bass Island, the village of Put-in-Bay once had the largest summer resort in the world, the Hotel Victory. Built in 1892 it was a bit too grand and struggled for many of the years it operated. It was 600 feet long and 300 feet deep. It had shops, wine cellars, a barbershop, a pool, a dentist, livery, and ice cream parlor. Most visitors traveled there from railroads or steamboats. The hotel burnt down in 1919. It had been in financial difficulty for some time and was not rebuilt. The area is now a state park and campground. Some of the ruins are still visible. Curious of other historical hotels? Check out our Digital Library!

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Selections from The heritage of Hiroshige, c1912. 

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Designed by Samuel Hannaford, the H. W. Derby Building has served as a bank and a photography studio, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

This Italianate building was built in 1887 by publisher and bookseller H. W. Derby. The original "Derby Building" stood at the Southwest Corner of Third and Walnut Streets. Derby made a fortune selling Law books and other educational materials.  

Be sure to visit our Digital Library to see more historic Cincinnati buildings. 

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Black skimmer or shearwater. From John James Audubon’s Birds of America v.04, 1836. 

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Strategically located on four locks of the Miami-Erie Canal, the village of Lockland was planned in 1828 by Nicholas Longworth and Lewis Howell. The Miami-Erie Canal was a major transportation route from Cincinnati to Lake Erie which attracted a major industry boom in the village of Lockland. Jobs were abundant with the operation of several water powered mills and the Stearns and Foster Company. People were drawn to this more rural area outside of the city of Cincinnati to lay down their roots and call Lockland home. 

Be sure to visit our Digital Library to see more Cincinnati neighborhood photographs!

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Selections from American ornithology v.03, 1811.

The Carolina parrot or parakeet in the top image is now unfortunately extinct. Due mostly to humans hunting them for their colorful feathers for fashion purposes. These birds were also captured and sold in the pet trade and also battled invasive species in their natural habitat.

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Businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated and built over 2,500 libraries worldwide between 1883 and 1929. The state of Ohio is ranked fifth in the nation for its number of Carnegie libraries with Cincinnati originally boasting nine libraries total. Today, Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library are still operating seven Carnegie branches. Our current Carnegie branches include: Avondale, Corryville, Hyde Park, Northside, Norwood, Price Hill and Walnut Hills. Cincinnati’s first Carnegie to open was Walnut Hills branch in 1906, with the others following soon after. Walnut Hills branch is currently part of Building the Next Generation Library plan and will see many updates including more square footage and greater accessibility. 

To see more updates on the Walnut Hills branch, check out https://bit.ly/3BFoPZl  

And, to view more historic images of our Carnegie branch libraries, visit our Digital Library!