Not sure what to give that hard to shop for person? Not feeling the Black Friday madness? Looking for a unique gift that will create memories? The Hudson Area Library’s History Room can help with gifts that reflect the richness of the history of Hudson and Columbia County. Items for sale this holiday season include:
- Notecards & postcards of historic Warren Street & other images of Hudson’s past
- tshirts of historic Warren Street
- giclèe prints of an original 1881 “Bird’s Eye View of Hudson, New York” (32.5” x 21.5”) map and a “1923 Aeroview of Hudson, New York” (43” x 22”) image created from a dirigible!
Interested shoppers can stop by the main desk at the library or go online where the History Room Shop is open 24/7 on our website at this link. Some of the History Room items will be featured at the library’s Winter Walk location, 427 Warren Street, on December 1, 5-8pm and all items are available at the library.
Hudson Area Library board member and History Room Committee Chair Gary Sheffer said, “The History Room’s postcards, maps and t-shirts make wonderful holiday gifts for people who love the history of Hudson and the surrounding area. All of the proceeds go directly to support preservation, conservation, and archiving of the library’s remarkable local history collection.”
The two maps for sale have been meticulously cleaned and restored prior to being reproduced using an archival inkjet process. Both are available in unframed prints on heavy matte and the 1923 image is also available framed. The maps represent a popular cartographic form used to depict American towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known also as bird’s-eye views, perspective maps and aero views, they are non-photographic representations of towns portrayed as if viewed from above at an angle, not generally drawn to scale, and showing street layouts, individual buildings and landscape features, in perspective.
The Hudson Area Library History Room houses a special collection that pertains to the history of the City of Hudson, Greenport and Stockport; as well as Columbia County and New York State. The History Room also hosts the Local History Speaker Series at the library, offering free monthly talks on diverse topics related to the history of Hudson, Greenport, Stockport, and Columbia County.
The History Room hours are Tuesdays 4 – 6pm and Saturdays 10am – 12pm, during which people visit and browse the extensive collection of city directories, yearbooks and local history books; and research items in the archival collection. The public can also request information on local history that volunteers will research. Appointments are available upon request. For more information email reference@hudsonarealibrary.org, call 518.828.1792 x100, or visit the main desk in the library.