Stryker-Rodda, Harriet

Song slides, a popular form of entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were photographic or illustrated images on glass plates that were projected onto a screen to accompany the playing of a song, often during the intermissions of motion pictures. One of the most successful song slide production companies was established in 1904 by John D. Scott and Edward Van Altena in Brooklyn and New York City. John D. Scott (b. 1876) was born in Brooklyn. After losing a portion of his hearing when he was 4 years old, he was sent to a school for the deaf, where, with the help of one of his teachers, he learned the art of photography and coloring lantern slides. Edward Van Altena (b. 1873) was born in Milwaukee, WI and moved to Brooklyn with his family when he was 5 years old. His mother gave him his appreciation for art and he became a photographer. In 1888, he went to work for a studio on Fulton Street in Brooklyn.

From the guide to the Harriet Stryker-Rodda collection on John D. Scott and Edward Van Altena's song slides, 1910-1965, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

Harriet Stryker-Rodda was a genealogist and historian who conducted extensive research on the colonial families of New York State.

Peter Wyckoff (1828-1910) was of the fourth generation of the Dutch Wyckoff family in Brooklyn. He was a farmer and resident of the town of Bushwick, and was also well-known as a financier and philanthropist.

From the guide to the Harriet Stryker-Rodda typescript of Peter Wyckoff recollections, 1828-1958, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

Emma Toedteberg (1857-1936) joined the staff of the Long Island Historical Society (now the Brooklyn Historical Society) at the age of 13. Following the tenure of George Hannah, she served as the Society's third librarian from 1889 until her death. Toedteberg was an avid proponent of animal rights and a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Brooklyn. She also inherited from her father a passion for collecting bookplates.

Augustus Toedteberg (1824-1909), her father, emigrated from Germany in 1844 and worked as an inlay illustrator in New York City. He married fellow German immigrant Catherine Lager (d. 1905) in New York City in 1849. In addition to Emma, the couple had another daughter, Louise Toedteberg (1853-1938). The family resided at 274 Vanderbilt Avenue in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, and later at 628 East Delmere Place (now known as East 23rd Street) in Flatbush. Harriet Stryker-Rodda was the Long Island Historical Society librarian in the 1960s, and published books on genealogy research, Brooklyn church records and a guide to colonial handwriting.

Harriet Styker-Rodda was the Long Island Historical Society librarian in the 1960s, and published books on genealogical research, Brooklyn church records and guides to colonial handwritting.

From the guide to the Emma Toedteberg bookplate collection, Bulk, 1870-1936, 1701-1982, (Brooklyn Historical Society)