1937 Brooklyn Progress Film Admission H.V. Kaltenborn Academy of Music NYC For Sale

Original 1937 admission invitation for the first showing of “Brooklyn Progress,” described as “A Talking Picture Report to the Citizens of Brooklyn,” presented at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York.

The program names noted radio commentator H. V. Kaltenborn and was issued by Brooklyn Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll, who invited residents to “see and hear this talking picture.”

Both blank upper panels bear original pencil portrait sketches by an unidentified hand, giving this surviving copy a wonderfully individual bit of life beyond the printed civic program.

Details

Date: October 11, 1937

Title: Brooklyn Progress

Venue: Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York

Time: 8:15 P.M.

Commentator: H. V. Kaltenborn

Issued By: Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll

Format: Folding printed admission invitation

Dimensions: approximately 5 1/2 × 7 inches open; approximately 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 inches closed

Additional Details

The invitation identifies itself explicitly as “a card of admission” and advertises additional features along with the film.

The two pencil sketches appear on opposite blank panels, one showing a bust-length figure and the other a head-and-shoulders portrait. They are period additions rather than part of the printed design.

A distinctive piece of Depression-era Brooklyn civic and film history documenting the use of talking pictures as a public-information medium.

Condition

Good vintage condition with overall age toning, original fold lines, light creasing, scattered handling wear, and minor edge wear. Pencil portrait sketches appear on both blank upper panels. Printed text remains clear and fully legible. Please review photographs closely.

Subject

Brooklyn; New York City; H. V. Kaltenborn; Raymond V. Ingersoll; Academy of Music

Topic

1930s New York; Brooklyn history; civic films; municipal history; talking pictures; Great Depression