Worth Beyond Words: Romana Javitz and NYPL Picture Collection
New York Public Library's Picture Collection, 1940s. Photo by Wurts Bros. New York Public Library Archives ( Visual Materials, RG10 ). Worth Beyond Words: Romana Javitz and NYPL Picture Collection. The general public, especially outside the New York City area, is not familiar with the uniqueness of the New York Public Library's Picture Collection. It provides, much like books, the free circulation of prints, photographs, postcards and other clippings, all arranged using subject classification. And they have been doing it since 1914! T he story of the origination of the Picture Collection and the career of Romana Javitz (1903-1980) can be found in an essay I wrote in 1995 for the NYPL journal Biblion: Worth Beyond Words: Romana Javitz and The New York Public Library's Picture Collection Here is an excerpt: " Within two years of the opening of The New York Public Library's Central Building in 1911, the Print Room found itself overwhelmed with requests for p