The image, titled “Picnic fair tent and benches, Port Washington, L.I.”, was created by photographer Daniel Berry Austin. It is part of a larger collection produced with his associate Adam Dove, documenting buildings, street scenes, and public spaces across Long Island and parts of Brooklyn between approximately 1885 and 1914.
The photograph shows a large tent structure set up outdoors, with wooden benches placed in rows underneath. The arrangement indicates a planned gathering with an expected audience. The setting is identified as Port Washington in Nassau County. The print itself is a platinum photograph measuring approximately 12.5 by 17 centimeters.
There is no information in the archival record identifying the specific event, its purpose, or its organizers. The image is not promotional. It is part of a broader effort to document real locations and everyday environments.
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Austin’s work focused on ordinary scenes rather than major landmarks. This collection provides a visual record of how communities functioned, including events that were not formally recorded elsewhere.
Archival details for the image are as follows: the title is Picnic fair tent and benches, Port Washington, L.I.; the photographer is Daniel Berry Austin; the date is circa 1900, inferred; the collection is a series of Long Island and Brooklyn views from 1885 to 1914; and the repository is the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy at the New York Public Library. The NYPL catalog ID is b10593986 and the UUID is 6cb71600-c637-012f-ebda-58d385a7bc34.
The photograph does not explain the event it depicts. It records the physical setup of a public gathering in Port Washington at a specific point in time.
Photo credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library Digital Collections (Daniel Berry Austin, circa 1900)
