George Bradford Brainerd (November 27, 1845 – 1887) was an American civil engineer, amateur photographer, and an amateur natural historian.

Biography

Brainerd was born on November 27, 1845, in

Haddam Neck, Connecticut Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,452 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was also home to the now-decommissioned Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. History Haddam, in Middlesex County, is locat ...

. He attended

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, New York, from which he graduated in 1865. While at R.P.I., he, along with seven other men, founded the

Theta Xi Theta Xi () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on April 29, 1864. Of all the social fraternities today, Theta Xi was the only one founded during the Civil War. It ...

fraternity. As a civil engineer, Brainerd worked for the then-City of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in the position of Deputy Water Purveyor — a position he held for 17 years (1869 to 1886). During this time, Brainerd published the 48-page book ''The Water Works of Brooklyn'' (1873). George Brainerd died on April 13, 1887, at 12:00 pm in Brooklyn. He is buried in an unknown plot in Old Rock Landing Cemetery in Haddam, Connecticut. He suffered from an acute throat infection in the mid-1880s and had a brain tumor, which led to a stroke and paralysis. Smoking and frequent exposure to toxic photography chemicals likely contributed to the development of his tumor.

Works

Brainerd's work as an amateur photographer began when he was just 13 years old. He began by making his own cameras and developing ambrotypes from them. While working as a civil engineer, Brainerd photographed public work projects, as well as street scenes in Brooklyn. He also took extensive photographs of areas in New York State, including on Long Island and along the Hudson River. His subjects included houses, churches, mills, railroad stations, gate houses, reservoirs, harbors, beaches, and ponds, among others. Over the years, Brainerd continued to design his own cameras and photographic techniques. Through his inventions he was able to photograph the human vocal organs, thus contributing to the perfection of this type of medical photography. As an amateur natural historian, he amassed a large collection of bird skins, shells, and minerals, as well as maintained his own herbarium, and collected moss and lichens. Brainerd, a lifelong Brooklynite, produced a total of 2,500 photographs before his death at age 41 in 1887. The majority of his surviving images are of Brooklyn, a vast documentation of the urban landscape—dams and mills, bridges and train depots, engine houses and pumping stations—but also, especially after 1880, images of city dwellers and street scenes. Independently wealthy and the Deputy Water Purveyor for the City of Brooklyn, Brainerd was an advanced amateur photographer adept at exploring new techniques. His legacy remains in the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

, with about 1,900 of his glass-plate negatives making up a large portion of the museum's huge collection of Brooklyn- and New York-themed glass-plate negatives.

Gallery

File:1996.164.2-1818 glass IMLS SL2.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Longshoreman, Brooklyn'', c. 1872-1887.

File:1996.164.2-272 glass IMLS SL2.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Iron Pier,

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, Brooklyn'', c. 1872-1887.

File:Brooklyn Museum - Boy and Dog, Iron Pier, Coney Island, Brooklyn - George Bradford Brainerd - overall.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Boy and Dog, Iron Pier, Coney Island, Brooklyn,'', c. 1885. Glass plate negative,

File:Negro Family, Coney Island, Brooklyn, ca. 1885. (5833493398).jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Negro Family, Coney Island, Brooklyn,'' c. 1885. Glass plate negative,

File:Construction of Brooklyn Bridge, ca. 1872-1887. (5832930865).jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Construction of Brooklyn Bridge'', c. 1872-1887. Glass plate negative,

File:Bridge, Brooklyn, NY, ca. 1872-1887. (5832937251).jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Bridge, Brooklyn, NY'', c. 1872-1887. Glass plate negative,

File:George Bradford Brainerd (American, 1845-1887). Windmill, Southampton, Long Island, ca. 1872-1887.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, (American, 1845-1887). ''Windmill, Southampton, Long Island'', c. 1872-1887. Glass plate negative,

File:1996.164.2-1784 glass SL1.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Bridge Street'', c. 1872-1887. Glass plate negative,

File:George Bradford Brainerd (American, 1845-1887). Creek, Patchogue, Long Island, ca. 1872-1878.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Creek, Patchogue, Long Island'', c. 1872-1878. Glass plate negative,

File:George Bradford Brainerd (American, 1845-1887). Soap Works, Hicksville, Long Island, 1878.jpg, George Bradford Brainerd, ''Soap Works, Hicksville, Long Island,'', 1878. Glass plate negative,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brainerd, George Bradford 1845 births 1887 deaths American civil engineers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Photographers from New York City People from Haddam, Connecticut Engineers from Connecticut Engineers from New York (state)