The Boston Public Library has crafted dozens of thematic collections documenting travel posters, Boston sports temples, industrial landscapes, and other bits and pieces from this vast and wonderful world. This particular collection documents many facets of business life and culture in and around the Hub. Here visitors will find over 110 images of switchboards at New England Bell, works spaces at...

Born in New Hampshire in 1825, James Wallace Black came to Boston to try his hand as a painter. He soon discovered the world of photography and he became quite fascinated with taking aerial photos and experimenting with magic lanterns. One of his most notable experiments involved a photograph of downtown Boston that he took from a hot-air balloon on October 13, 1860. The Boston Public Library has...