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The Dan Talbot Papers document the business operation of the New Yorker Films, an independent film acquisition and distribution company, dating from 1960s to 2008, as well as movie theaters in the Upper West Side Manhattan which he operated, dating from 1960 to 2007. It is of particular relevance to New Yorkers as the Talbots operated the New Yorker Theater, Cinema Studio, Metro, and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, on the Upper West Side, as popular venues to view independent and foreign films.

The collection consists of materials used by Frederick Fried in his research and writing about folk art and material culture, especially related to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. A significant portion of the collection consists of the personal archive of William F. Mangels, which was purchased by Fried in 1955. Mangels was a designer and manufacturer of amusement rides and founder of the American Museum of Public Recreation at Coney Island. Subjects include amusement parks, amusement rides, architecture, bathing pavilions, beaches, beauty contests, carousels, carousel animals, Brooklyn, coin-operated machines, Coney Island, exhibitions, games of chance and skill, hotels, mechanical rides, mechanization, parades, pleasure railways, recreation, roller coasters, sideshows, transportation, and other subjects related to American material culture and popular amusement.

Ian and Betty Ballantine were book publishers who contributed to the growth of paperback book sales in the United States between the 1940s and the 1990s. The Ian and Betty Ballantine Books and Business Records include the Ballantines' materials related to Penguin Books USA, Bantam Books, Ballantine Books, and Peacock Books. Administrative documents cover the management of these presses as well as the editorial, sales, inventorying, and advertising processes. In addition, the collection contains the bulk of the editorial libraries of Penguin Books USA, Bantam Books, and Ballantine Books.

These records document the history of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry, beginning with its establishment in 1768. Tracking the wax and wane of the organization's influence over the next two centuries, the collection provides a first hand account of the Chamber's many contributions to New York City and State business and development. These records exist in a wide variety of formats, such as bulletins, correspondence, minute books, and printed materials.