Cyanotype,  circa 1880, of the summer "cottages" commissioned by Benson (for whom Bensonhurst was named), designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Meade and White.  Because of the growth of shrubbery, this view of all seven cottages is no longer possible.

These "instantaneous" photographs of the Montauk cottages were taken by Alex Agnew, son of Dr. Agnew, owner of one of the cottages (second from right). A "View Book" of the exteriors of all the cottages contains, among other images, an interior shot of the clubhouse (which was destroyed by fire in 1933) and the Montauk lighthouse. Cyanotypes were the "instantaneous" photographs of the 1880s and 1890s and the chemicals used in their processing gave them a distinctive blue (cyan) tint. These were the Polaroids of their day and each image is original. No known negatives exist. Note the pencilled description  on the bottom "Cottages seen from nearest beach" and initials of the owners over each of the cottages (the "A" over the second from right indicates the Agnew cottage).

The "View Book" is now in the photography collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. An image from the book will be made into a poster and used to raise funds for the Montauk Library/Historical Society.

Antique "candlestick" telephone, AT&T