Like Macaulay, Stokes considered his task both monumental and essential. Follow the exhibition by clicking on the links below.

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The Preparations
Stokes took fastidious notes, and wrote on almost any kind of paper—looseleaf, library catalog cards, address books—as long as it fit in his pocket. As he assembled his collection, Stokes consulted with bibliographer Henry Stevens, researcher and librarian Victor Hugo Palsits, and others.

The Revisions (ca. 1915)
In advance of publication, Stokes hand-corrected dummy publisher’s proofs, annotated illustrations, and revised his own revisions, in pursuit of the quintessential chronicle of New York City.

The Six-Volume Set
The magnum opus.

The Memoir
On the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday, Stokes penned his autobiography, and distributed copies to his family. In 1941, he presented this updated version.

Notes on a Collection (1944)
Stokes donated his collection of prints and drawings to the New York Public Library in 1930. For a time, the prints were publicly displayed, and Stokes—with clerical and research assistance by Ellen C. Ahern—composed a kind of finding aid himself.