Tim — The story of Timothy H. O'Sullivan as a young apprentice at Mathew Brady's Studio.

The Setting — Tim

New York — September, 1850 Tim is a ten-year-old boy from sleepy Staten Island who is told he must apprentice at Mathew Brady’s studio on Broadway in 1850. As Tim takes the ferry over to York, he takes us back to New York’s forgotten past and the history of photography. Souvenir of New York, 1851, by J. Bornet Courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Brady's Daguerreotype Gallery on Broadway. Brady of Broadway — Tim is sent to work at Mathew Brady's Daguerreotype Gallery on the corner of Broadway and Fulton Street. Brady is one of the pioneers in photography who studied the daguerreotype process under Samuel F.S.B. Morse. An advertisement for Brady's Gallery. Courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Barnum's American Museum. Across from Brady’s Gallery is Barnum’s Museum. Jenny Lind is the most sought-after celebrity by all the Broadway photographers, except that her manager, P.T. Barnum, will not grant Brady access to the Swedish Nightingale. Broad-Way, New York, 1850, by August Köllner. Courtesy of the NYPL.