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Plaza Hotel: 1910
... one spooked me. I can't imagine being up there! One night stand The aristocratic edifice is superb. In 1961, my wife and I stayed there one night on our honeymoon. The lobby was magnificent, but our room was dusty, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 6:59pm -

New York circa 1910. "Plaza Hotel." Yet another view of this aristocratic edifice. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Beautiful buildingI love this place. My nephew is now a bartender there most evenings. Stop in and ask for Sean! New York ObserversSomething to do with Eloise? Things To Come100 years later, the Plaza is still a 5 Star venue, however the majority of the units are condos. What would have been beyond the imagination of anyone in that building in 1910, would be the building directly across the street. On the plaza (small p) in front of the GM Building, is a glass box structure that houses the entrance to a subterranean Apple Store that is open 24/7 showing and selling equipment undreamed of in 1910. It is usually packed. In the short 5 years of its existence it has become a major NYC attraction. Double ConeIntriguing building just to the right of the Plaza. Heart attack!Heights don't bother me too much, but this one spooked me. I can't imagine being up there! One night standThe aristocratic edifice is superb. In 1961, my wife and I stayed there one night on our honeymoon. The lobby was magnificent, but our room was dusty, and the low pressure in the bathroom, rusty water, and rust stained fixtures were memorable for all the wrong reasons. Surely they pegged us for their bumpkin accommodations. RealismThis is another of those wonderful pictures that, excpet for the people and traffic, could have been of a very detailed, large scale model. Beautiful. Sean, eh? I must remember that. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Thisbe: 1900
... friend an article on Evelyn Nesbit and Stanford White last night. Extraordinary Another example of a use for the word "timeless"! ... Side Story, The Fantasticks; with a dash of A Midsummer Night Dream. Surely you jest... Oh brave new world that would consider ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 4:56pm -

Circa 1900. "Thisbe." Who was quite the Babylonian. View full size. DecolletageFunny how the English language never came up with its own name for that sensuous area of a woman's body. Fun de SiecleThisbe one Victorian hotty! Egad!This be quite the "Babe" is another way of putting it. WOW is right !Looks exactly like a young Drew Barrymore. Phone homeShe reminds me of a younger, drug-free Drew Barrymore. Memories of ThisbeI once met a girl on the Jersey Shore who owned a pair of twin little pups named Pyramus (sp?) and Thisbe. She was surprised that I was familiar with those names, even though I was not exactly up-to-date with their story. This Thisbe though, was lovely indeed. What's she trying to say ?She's trying to send us a hand signal. It's too subtle for me, I can't quite work out what she wants. Could it be pull my finger? Wow!Reminds me of Carroll Baker "Baby Doll." But that was over 50 years later. And this girl is way prettier. Any more info? Was "Thisbe" a play? Was Thisbe the girl's name? What could this be? Jim [Thisbe gets hit on by this dude Pyramus. Who is all like, babe, we gotta hook up. That chick I was seeing last week? Ancient history. - Dave] Coif, coifShe could have benefited from some conditioner, but she's beautiful. Twin CaterpillarsWas there no tradition of eyebrow care in 1900? Do not pass GoGo directly to the Pretty Girls Gallery. Near the top of the list. Which reminds me,I gotta get back to work on that time machine. Be back later. Did she escape the noticeof Charles Dana Gibson? Odd, I was just showing a friend an article on Evelyn Nesbit and Stanford White last night. ExtraordinaryAnother example of a use for the word "timeless"! In any generation and at any time, a beautiful woman. Great picture. At that moment in timeSome guy was totally sick of putting up with her. Rose woodA rose in a carved rosewood chair. Timeless! I hope that life was good to this beautiful girl. Re: Memories of ThisbeHey Bob, I ALSO met that lady many years ago with the twin pups on the Jersey shore and she was in the water just this far. Being a youngster, I stupidly said "Hey lady, if you are going to drown those puppies, can I have the one with the pink nose?" Simply beautifulThat is one of the sultriest gazes I've ever seen from any era. I wonder if she could ever have imagined she'd still be quickening pulses 109 years later. SuperciliousI really get tired of the eyebrow comments. Once upon a time it was not considered unfeminine for women to have natural eyebrows! It's a different style -- do you get it? Conversely, I am fascinated with these older photos because they show lovely young women not bloated by modern diet and lack of physical exertion -- like walking (gasp!) to school, and without a lot of makeup. NSFWShorpy, please! You need to start labeling these postings: Not Safe For Work! IlluminatingI find this beautiful, especially the position of the hands. And the smoothness of the skin in pre-pre photoshop days.I wonder if lighting was from a window. It created a timeless look. [It maybe pre-photoshop, but emulsion on the negative has been extensively retouched by stippling with a pen or pencil to create diffuse highlights on the finished print, which in that era generally would have used a very soft focus to give an ethereal, painterly effect. - Dave] I Gotta Say.....that the evolution of eyebrow grooming was one thing that didn't cross my mind as I studied this photo. What Eyebrows?She has eyebrows? I haven't worked my way up there quite yet. Re: NSFWI can't imagine any workplace that this photo is not safe for that would allow one to surf the net and look at the Shorpy photos. Incredible!This is, bar none, the loveliest shot in the entire Shorpy collection. The lighting is amazing and the subject is perfect. She is gloriously beautiful. Dave, you have outdone yourself. The is the absolute pinnacle of perfection! MehShe ain't all that. She expects men to find her sexy. It's more attractive when the obvious is somewhat oblique. From Buffalo..to this! Yowzzzzzer! Thanks Dave! Oh. My. God.I 'bout fell outta my chair, Dave. You've outdone yourself. Don't see how you'll ever top this one. Double wowShe looks mighty fine to me just the way she is! I wouldn't change a thing. Cool it, GentsYour ardor is misplaced. Everything is not as it seems. She is 130 years old today. Exactly how do you think she looks? Please turn your attention to us living ladies... Whaddaya mean, "NSFW"?At most workplaces which don't require burkas, shoulders aren't specifically disallowed. You can probably walk outside of your workplace and see young women wearing more revealing clothing on the sidewalk. Perfect natural beautyI actually gasped at the sight of this lovely girl. Perfect skin, total natural beauty. Those perfect lips must be kissed again and again. I could gaze at her for hours. "Hot damn"was the first thing I uttered upon seeing this photo. She's absolutely stunning. A classic beautyShe is absolutely gorgeous. Your mention of Babylonia made me think of King Tut via Steve Martin: Born in Arizona Moved to Babylonia (King Tut) Dancing by the Nile Ladies loved the style (waltzing Tut) Thisbe and Pyramus: think Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story, The Fantasticks; with a dash of A Midsummer Night Dream. Surely you jest...Oh brave new world that would consider this innocent portrait of youth and beauty "not safe for work". Somehow, I'm glad our Thisbe isn't here to bear such absurdity. [Yes, they were jesting. Of course the real humor (the "meta-joke") comes from the replies of people who took the comment seriously.- Dave] Finally!I have new desktop wallpaper. I wish I knew who she wasSome more photos of her would be grand! Yes, question in back?Will Thisbe on the test? It's hard to tell at this resolution.....but it looks like there is some well done work with the etch knife. Yes, even then, beauty was being enhanced by the skill of retouchers. I'm not saying saying she wasn't pretty, just improved. [As noted below it would have been a pencil or pen. - Dave] OMG!That could have been my grandmother (b. 1884)! O Tempora! O Mores!I can't help thinking of the line in "The Devil Wears Prada" where the Meryl Streep character refers to the character played by Anne Hathaway (!) as "the fat girl." Kudos to the Photographer!The pose is beautiful, the lighting is gorgeous and accentuates all the right bits. Thisbe herself is attractive. But I really think the photographer did an excellent job of lighting and posing the subject to make her look so becoming. Decadent innocence?The hands remind me of classical Greek sculpture. There is a dreamy, ethereal, but three-dimensional quality about her. "Drew Barrymore" leapt to my mind also. Oh wowShe is gorgeous. pre-MadonnaI agree with some others that this is ravishingly honest ruebenesqe. The message (whatever it is) is for virile young men. French name?I believe that Thisbe is a French name. If this is so, the "h" is silent and the name is pronounced "Tis-be." ["Thisbe" is Latin. This photo is an allegorical depiction of a figure from Roman mythology. The legend of Thisbe and her lover Pyramus is an archetypal tale of doomed love that would see its themes recapitulated in works like "Romeo and Juliet." - Dave] Beautiful!So a beautiful girl! Oh my.She is absolutely breathtaking. The lady and the photo are both exquisite. Pyramus & ThisbePyramus & Thisbe was the play that Bottom and his cohorts were preparing to perform for the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta when Puck made an ass (or at least half an ass) out of Bottom. Thisbe the truthPyramus have been smitten. Florence Evelyn NesbitThis is Florence Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 – January 17, 1967) an American artists' model and chorus girl, noted for her entanglement in the murder of her ex-lover, architect Stanford White, by her first husband, Harry Kendall Thaw. [It's not Evelyn Nesbit. Below, Evelyn in 1901. - Dave] Fifty Comments!Yes! This girl deserves it. Hello, beautiful! How'd I miss this one?One word: WOW! Another ColorizationVery Beautiful I See a AngleI think she looks today just like she did 130 years ago when she slipped out of this world. She's my idea of what a Angle in Heaven looks like. [Acute or obtuse? - Dave] Words Escape MeBut colorizing her does not. Here is my take: NOT Evelyn Nesbit!I keep running into sites that have this picture posted, claiming that it is Evelyn Nesbit. Some even have pictures of Evelyn right beside them, where I would think it would be obvious to anyone who didn't have extremely poor eyesight that it wasn't the same girl. I have seen the same thing with pictures of many other semi-famous people, such as Virginia Rappe, as well as celebrities as familiar as Joan Crawford. Obviously, it is not of any Earth-shattering importance, but it is one of those things that just bug me! Dave, does it bug you? [It's not at the top of my list. - Dave] It bugged you enough to point it out on the Shorpy Store! Actually, I think this girl is much prettier than Evelyn. CaptivatingThis girl was absolutely beautiful. Does no one really know who she was? For example, where was the picture found? Had we but world enough, and timeI look at this and think of the line "Had we but world enough, and time..." I love the time travel we can do with old photographs. She is mesmerizing. A Mona Lisa of photography. Drew Barrymore?I agree with all comments regarding the beauty of both the woman and the photo, but does anyone else think she bears a striking resemblance to Drew Barrymore? (The Gallery, DPC, Portraits, Pretty Girls)
Overnight Parking: 1936
... ...or you don't get a rocking chair. It Happened One Night Straight out of my forever favorite movie! Tourist Cabins Or, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/07/2012 - 5:05pm -

March 1936, somewhere in Georgia. "Tourist cabins." Medium-format nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. An outdated solutionto a problem that superhighways and faster, more reliable autos has pretty much taken care of. Route 20, was, for many decades, the major east-west connection between Albany and Buffalo. The sometimes two day trip in old rattletraps with stiff suspension often made these roadside cabins a much welcome sight, and provided a livelihood for many a rural family. The crumbling remains of several such rest stops are still evident; a few are even being restored to service the modern travelers looking for a more laid back, and cheap, vacation. Capacity 2...or you don't get a rocking chair. It Happened One NightStraight out of my forever favorite movie! Tourist CabinsOr, as they were known to bluestockings everywhere, places of potential illicit assignation. The flowers are a nice touchI like the flower box attached to the front porch, but why are the windows tilted? I've never seen that before. My guess is so you can open the window during a summer storm and not get the floor wet. [Because it's cheaper than casement windows. - Dave] Windows '36You are correct, bellaruth. Those are "hopper-sash" windows and often had a chain-hook open/stop arrangement so that one could control ventilation and, to a certain extent, keep out rain. AKA: Housekeeping cottagesThey're still prevalent in many tourist areas of Maine. CabinsThe last tourist cabin business in our county closed some 20 years ago. It was right next to a pretty rough road house and rented out the cabins by the half hour. Precursor of motelsThese cabins still existed in the late 1950s and early 1960. I remember staying in one such in Front Royal Virginia, during a trip to the Skyline Drive. I've even seen a couple making a comeback in the past few years on "blue route" (backroad) trips in the rural areas. They were always clean, private and usually had access to a good diner for a meal. North GeorgiaThe rolling hills and small mountains in the distance can be seen in north Georgia. Possibly state road 441 that tourists would use coming in from the north. A HudsonThe car is a mid to late '20s Hudson Super Six sedan. Hudson CoachThe car shown is a Hudson, and although at first it might seem that the exact year is hard to pin down, there are some specific model year clues shown in the photo. The multi-tiered fenders were not used before June 16, 1924 and drum style headlights were not used after December 31, 1926. Hudson's March 1925 changes to this model included updating the windshield glass to follow the curve of the cowl at the base (instead of rectangular shaped windshield glass) and thinner windshield pillars. Therefore the car was built between June 16, 1924 (1924 second series) to sometime in March 1925 when the Coach body style was updated to the second series. The body syle is what Hudson called a Coach. Although it looks like there are doors behind the driver's door, there is no door handle. The body style is a two door. Cost of the Coach was $1,500 in June 1924, $1,395 in October, and later (probably January) to $1,345. The weight of the Coach was 3,385 pounds, and it used 33 x 6.20 balloon tires until January 1925 when the size was changed to 33 x 6.00. When the second series 1925 Coach was introduced the price fell to $1,250, and it was dropped to $1,195 in August and $1,165 in October. This was one of Hudson's best years with the company reaching 3rd place in the industry (behind Ford and Chevrolet). A second series 1924 Coach and a second series 1925 Coach are shown below for comparison. The 1924 has optional cowl lights. The 1925 has accessory white wall tires that look too wide. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Walker Evans)
Dancing in the Dark: 1940
November 1940. "Pierre, South Dakota, on a cold night." Home of the Dome, luring passersby with "Beer and Dancing." Acetate ... Pierre rhymes with beer. All puns intended. A frigid night in Pierre. Not much going on. Hey, it's 20 below zero. Why not stumble ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/19/2019 - 10:59am -

November 1940. "Pierre, South Dakota, on a cold night." Home of the Dome, luring passersby with "Beer and Dancing." Acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size. Hamm's, the beer refreshingI remember these commercials with trippy cartoon bears from Chicago TV in the late 70s. The B&W commercials from the 50s are very similar, as it turns out. Beer -- AND dancing, I'm going in here!! Question for ShorypitesCan someone tell me if there is a practical purpose for those buttresses at the bottom of the doorway to the store next to The Dome, or are they just cosmetic? [Pedestrian collision prevention. - Dave] Thanks. BrrrrrrrrrrrYou can feel the icy wind that carved it's its presence in the snow at the curb. At least I act like I knowAnd booths! We all know what goes on in those! Beer indeedPierre rhymes with beer. All puns intended. A frigid night in Pierre. Not much going on.Hey, it's 20 below zero. Why not stumble into the Dome and have ... a cold beer! Hamm's, the beer "from the land of sky blue waters". I remember the commercials as a kid, with the bear and the intentionally Native American beat with the tom-toms. Look upThe fancy Corinthian columns at The Dome's entrance are a nifty touch, although a trifle out of balance with the sturdy dentil molding adorning both that building and the one beside it. Perhaps it was to distract from the fact that your nose just froze and fell off your face. I'd like to danceWith someone warm. Uh Am BrrrThat's how your order sounds when your lips are frozen ... A Hamm's Beer is how your order sounds when you can feel your lips again. I know this. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Bustling Broadway: 1910
... the street from one another - lots of toe woes. Night Light The "Bishop's Crook" lamppost introduced electric lighting to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/12/2014 - 11:17am -

New York circa 1910. "Broadway and Hotel Victoria." With the Flatiron Building looming in the distance. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. The man on the rightlooks like he is about to do something wrong; or else he just did something wrong and thinks he was caught by the camera. Double hung, with awningsTwo things about these early 20th Century street scenes continue to amaze me: the fact that even skyscrapers like the Flatiron Building had functional double hung windows right up to the top, and the startling frequency with which the photographers catch people doing who knows what on building ledges - in this case on the third floor of the Victoria. Keep up the good work. "Chiropodist and Manicures"Reminds me of the old "Barber and Surgeon" signs. Two chiropodists directly across the street from one another - lots of toe woes. Night LightThe "Bishop's Crook" lamppost introduced electric lighting to New York City streets. Taller and brighter than its gas predecessors (five of which are visible in front of the Hotel Victoria), it was designed in 1896 by Richard Rogers Bowker, an Edison Company executive. The first lamps were placed at the corners of major avenues, pointing diagonally into the intersection. Madison Square ParkMadison Square Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the city. It is not expansive like Central Park but a pleasant square that still has the turn of the century feel. The Flat Iron building is in the South West corner but many of the buildings that border the park are from this period. Under ConstructionI believe that the building under construction that we can glimpse in the upper right left corner is the Met Life tower. If so, this photo was taken no later than 1909. Much has changed but the Flatiron is still thereView Larger Map Empire State Bldg?Is that the ESB being constructed at the upper-left corner? [Once they invented elevators, the thing really took off. - Dave] Donovan's TrussesAt 1164 Broadway, underneath Cohen Typewriter Agency. Photographer's signage"Secure the shadow ere the substance fades" on Mr Scherer's photography studio advertises a very creepy offering. +104Below is the same view from September of 2014. Pach Brothers StudioThe prominence of the Pach Brothers Studio sign (in the haze down the street past the Flatiron, about five stories up) must have meant it was a very large studio. The last owner of Pach Brothers was Oscar White who as far as I know still lives in Pearl River, NY, Rockland Co. (as of the end of 2014). He used to teach portrait classes at Rockland Community College. (The Gallery, DPC, Flatiron Building, NYC, Streetcars)
Guitar Hero: 1941
... Not Forgotten I have one of his old 78's. "Tomorrow Night". Beautiful song. Smooth bluesman. I believe he could have been the ... Cole, Charles Brown, and even T-bone Walker. Another Night to Cry (1963) Nomination for the "Handsome ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:14pm -

April 1941. "Entertainers at Negro tavern. South Side Chicago." On the left is Lonnie Johnson, noted bluesman and pioneering jazz guitarist. Who are the others? Medium format safety negative by Russell Lee. View full size. Herringbone D-28If you had that old Martin on the right today in that condition you could retire. Lonnie Johnson TrioThis is most likely the trio formed by Lonnie Johnson in Chicago in the late 1930s, with Andrew Harris on the string bass and Dan Dixon on rhythm guitar at far right. Harris also played baritone sax and Dixon supplied vocals along with Johnson. The trio recorded four songs on acetate at the Boulevard Lounge in 1940. Not ForgottenI have one of his old 78's. "Tomorrow Night". Beautiful song. Smooth bluesman. I believe he could have been the forerunner of guys like Nat Cole, Charles Brown, and even T-bone Walker. Another Night to Cry (1963)Nominationfor the "Handsome Rakes" category. Yowza! Nice photoGreat to see such a sharp photo of Lonnie from that period. Too bad he abandoned the acoustic guitar—not to mention the 12-string. (The Gallery, Chicago, Eateries & Bars, Handsome Rakes, Music, Russell Lee)
Jailhouse Rock: 1941
... of adjusting the contrast and toning, Dave. Thank you. Night in the Box Every man takes his top sheet, puts it on the bottom, then ... have his feet over the side. Any man smoking in bed gets a night in the box. - Carl the Floorwalker Goober Pea Car Wash Blues ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2013 - 9:40am -

May 1941. Music-making in the convict camp at Greene County, Georgia. Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. The guitarist, one Shorpy reader points out, is bluesman Buddy Moss. Cool Hand LukeHe can dance but can he eat 50 eggs? Great work!I thought you had just downloaded these photos from the L of C website! Now I see that you have worked a lot on every picture, but is it necessary to put Shorpy's signature down in the corner? [I can see where people might get that impression but there is a lot of slaving over a hot keyboard. I've posted before-and-after pics of some of the photos. The best (biggest) version of the above photo on the LOC site viewable with a Web browser is here. Compare with our full-size version here. I put the site logo on a picture if I think it will be extra-popular and seen elsewhere. Publicity for the site. - Dave] ScansI'm curious as to how you get such high quality b&w scans. Are you scanning negatives or prints? What kind of equipment are you using? [Most of the 1930s and 1940s photos I post are extracted from large (20 mb to 190 mb) image files called tiffs, of scans done in the mid-1990s by a Library of Congress subcontractor in Texas. The scans, made using a Sinar 54 overhead camera, are mostly of the original negatives and transparencies. An example of the raw tiff (scaled way down) is on the left below. I adjust the contrast and toning to make the image on the right. - Dave] Re: ScansThanks for the info, and that's great conversion work you do- I'm currently looking into how I can make high quality b&w negative scans. A Sinar 54 is just a tad out of my price range unfortunately. =) [A Nikon 9000 ED would not be a bad place to start. - Dave] About the watermarkAm I correct in saying that the watermark won't be found on any fine art prints I decide to buy once I'm in my new house? PS. You do good work! [You are correct. No watermark on the prints. And thanks! - Dave] The guitarist is Buddy MossThere's another photo from this series on Stefan Grossman's web site: prisondancer.jpg Thank youThat's an astonishing photograph, thank you for finding and posting it! [You're welcome. I'm hoping it will make 2008's Top 20. - Dave] Cool Foot Luke"I'm shakin' it here, Boss!" Wonderful job of adjusting the contrast and toning, Dave. Thank you. Night in the BoxEvery man takes his top sheet, puts it on the bottom, then takes his bottom sheet, puts it in the wash. Any man needs to smoke must have his feet over the side. Any man smoking in bed gets a night in the box. - Carl the Floorwalker Goober Pea Car Wash BluesDragline: Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille. And, of course, Strother Martin's immortal line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Back for a second lookI just wanted to leave a quick comment after having viewed this photograph a couple of times. Dave, I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the time and effort you put in to enhancing these photographs. I've referred a ton of people to this site to take a look at your labors of love. Thanks again, from a very satisfied fan. By the way, this photo says SO much! Thank you everyone for your comments that have added to the story. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Music, Rural America)
Reading Room: 1942
... It's a small town Definitely qualifies as a wild night in Lititz. Bored Dog Probably can't play the piano and already ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/28/2024 - 8:00pm -

November 1942. "Lititz, Pennsylvania. Small town in wartime. Mrs. Julian Bachman at home with her family. She's twenty-three, has been married one year, and works at the Animal Trap Company from 7 to 4. Her husband is in Officer Candidate School of the U.S. Army Air Corps in Kentucky, so she lives with her parents. Her brother is sixteen and in high school." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. War reading materialIt appears that Mother might be playing a pump organ (if not a Walkman with tiny headphones) and I'd bet Brother is reading some classic Science Fiction magazine and speeding through space to rescue some damsel from aliens. No hope for Ms Bachman and Pops. She's reading about life as a military wife, apparently. It's a small townDefinitely qualifies as a wild night in Lititz. Bored DogProbably can't play the piano and already finished his latest issue of Squirrel Chaser Quarterly. Dad controls the radio... while Mom sits in the other chair when they listen to their programming in the evenings. Newspapers everywhere -- perhaps the morning and evening editions -- along with those huge magazines of when Life et al were large format. There's the bottom edge of a Life magazine just sneaking out from newspapers and book on the top of the stack on the table in front of Mrs. Bachman who is reading one also: "Life on Midway Island," page 118 of the November 23, 1942 issue of Life magazine. And there is probably Son-in-Law Julian Bachman's picture in uniform on the piano top. One can ponder if Mrs. Bachman's younger brother would enlist in the military by 1944 when he would have turned 18. Bombs for Berlin, 1942Supplement to the November 19 Philadelphia Inquirer. Lititz PretzelsThe newspaper on the top of the stack nearest the camera is The Pretzelette, published by the Lititz High School. The high school’s teams were nicknamed the Pretzels. In 1956 the merger of Lititz, Rothsville and Brunnerville schools formed the Warwick Union School District and the Lititz Pretzels ceased to exist, replaced by the Warwick Warriors and a new school building in Lititz, from which I graduated in 1972. [I wondered what the heck that was! - Dave] Local NewsIs that the Weekly Pretzelvanian? The problem with this pictureis we don't know who they are. Julian Bachman is the husband, gone to Officer Candidate School. We know his bride is 23 and married for one year, and her younger brother is 16. He is, no doubt, a Lititz High School Pretzel. But no one in the photograph has been named. And that's too bad, because I wonder who the parents are. While the kids are in somber solids, Mom is wearing polka dots and Dad is dressed in a striped shirt and very noticeable striped socks. They might be the fun ones. [Parents: Walter M. and Mary H. Scott; Kids: Mary Louise Scott and Walter Jr. - Dave] Thanks, Dave. Even though Walter Sr. and Mary were the same age, he outlived Mary by 12 years, dying in 1972. I can't find Mary Louise for certain. Walter Jr. joined the Navy and fought in the Pacific during WWII. He returned home, married, worked for the Woodstream Corp. in Lititz, and lived to be 87. His 2012 obituary references Mary Louise's last name still being Bachman. She had already died. ♫ Tiptoe Through the Tulips ♫The music rack on Mrs. Bachman's grand piano is not raised, so she may have been accomplished enough to play from memory, or was merely posed at the piano. Also, there is a cord going up her neck and over the top of her head that I wonder about - some sort of hearing device maybe? Perhaps she damaged her hearing by playing in a loud band in her younger years (Haha! Not likely). [She wears a hearing aid. - Dave] Living Room todayThis is likely to be the living room of 51 E Center Street, in modern times: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/51-E-Center-St-Lititz-PA-17543/975176...? The modern couch appears to be in the same location as its 1942 counterpart. There is apparently a door between the piano and the end table next to the couch, which is a bit of a tight squeeze. (The Gallery, Dogs, Marjory Collins, WW2)
Film Noir: 1941
January 1941. "Foggy night in New Bedford, Massachusetts." Medium-format safety negative by Jack ... Firesign Theatre fans are out there: He walks again by night. Out of the fog, into the smog. Relentlessly ... ruthlessly ... (I wonder ... back at office door to check] ...Regnad. Good Night, Lover Heck, "Pat Novak, For Hire" was a send-up of the hard-boiled ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/12/2009 - 9:59pm -

January 1941. "Foggy night in New Bedford, Massachusetts." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. Office of War Information. View full size. Listen, Schweetheartyou and me, we're goin' places, see! Let me just light this cigarette, and then ... Nick DangerIt ain't Los Angeles, but let's see how many Firesign Theatre fans are out there: He walks again by night. Out of the fog, into the smog. Relentlessly ... ruthlessly ... (I wonder where Ruth is) doggedly ... (rowr rowr rar) toward his weekly meeting with ... the unknown. Rocky RococoAt Drucker and fourth, he turns right. At Fourth and Drucker, he turns left. He cuts across McArthur Park and walks into a big stone building. (Ouch! my nose!) Cue Organ MusicBrought to you Loosener's Caster Oil Flakes. Oh George... George...I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long... Could it be 1942?The OWI was not created until June of 1942, some six months after the Pearl Harbor attack. If Delano worked for OWI when he took this terrific atmospheric photo, it would have to be in 1942 or later. [It's 1941. The FSA and RA photos, upon the demise of the Farm Security and Resettlement administrations, were transferred to the Office of War Information, and are credited to the OWI by the Library of Congress. - Dave] Depth of fieldExposure and depth of field are to perfection for the mood. If you lived here......you'd be home now! I Cover the WaterfrontScene: Fleshy woman leaning against lamppost holding unlit cigarette. Woman: Hi, Sailor. Sailor: Hi, Mom. No!!! Put down that pickle!!!I invite all Nick Danger fans to check out "Pat Novak, For Hire" - a short lived 1949 radio series starring Jack Webb, available in all the usual 'net places. I'm convinced the Firesign boys listened to "Novak" while writing the Nick Danger script, it's a hilarious (intentionally or not) sendup of the hardboiled genre. Don't touch that dialI see you haven't lost you delicate sense of humor, Nancy! Brought to you by the makers of Loosener's Castor Oil Flakes and Fantastic Cigarettes. Loosener's for the smile of beauty; Fantastics for the smile of success! Tune in again next week -- same time, same station - when Nick Danger meets The Arab! Nick Danger - I spell my name ...[looks back at office door to check] ...Regnad. Good Night, LoverHeck, "Pat Novak, For Hire" was a send-up of the hard-boiled genre. If only they'd been sponsored by a certain root-beer maker. Third Eye"It had been snowing ever since the top of the page, and I had to shake the cornstarch off my mukluks." SweetI came to slumped over in the front seat of my own car, lying in a pool of cheap rotgut. I had a head full of ideas that were driving me insane, and a mouthful of cotton candy ... "Ya want some more cotton candy, Danger? It might sober you up!" You're going down for it sweetheartI think I see Miles Archer's body lying on the sidewalk in the distance. Oh, you mean Nancy!(Rocky and Nick in dialogue. As we turn up the microphone, Rocky begins...) Rocky- That tarnished piece of tin is worthless! Nick- Worthless?! Ha! Not to Melanie Haber! Melanie Haber? You may remember her as... Audrey Farber? Audrey Farber? Susan Underhill? Susan Underhill? How about... Betty Jo Bialowski! (thinking) Betty Jo Bialowski! I hadn't heard that name since college. Everyone knew her as Nancy. Then it all came rushing back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist. It was Pig Night at the Oh Mony Padme Sigma House. */*/* Firesign Theatre rocks. No anchovies? You've got the wrong manJim, if you know for sure that Pat Novak was a parody let me know from where, we've argued about that in our house for years. All I know is that the first time I heard the show, all I could think of was "Gloryosky!! It's the lost adventures of Nick Danger" Miles Archer?I think it's Floyd Thursby.... Name's Tracer BulletI got eight slugs in me. One's lead, the rest are bourbon. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)
Corn Paint: 1920
... View full size. Two words: Edward Hopper! Night Vision I think I once commented before that these People's Drug Stores look better at night. Their successors, CVS, Rite-Aid etc, now tend to leave their lights on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 10:28pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "People's Drug Store, 7th and M." Your head­quarters for Bed Bug Killer, Corn Paint ("for Hard and Soft") and the ever-popular Rubber Goods. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Two words:Edward Hopper! Night VisionI think I once commented before that these People's Drug Stores look better at night. Their successors, CVS, Rite-Aid etc, now tend to leave their lights on inside the stores because they are, in many cases, open 24/7, at least in NYC. They however, do not dress the windows, they are covered with paper signs. Rubber goods!I always get my rubber goods at the drug store. Hot water bottles should always be purchased at reputable establishments. Euphemism"Rubber Goods" is a euphemism for contraceptives; they could not be more explicit in their description. [At the time in the retail drug store trade, "rubber goods" referred to hot water bottles, syringes, enema equipment, rubber gloves and other DIY health-care items. - tterrace] Ghost ladyThere is a ghost lady just finishing her lime ricky, right behind the door. I seem to remember this wasPeople's Drug Store No. 4. Seriously, why was the store's number so prominent? PDS aka Permethrin or Pretty Damn Sure Susceptible pests - Permethrin is effective in the control of several insect vectors of disease, ticks, ants, mosquitoes, lice,fleas, black flies, tsetse fly, domestic flies and other pests, which contaminate food and water sources. [Permethrin was first synthesized in 1973 and marketed in 1977. - tterrace] (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Tulare: 1940
... March 1940. Visalia, California. Band playing a Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Administration's Tulare migrant camp. View ... chord on what looks like an LG-2 Gibson. Saturday night dudes. In the colorized version of this photo, I love the green ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2008 - 3:53am -

March 1940. Visalia, California. Band playing a Saturday night dance at the Farm Security Administration's Tulare migrant camp. View full size. Medium format safety negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. The BandWonder what song they are playing? Also, the black cat--I first thought it was a Halloween dance until I saw the date. Maybe the group was an early prototype of the Stray Cats! MicrophoneThat appears to be an RCA 74B "Velocity Jr." ribbon microphone. A ubiquitous PA microphone of above average quality at the time. They are pretty, but have little use today because of their limited bandwidth. What is the cat holding? [Their kitty has a cigar-box body, partly visible through the mouth. - Dave] Feed the KittyYes, my guess would be that's how they got their tips ... by people feeding the kitty. D Major DudeDon't know the song but I do know what the guitarist is playing -- a D Major chord on what looks like an LG-2 Gibson. Saturday night dudes.In the colorized version of this photo, I love the green jacket on the boy in back. It just rings true. The black cat is hilarious. I can just hear these guys. They're certainly focused. You hit the apex boys, now bring 'er on home. The cat for tipsThis is very late to the party but the cat was as has been said for tips. I've seen similar setups before and one instance while researching answered a question for me about a venue Elvis played early on in Gladewater, TX. See this. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Music, Sports)
Pie Town Parley: 1940
... the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Night Time is the Best Time I love the atmosphere that the photographer ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/13/2020 - 12:40pm -

October 1940. "Farm family after evening meal. Pie Town, New Mexico." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Night Time is the Best TimeI love the atmosphere that the photographer achieved with the balance between light and dark, and the interactions between the people. Well done! It doesn't get any betterIt's just a beautiful photograph and a beautiful moment, especially the engagement between the two women. Where the men are laconicMy mother comes from a ranching and farming family a little south of Pie Town. I can say with certainty that the aforementioned engagement between the women is partly because those two men didn't say more than six sentences each throughout dinner. And the words "Fine", "Yes", and "No" constitute sentences. Double word scoreEvery single photo of a table lit by a kerosene lamp reminds me of my dad's story of playing Scrabble by kerosene lamp during Hurricane Carla in 1961. It's a story I've heard in various forms for as long as I've been playing Scrabble, and I'm sure the final version will be told in the memoir he says he's writing. Oh, but unlike the residents of Pie Town, they had electricity when there wasn't a hurricane, right? Well, yeah. He also has childhood memories of his grandmother's place in West Texas, before the REA. And then there's the story of the stray cow. Have to sayI can't think of a better photograph on this site. Old friends relaxing after a long day. Wow! Questions remainAre the older couple parents of the young woman or the man? Whose house are they at or do they share a domicile? Is this a nightly affair or is it weekly? An aspiring writer could run far with this image. That map tho.I wish I could see a detailed version! Gogh's "Potato eaters"Real life reenactment, if ever was the one. Keeping John D. Rockefeller in businessThe table lamp looks to be a Rayo round-wick model with an Argand burner. Rayos were made by Bradley & Hubbard and marketed by Standard Oil; there is a story that a free Rayo lamp came with a purchase of 15 gallons or more of Standard kerosene. Rayos have a rep among collectors as fuel hogs, which quite possibly is why Standard Oil got involved with them in the first place. They became much less popular after 1907, when the Aladdin lamp combined an Argand burner with a Welsbach rare-earth mantle to produce a better and more economical light. Amazing imageI don't often wonder about technical aspects in most photos, but I would love to know the details on how Lee captured and processed this image so perfectly under these conditions. [A lot of the processing was by Photoshop, a few hours ago. - Dave] Reminds me of Hopper's "Nighthawks"I'm aware of the power of the image having neutralized any distracting surroundings by darkness so that you can't help but let the faces tell the story. I'm thinking of Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, and how universal are the expressions of our faces. This image is captivating me. "A lot of the processing was by Photoshop"Photoshop truly is amazing. I looked up this photo on the LoC website and saw just how dark and low in detail it appears from the original negative. The astonishing thing is that all the detail actually was recorded; it's just that film and processing weren't up to recovering it. Dave's restoration augments Lee's talent. Much as I dream of the past, today has its wonders. [Any "recovering" of detail would have happened in the darkroom when the negative was printed. - Dave] Agreed: burning, dodging and other tricks were routine in any darkroom. But even the most artful enlarger artisan would be very hard pressed to ever create a finished print to rival what we can do in Photoshop in seconds. PainterlyRembrandt lighting a couple of centuries later. (The Gallery, Kitchens etc., Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)
I Like Shostakovich: 1955
... the airplanes. Almost literally the last thing I'd see at night and the first in the morning. Dates from a c.1946 remodel job. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 02/10/2018 - 9:31pm -

Proof positive that my brother and I both fell victim to a similar strange mania at the age of 18. Here, in 1955, a senior in high school and fooling around with his newly-acquired Lordox 35mm camera, he snapped this Kodachrome self-portrait at his desk in our bedroom. Nine years later when I was 18, I shot my records, including the same Shostakovich album, spread out in our living room, as seen here. By that time, "I Like Jazz," a Columbia Records sampler, was no longer around. Posted with my brother's kind acquiescence. View full size. THIMKI somehow wonder what that THIMK note could mean on the red board behind your brother. Is it like a note to oneself? [I'd guess it's a spoof on the "THINK" placards that were popular at the time. Which was Thomas Watson's motto first at NCR and later at IBM. - Dave] Slide RuleCan't help but notice the Post deci-trig sliderule on the desk. Looks like a wiring chart on the ceiling to the right. Appears to me the lad's a right and truly nerd! Welcome! Ceiling ChartIt's a periodic table, with various insets, including a map of the US that presumably indicates the distribution of various elements. Another great shotYou (and delworthio) should get your own blog. I Like "I Like Jazz"I still have the "I Like Jazz" LP in its original sleeve, but it's somewhat the worse for wear. Aviation WallpaperI couldn't help but notice the aviation themed wallpaper with what appears to be a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft in the background. I have a vague memory of a similar patterned wallpaper in either my brother's or my bedroom, albeit patterned with commercial airliners of the era. Bill Gates, the PrequelDid the Termite Brothers grow up to be engineers? Thimk"Thimk" was the Mad magazine version of the IBM "think" motto. HeadphonesMilitary surplus? PeekWhat an incredible peek into the life of a teenager in the middle '50s. The "THIMK" sign, the sliderule, the compass, the nautical themed lampshade and bedspread, aeronautical wallpaper, the atypical (for a teenager) taste in music. Pretty cool. Jazz Liker I, too, have a copy of "I Like Jazz" in its original sleeve. It belonged to my mother, and now lives in my own collection of vinyl. HeadphonesPossibly military surplus; he got them from a high school friend. I remember them, and they were definitely not hi- or any other kind of fi. Probably intended for radio communications work. He used them merely as a prop for the photo. You gotta agree, they certainly heighten the geekiness, hmm? I loved that wallpaper with the airplanes. Almost literally the last thing I'd see at night and the first in the morning. Dates from a c.1946 remodel job. Alternate Title"I Like Ig." Letter MenIs that a Speedball lettering kit in the lower left-hand corner? You guys certainly had a wide range of interests! SpeedballYep, it is a Speedball lettering kit, and on the shelf above it is a bottle of Sheaffer's Skrip "writing fluid," or ink to you. There were always several of those around, as my brother went through various colors with his fountain and ball point pens over time. That's helped me in dating many of the the slides from this era; the mounts weren't dated by the processor and he didn't always write the dates on them, but sorting them by the color of what notes he did make helps get them associated chronologically. You'd use India Ink with the Speedball set, of course. You ever try to get India ink out of a carpet? "Shostakovitch"?Which record company was it that misspelled Shostakovich's name on the label? I can't recognize the logo from here. [There really is no one correct spelling for words written in a different alphabet. For Shostakovich it depends on what system you're using to transliterate the Cyrillic alphabet into the Roman alphabet. - Dave] Transliteration and thingsThanks a lot for your reply, Dave. I had never seen that transliteration before, but having done some digging I see that it was not uncommon back in the 1940s. I guess this was around the same time that Vladimir Nabokov's name was often spelled Nabokoff. Interesting how these things become standardised with time. Anyway, I really love this picture. Both the pose and the room say so much about the sitter's personality. He looks like he would be a very interesting person to know. (And yes, I realise now that I can read the record label's name if I enlarge the picture. D'oh!) Shostakovich: Then and NowThe day after Christmas 2019 my brother and I got together with our original Shostakovi(t)ch album and a copy of I Like Jazz I'd found in a second-hand store and did this. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Canal Point: 1939
... Administration. View full size. Ready for a night out? Very pretty ladies, and well turned out... must be Saturday night! A pity we don't know their names, I hope they had a good life. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/12/2014 - 2:40pm -

February 1939. "Migrant labor. Young packinghouse workers. Canal Point, Florida." Two of the thousands of young people who during the Great Depression found themselves picking or packing produce and living in a tent camp. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Ready for a night out?Very pretty ladies, and well turned out... must be Saturday night! A pity we don't know their names, I hope they had a good life. Child LaborIt strikes me repeatedly how young the workers were in the thirties. My grandma quit school to work during The Depression - before junior high. It gives me a twinge to imagine her, so young and cute, but definitely not carefree. What pretty girls. Reminds me of how thin my grandmother always looked in photos from that time period, though she wasn't a laborer. The girl on the left seems so sad and/or uncomfortable. I always want to know so much more about the people in your photographs! It's the NosesThese two cuties look like sisters to me. They look like they are trying to be brave. Wish we knew what became of them. (The Gallery, Camping, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
Penn Station 1.0
... dollar this year to mark its centennial. Her Name is Night Sculpted by Adolph Weinman, there were several of these. The topless one is named Night, and she holds a poppy. There is also one in the sculpture garden at the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/26/2016 - 11:50am -

"Thirty-Second Street entrance, Pennsylvania Station, New York." The original Penn Station in the final stages of construction, circa 1910. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Darn itWe just missed the train to Chattanooga by a whisker! Topless LadyToday she graces the Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain in Kansas City Birds of a FeatherThose handsome eagles atop the portico were sculpted by Adolph A. Weinman. They were salvaged when Pennsylvania Station was demolished in the 1960s, and at least a few survive in various locations. The same eagle is seen in profile on the half dollars of 1916-47. Incidentally, the U.S. Mint is issuing a gold edition of the half dollar this year to mark its centennial. Her Name is NightSculpted by Adolph Weinman, there were several of these. The topless one is named Night, and she holds a poppy. There is also one in the sculpture garden at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Dust to DustReminds me of a c1964 New Yorker cartoon showing a loaded dump truck pulling into a New Jersey landfill with its driver asking, "Where do you want Penn Station?" Cover you eyes, VelmaOne of those ladies leaning on the clock is topless. Kinda jumps right out at you. Stations and Coinsare two of my favorite things. The railroads, which were the prime source of long distance travel before the airplane, built huge edifices to honor themselves and called them stations. They were adorned with beautiful elements, like statues and full reliefs. Adolph A. Weinman (who also was the designer of the "Mercury" dime and Walking Liberty half dollar) also designed the relief above the Penn Station entrance....hence the connection between the two. Weinman used a model named Elsie Kachel Stevens for the dime and half dollar. The two coins are considered some of the most beautiful coins of the 20th Century. His work lives on. In many forms. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
High Street Too: 1910
... recent additions to some streets. - Dave] Open All Night Thank you, Google, for finding that old football program (a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:31pm -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "High Street north from State." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. +94Same view from July of 2009. ArchesWere those arches really only for street lighting and flags? CuriousWhat is that tall building on the right; it looks very modern, even in the early photo. Anyone know? Arch CityColumbus was called the Arch City for the dozens of arches spanning its streets. The first were wood, put up in the 1890s. Then replaced by metal. The last of them seem to have been removed by the mid-teens. [Reproduction arches are recent additions to some streets. - Dave] Open All NightThank you, Google, for finding that old football program (a must-see pdf!) in the back pocket of my old suit trousers. As it turns out, Leachman's Chop House is at 61 S. High Street, and Mykrantz Drugs (the name just faintly has the right letterforms on one sign) is just a few doors to the north. At the far right of the frame is the McKinley Memorial monument, built 1906. I'll be sitting on the bench there with a newspaper and a cigar for a little while, before getting on with my day. Early RadioI wonder if they had an early wireless station there at that time? In the upper left of the photo, there is a vertical tower atop the building and what appears to be insulators in the guy wires. This is a normal practice in a live vertical radio frequency radiator (antenna) so that the guy wires do not become resonant at the operating frequency, as well as insulating the antenna from ground. A bit early for broadcasting but two-way code wireless telegraphy was done all the time by then. [The appearance is indeed similar to wireless masts of the era. - Dave] The View In 1914Here's a picture of roughly the same view dated as 1914. Notice how many more cars and fewer horses there are in the picture. Leachman's Chop HouseI'd love to stop by Leachman's Chop House for lunch (infamous in a web search for being where Ohio State's Sphinx Senior Honorary club was born), saunter next door to Bryce's for some suits, hats and shoes, pick up a nice ten-cent cigar at the drugstore (so frustrating! can't quite make out the name!), sit in the park across the street and contemplate what goods require the services of the "Press Post" specialty pressing parlor! But what I'm really here for is to find out what is being offered at 4%, or 4% off, as per the giant numbers on the top of the building just ahead on the right! p.s. It's a little hard to sort out all the wires and metal posts and arches, but it looks like the arches were put up for decorative (and perhaps useful) lighting on alternating sets of the metal poles that hold up the trolley wires. 62 South HighThe address here is about 62 S. High Street. At the far right you can just make out the McKinley Memorial, dedicated in 1906. (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)
Midnight Angel: 1931
Cleveland circa 1931. "View of Terminal Tower at night, with eagle on right." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. ... seems to have been rather strict. - Dave] Night Photos I love Theodor Horydczak's work but there is something special ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2016 - 12:49pm -

Cleveland circa 1931. "View of Terminal Tower at night, with eagle on right." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. SurrealGreat picture of the Cleveland Public Square. [Where parking enforcement seems to have been rather strict. - Dave] Night PhotosI love Theodor Horydczak's work but there is something special about his night photos. Almost devoid of people, with the glowing street lights and interesting shadows and the black sky. There's a feeling of magic to them. (The Gallery, Cleveland, Theodor Horydczak)
The Nugget: 1964
... I want to win that '64 Rambler station wagon! Like Night and Day This is one of the few casinos that looked as colorful in the daytime as it did at night. What stays is your money I know this photograph is in Carson ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2021 - 6:58pm -

        The NUGGET has earned the reputation of being Carson City's "Monte Carlo," because it features a complete Casino with the most generous slot machines in Nevada, and has excellent bars and the finest food served anywhere on the continent. January 1964. "Carson City, Nevada." The latest dispatch from Don Cox takes us to the intersection of Carson and Spear, home of the Nugget Casino. View full size. FREE!Man, I want to win that '64 Rambler station wagon! Like Night and DayThis is one of the few casinos that looked as colorful in the daytime as it did at night. What stays is your moneyI know this photograph is in Carson City, but the Cadillac reminds me of an old saying: I arrived in Vegas in a $5,000 Cadillac ... and left in a $30,000 Greyhound bus. "R"What is that R all about on the rearview mirror? Expanded NuggetThis is when the place had grown to about twice its original size. I grew up about three short blocks to the left of here on the corner of Minnesota and Spear. Just the other morning I had breakfast with some friends in the even-larger Nugget that is unrecognizable from the image shown here. Thanks for the nice picture of the place in the time when I'd just graduated high school. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Don Cox)
Flash Mob: 1943
... street corner. Those were the days! It Happened One Night Most of the folks are waiting for the car pool, but Clark Gable is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/16/2014 - 12:03pm -

April 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Third shift workers waiting on a street corner to be picked up by car pools around midnight." Last seen at the lunch counter. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Car poolsSo we were wrong about the streetcars. Drugs and Liquorand cut rate, it doesn't get any better than that. "Frankly my dearI'm waiting for my carpool." Clark Gable still looking dapper, even with dirty dungarees, and his lunch pail. TrendsetterThat sure looks like Clark Gable in a hoodie. Handsome fellow! ClarkI never realized that Clark Gable did third shift work. Early doo-wopDrugs, liquor, and some early doo-wop on the street under the light on the street corner. Those were the days! It Happened One NightMost of the folks are waiting for the car pool, but Clark Gable is taking the bus. Is That The Profile I see?Is that Lionel Barrymore I see in the far background facing the crowd showing his famous profile? [It was his brother John who was "The Great Profile." Who'd have been happy to stumble across this liquor store. -tterrace] [Ha! You are right of course. I hope I didn't embarrass the Barrymore family (especially Drew)- baxado] Isadore Jack Parks, 90, owner of two drugstoresFrom a 1998 obit: Isadore Jack Parks, who had owned two drugstores and worked in advertising, died of cancer Wednesday at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 90 and a longtime Pikesville resident. Mr. Parks managed drugstores for the Read Drug and Chemical Co. from 1931 to 1944. In 1944, he opened a drugstore next to the famed Nate's & Leon's, a delicatessen at North and Linden avenues, and another pharmacy on Pennsylvania Avenue. He sold the two Parks Drugs in the mid-1950s. (The Gallery, Baltimore, Bicycles, Marjory Collins, Stores & Markets)
Willie and Vivian: 1964
... Duke University. View full size. Must be Date Night These days marriage counselors and psychologists tell married couples ... romance and magic in their relationships by having a date night about once per week, spending leisure time alone together. I'm pretty ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/02/2010 - 2:17pm -

"Leatherwood, Kentucky, 1964. Willie and Vivian Cornett sitting on porch." Willie, a recently laid off coal miner, and wife Vivian had 12 children when William Gedney snapped this exposure on his first visit with the Cornett family. Gedney Photographs and Writings Collection, Duke University. View full size. Must be Date NightThese days marriage counselors and psychologists tell married couples they have to keep the romance and magic in their relationships by having a date night about once per week, spending leisure time alone together. I'm pretty sure the rural living and low income for the Cornetts in Leatherwood, Kentucky, made for this kind of "alone time" that was simple and free of charge as they appear to be shelling peas or stringing green beans together. Note how she is watching out of the corner of her eye to make sure he does it right. This heartwarming photo really portrays the simplicity of that time and place in an austere environment which still manages to convey a certain intimacy in their leisure time together. pPodsLooks to me like they are "snapping" peas in the the pod. You had to "snap" the pod to get the peas out before you could cook them. I recall seeing my great-aunts doing just that on the back porch of their farmhouse in the fifties. Solid citizensThey look well groomed and clean, as is their porch (notice the broom in the background?). The husband's shirt may be holey - but hey, it's an undershirt. They look like a great team. They are doing the best they can given the times, and they certainly don't seem like "complainers" to me. I bet they raised solid adults. Fearless. I tell yaI have a feeling that there is nothing in the world that could scare a Cornett. With every Gedney shot you post, I grow more and more curious as to what has become of them. Thanks again Dave, for all you do on shorpy. (Cornett Family, Rural America, William Gedney)
Hell Gate: 1942
... Coke Ovens I remember driving through West Virginia at night in the 1950s and seeing lines of glowing coke ovens. It seemed to me like ... Seeing the endless railway flatcars with glowing ingots at night slowly moving out of the plants was awesome. Hot Shoe I worked at ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:46pm -

November 1942. "Hanna furnaces of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. Coaling door atop coke ovens." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Arthur Siegel for the Office of War Information. View full size. Previously on ShorpyAnother view of the coaling hatches. Coke OvensI remember driving through West Virginia at night in the 1950s and seeing lines of glowing coke ovens. It seemed to me like a way of separating the smoke and smell from the coal before it was shipped to Cleveland to make steel. Take-home lessonFourth grade, we went on a class field trip to the Bowels of Hell -- or actually, this kind of place at Ford Dearborn. I made darn sure to finish my education after that. A lesson learnedI was a kid who did not handle my teens well so, after high school, I was sent to work at Republic Steel in Ohio where my grandfather was a foreman. I enrolled in college within the year. It was the most hellish job you can imagine. Wise sage.A tradesman once told me that if you want to know what hell is like just walk up to an electric furnace in a foundry. "Fourth grade, we went on a class field trip to the Bowels of Hell -- or actually, this kind of place at Ford Dearborn." My tradesman friend worked at the Ford Rouge Plant. Driving south on Fort Street before I-75 was built took you right past McLouth and Great Lakes steel as well. Seeing the endless railway flatcars with glowing ingots at night slowly moving out of the plants was awesome. Hot ShoeI worked at US Steel in Gary Indiana. The coke ovens were so hot that you attached wood plates on the bottom of your shoes to insulate your feet. Otherwise your shoes would melt. I've read that the newer furnaces are insulated and normal shoes reportedly work ok. Sudbury Saturday NightBack in 1977, my family drove through Sudbury, Ontario, on our way out west. I can remember looking out the motel windows and seeing nothing but darkness and glowing slag from the Inco Copper Cliff nickel mine -- like lava flows in the night. Daytime revealed a moonscape of grey... Grey houses, grey laundry on lines, grey lawns, grey rocks, grey slag. The astronauts practised for the moon landings in Sudbury. It was truly that bleak. A few years ago, we went through Sudbury on the way back from Thunder Bay. The land is recovering and it is green, again. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Arthur Siegel, Detroit Photos, Factories)
Jax Noir: 1910
... Jacksonville, Florida, circa 1910. "Forsyth Street at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View ... caught moving by the long exposure. Ladies of the Night Not necessarily THAT kind; the group at left. Looks like they stopped ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:32pm -

Jacksonville, Florida, circa 1910. "Forsyth Street at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Foggy memory tooI spent fourteen loooooong years as a Jacksonville resident and doggone if any of these recent pictures of the place looks even remotely familiar. Probably a combination of "progress," Florida-style, plus simple repressed memory. Up to no good,or just watching the world go by - the guy sat on the wall. I find the overall image very atmospheric with the slightly misty atmosphere and the spooky figures caught moving by the long exposure. Ladies of the NightNot necessarily THAT kind; the group at left. Looks like they stopped long enough to chat and register on the photo. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Florida, Jacksonville)
The Young Man and the Shoe: 1933
... of Fletcher Carden, Route 1, Andersonville, Tennessee. A night-watchman at the Norris Dam bunkhouses. His home is on the townsite of ... hands were already dirty, he would clean the gun. A NIGHT watchman ...and he still managed to have 12 children. Hmmmm... ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2013 - 6:16pm -

November 1933. "Family group of Fletcher Carden, Route 1, Andersonville, Tennessee. A night-watchman at the Norris Dam bunkhouses. His home is on the townsite of Norris and will be moved. Carden has 12 children. He is shown here repairing shoes at the fireside." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. With 12 kidshe shouldn't be fixing shoes, they should be living in a big shoe. Wow. Happiness is a warm gunIs that a revolver on the table next to the fireplace? RE: Happiness is a warm gunYes, it's a revolver. Although not 100% certain, it looks a lot like a Smith & Wesson 22/32 with a 6" barrel. That would account for the apparent lack of ejector rod; possibly making it a "Hand Ejector Target" model, in .22 caliber. Also the size of the ammo boxes indicate a smaller caliber gun. Maybe dad figured that after fixing the shoes, since his hands were already dirty, he would clean the gun. A NIGHT watchman...and he still managed to have 12 children. Hmmmm... Architectural SalvageOne hopes they dismantled (no pun intended but I'll take it anyway) the fireplace surround and decamped with it to their new digs. All God's children got shoesUnfortunately the remnants of that (former) shoe he is repairing seems like it is beyond salvagable unless the laces were still usable. I suppose the youngest kid in the family always got the oldest hand-me-down footwear. The Young Man and the Shoe: 1933This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I just talked with one of the grandsons of Mr. and Mrs. Carden. It looks like I will be doing a story about the family. Gone but not forgottenFletcher Michael Carden 1888-1970. New shoesThe one boy has brand-spanking new shoes. You can see each layer of the laminated soles and the uppers are perfectly polished. I wonder: A birthday present or is Dad an exceptionally talented shoe repairman? (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
The Dakota: 1912
... and Lauren Bacall ( Bacall still lives there.) The night Lennon got shot, we were there within hours, holding a vigil outside with ... buildings in NYC. BTW, I was a teen watching Monday Night Football when Cosell announced Lennon's death on air. You can hear it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:43pm -

New York circa 1912. "Dakota Apartments, Central Park West and West 72nd Street." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The KillerIt sort of pleases me that none of the 27 or so commenters has mentioned the name of John Lennon's murderer and neither will I. He is now 55 years old, serving 20 years to life, he has been denied parole six times. Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York houses him, it is a perfect alternative to a death sentence. ImagineWhen this photo was taken, the Dakota was only 28 years old. Here's nearly the same view today. The Dakota TerritoryPossibly my very favorite building in all of Manhattan. In the late 70s, when I was a teenager, I would cut school and hang out there with a fellow John Lennon adorer. We met him many times, and he'd let us walk with him to Broadway where he bought his gum and newspapers. We'd also regularly see the other celeb denizens - Paul Simon, Rex Reed, and Lauren Bacall ( Bacall still lives there.) The night Lennon got shot, we were there within hours, holding a vigil outside with dozens of other people. When I became a horse-drawn carriage driver in the early 80s, it was one of the most requested sites by my customers, as it sits directly facing Central Park at 72nd St. I had a long line of trivia I would tell them about the building, including that it was named "The Dakota" because the owner and builder, Mr. Singer of Singer Sewing Machine Co. fame, was teased by his 5th Ave and downtown friends that his new building was so far away from the chic parts of NYC at the time, that "it might as well have been in the Dakota Territory." A few things - where the man is standing at the right in the Park (near that wonderful sign that should be reproduced and again posted for today's selfish Handy Andys) is about 20 feet from where the Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, is today. The building has not, to my eye, changed even one iota - masonry is still all intact, carriageway is still there, planters and fabulous railing all still there. It has even managed to retain its original windows, a great architectural boon in my opinion, with so many other old lovely buildings having had theirs replaced. The one difference is that there has been for decades a large, nice, bronze doorman's booth on the left side of the carriageway. I'm loving the horse-drawn wagon at the back of of the line of cars (taxis?) Kind of a metaphor, as it was 1912 and the horse-drawn vehicle was on its way out. I don't have a magnifying glass - can anyone tell me what it says on the back of the wagon? Thank you SO much for this pic - I have seen many photos of The Dakota, but never this one, what a treat. [Below: Stern Brother department store delivery van. - Dave] Thank you! Dakota TriviaJohn Lennon, who would have turned 70 on Oct 9th, was murdered outside The Dakota. His widow, Yoko Ono, still lives there. The 1968 film 'Rosemary's Baby' filmed some scenes at The Dakota. It was renamed 'The Bramford' in the movie. Happy Birthday JohnJohn Lennon would have been 70 on Saturday the 9th. Nice of you to remember Dave. Thanks. Happy birthday John LennonThat's a grand old building John and Yoko lived in. They don't build them like that anymoreThe Dakota is one of the most beautiful buildings in NYC. BTW, I was a teen watching Monday Night Football when Cosell announced Lennon's death on air. You can hear it here. Si Morley was hereI first heard of this building in one of my favorite books, Jack Finney's "Time and Again," published in 1970 or so. The Dakota is nearly a character in its own right in this book. What a beautiful building. John Lennon at 70Here's a computer image of what John may have looked like when he was 70 years of age. Happy birthday John!John Lennon would have been 70 years old today had he not been shot at the Dakota. Beautiful BuildingA sad way to commemorate tomorrow being John Lennon's 70th birthday. (How is that even possible?) Fitting.Happy Birthday, John. In MemoriamT'is sad that the main thing that this building is known for is the tragedy that happened outside. Performing Flea.I don't intend to be a performing flea any more. I was the dreamweaver, but although I'll be around I don't intend to be running at 20,000 miles an hour trying to prove myself. I don't want to die at 40. ~ John Lennon +70Happy 70th Birthday, John Winston Ono Lennon. Wish you were here. Strawberry Fields ForeverThe site of the murder of John Lennon (born on this day in 1940). Living life in peaceThis was John Lennon's home in New York, and where he was murdered on the street in 1980. Had he lived, Lennon would have turned 70 tomorrow. Film locationRosemary's Baby. If you saw "Rosemary's Baby"rest assured that the interior of the Dakota is a far cry from that which Mia Farrow moved around in. I have seen a few a few of the apartments, ranging from a very large one that Robert Ryan and his wife lived in to a much smaller, but far from cramped one that was Roberta Flack's residence. They ere all quite elegant. I live farther up on Central Park West, so I frequently pass by the Dakota and it is not unusual to see Lennon fans hanging around the entrance. Of course it did not all begin with Lennon, the Dakota was a home to celebrities for a few decades before he and Yoko moved in. A great building that once seemed to stand out of town. I believe that's how it acquired the name—it seemed to be in the sticks. More Dakota TriviaThe Dakota also plays a major part in Jack Finney's novel "Time And Again," a beautifully crafted mystery novel set in the 1970s and 1880s. What were you doing the evening of 9 Dec. 1980?I see that there are many here who also know that John Winston Ono Lennon would have been 70 years old today. I would guess that you also remember what you were doing when you heard the terrible announcement that he had been murdered. I was on my way home from a job I had singing Christmas carols for shoppers at ZCMI Center in Salt Lake City. I shed quite a few tears that night, and the next day. It is hard for most people to understand why some of us love him so much. It is absolutely not your run-of-the-mill celebrity worship. There was something special about John Lennon that was still developing, the older he got. Happy Birthday JohnHis music is so timeless and inspirational. I hope he found the peace he wanted so much in life. Shrubbery defacers, bewareI think this guy intends to see that the "punish" precedes the "arrest." I heard the news that night oh boyI had read about Lennon's upcoming album back in October. And every so often, I'd tune up the AM dial (how quaint) and down the FM dial, hoping to hear one of the new songs. I was doing that the night of December 8, when I caught "Just Like Starting Over" halfway through. I recognized the old-time rock-and-roll style which had been described in the newspaper preview (which Lennon referred to as "Elvis Orbison.") And I liked it-- no avant garde, experimental, primal scream, political stuff-- just fun. When the record ended, the DJ said "We'll have more details on the death of John Lennon right after this," and they went to a commercial break. I was so shocked, I tried to bend what the DJ had said, to something I could handle. Perhaps he had introduced the record by telling people to listen for "clues" that John is Also Dead? (Goofing off on the Paul is Dead hoax.) Or, if he was really dead, I was wondering, From What? Before the DJ returned, a friend called me and said that Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football had reported John Lennon had been murdered. So I had just that minute and a half of "Cool, he's back, and it sounds great!" 12-8-80I was home on leave from the Navy watching the Dolphins/Patriots game on Monday Night Football with my Dad when Howard Cosell came on and announced that John Lennon had been shot. Awful. Unforgettable momentI was living in Madison, Wisconsin on Langdon Street and walked over to Rocky Rococo's Pizza on State Street near campus to enjoy a slab of Pizza and watch Monday Night Football. The game coverage (the voice over commentary) was interrupted and I think I first heard of the news either from an announcement read by Howard Cosell or Frank Gifford. Then they broke in with an actual news bulletin that indicated he had been shot and was en route to the hospital. In the time that it took to walk back over to Langdon Street and enter my apartment it was announced that he had died. I turned on the radio and heard the actual announcement he had died and just recall thinking what a bizarre thing this was. His then recently released album was already getting a lot of play in Madison, and after the news it was complete saturation. Every time I see the DakotaOne of my favorite Christine Lavin songs: The Dakota. [YouTube link] It was a Monday morning, I was coming in from a long trip on the road. I flagged a cab near the East Side Terminal, I said, "Please take me home." We drove up along Third Avenue, crossed through Central Park. When we came out at Seventy second Street, I felt a cold chill in my heart. Every time I see the Dakota, I think about that night. Shots ringing out, the angry shouts, A man losing his life. Well, it's something we shouldn't dwell upon, But it's something we shouldn't ignore. Too many good men have been cut down, Let's pray there won't be any more. ... Words and Music by Christine Lavin December 9, 1980I was decorating my Christmas tree as my first child, who was three months old to the day (she's 30 now, obviously), watched from her infantseat. I was never a Beatles fan but I do remember the night they debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show; I was sitting on the couch after my bath, in my pajamas, a five-year-old wondering what all the fuss was about. The night John Lennon died I was listening to the radio and honestly -- and I know this next part won't be appreciated by many, but it's a free country and I believe we still enjoy free speech, at least for a little while longer -- after an hour or so I got a little tired of hearing the late Beatle practically elevated to sainthood by the announcer and every caller. I called the radio station not to speak ill of the dead, but to point out that perhaps we should temper our comments understanding that this man and what he stood for did a great deal to tear at the fabric of our society. (I don't think anyone really believes hippie-freakdom fueled by rock music has done all of us a world of good. Why do we have to act like it has?) The announcer, once he was onto my gist, hung up on me. So much for free speech. But I do adore Johnny Depp so maybe I'm a great big hypocrite. You make the call. A creepy place.I never liked that building from the time I first saw it in Rosemary's Baby, and that was some 12 years before Lennon was shot. It creeped me out then and creeps me out now, just looking at it. Time and Again and AgainNobody is going to mention Simon Morley using the Dakota as a time machine to travel back to the blustery cold winter days of 1882 in Jack Finney's novel "Time and Again?" It's such a fun and well researched book. [Somebody did mention it! - Dave] In MemoriamIn the new 4-CD Lennon compilation "Gimme Some Truth" there's a booklet that includes a photo of Lennon and Ono in their bedroom. Assuming it was taken at the Dakota, it's far less fancy then you would expect the apartment of a wealthy icon to be today. While it's a large room by New York City postwar apartment standards, it's not large by McMansion standards. The wall behind the bed is painted brick and there's nothing all that fancy in the room. As for Jenny Pennifer's comments, you certainly have the right to make any comments you like, but you obviously don't have a clue as to Lennon's impact, either culturally, politically or musically. To understand that impact, all you have to do is look up the hundreds, if not thousands of other artists who have recorded his songs, see the number of people who gather at Strawberry Fields or at the Dakota each day and listen to the radio where his songs are still played 30 to 47 years after they were written. Lennon did not tear at our society except to try and stop an illegal and useless war (what happened when we finally pulled out? Nothing except people stopped being killed.) and to fight for peace and the rights of all human beings. And I'll take "hippie freakdom" over the money and 15 minutes of fame obsessed (think Jersey Shore) and the cruel internet culture we live with today. I've been inside onceI was inside the Dakota once, at a political fundraiser in about 1995. The apartment belonged to the head of the European equities desk at a large hedge fund. It was very large, and clearly very expensive, but it was not as fabulous as the glass-walled penthouses overlooking the city in many other buildings, or even some of the (probably much less expensive) apartments in less famous buildings, but which have large terraces overlooking central park. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Blade Runners: 1919
Washington, D.C. "Skating night, 1919." National Photo Co. View full size. Blur The motion ... Washington has only a few days of ice skating, and last night large crowds gathered at the various ponds and lakes to test the ice. ... their first taste of coasting. Until a late hour last night the hills near Soldier' Home and in Rock Creek Park, as well as the hill ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 7:35am -

Washington, D.C. "Skating night, 1919." National Photo Co. View full size. BlurThe motion captured in this image is really beautiful. Boo.I think you're trying to get us ready for Halloween, Dave. The dark images swirling like a murder of crows. Skate When You Can Washington Post, Dec 20, 1919 Ice Skaters Grasp Chance for Sport Throngs at Great Falls Va. Merrymakers Enjoy Coasting. If war workers who now are in Washington care to use the ice skates which they brought from Northern homes, they had better get hem out. Washington has only a few days of ice skating, and last night large crowds gathered at the various ponds and lakes to test the ice. A large number of skaters found the ice on the old canal above Great Falls Va., smooth, and after sweeping away the snow there was pleasure for all. The 3 or 4 inches of snow which fell yesterday gave the children their first taste of coasting. Until a late hour last night the hills near Soldier' Home and in Rock Creek Park, as well as the hill streets of the city, were crowded with merrymakers. Police yesterday renewed their efforts to restrict the coasting in the downtown sections. With the heavy Christmas traffic it is pointed out that such sport is particularly dangerous. The heavy snowfall caused little interruption to Christmas shopping. Throughout the day, downtown streets were filled with crowds. Two hundred street cleaners were put to work on the crosswalks and street car traffic was kept moving by snow plows. Dark was the nightWhat a deliciously eerie photo. I'm sure the evening was filled with laughter and merriment, but captured this way it feels like one of the crime scenes in Luc Sante's "Evidence." (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Sports)
Local Heroes: 1940
... View full size. Wonder if it was a Friday night? Did a bit of poking around this morning on Google Earth, and I think ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 5:00am -

October 1940. "Football players. Minot, North Dakota." 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Wonder if it was a Friday night?Did a bit of poking around this morning on Google Earth, and I think this might be the same spot on Main Street. No Spoiled JocksI'm guessing that in 1940 they were not provided with rides to and from the games but one would think the guy on the right would have taken his helmet off at least to walk down Main Street. Or perhaps they were in a parade or downtown pep rally. Vertical HoldPrecursor to the early 1960s Denver Broncos vertical-striped socks. Yikes. The Three MagiI would guess this photo was taken on the afternoon of October 18, 1940, before the Minot High Magicians lost 28-6 to the Bismarck Demons. Minot High had designated Oct. 18 as "Loyalty Day," involving Homecoming-like events. Going into the game, the Maroon-and-Gold Magicians (or "Magi" for short) were tied with Bismarck atop their division of the East-West Conference. With the possible exception of the next week's game against Williston, this was the only home game for the Magicians in October 1940. (They were only one of four football teams playing in Minot then. The others were the Minot Model High Beaver Kits, the St. Leo Lions, and a college team, the Minot Beavers. It is possible that these were players from one of those teams, but even in black-and white that sure looks like maroon and gold.) So UncoolIn the late 1950s Baltimore, walking around town, or even your own 'hood, in your football togs, was seriously frowned upon by your peers. The guy on the right goes the extra mile, even wearing his hat. Sheesh. [Ever wear a football hat yourself? Just wondering. - Dave] Before GPS"I thought you said the stadium was over here!" VarietyWe've seen a few of Vachon's photos [155. - Dave]; he had an interesting choice of subjects. The high, diorama like shots, then interesting signage and people. Nothing specific, like he looked up and there these three were, just trudging along. Spontaneous reaction shot. Same with the shot of the two kids coming home from school down that snow covered road. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Sports)
The Newsroom: 1942
... morning. [The Times is a morning paper, so yes, it's night. - Dave] Norman Rockwell Photograph If Rockwell was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/17/2023 - 11:09am -

September 3, 1942. "New York, New York. Newsroom of the New York Times newspaper. Right foreground, city editor. Two assistants, left foreground. City copy desk in middle ground, with foreign desk, to right; telegraph desk to left. Makeup desk in center back with spiral staircase leading to composing room. Copy readers go up there to check proofs." Medium format acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. The Front Page's Back RoomNot very glamourous, is it?? Even by the standards of the day, I would have expected something more impressive for the Paper of Record. But perhaps our expectations are tainted by modern conditions: whereas today the 'Times' may be NYC's only broadsheet, in 1942 there were a multitude - Journal-American, World-Telegram, the Sun -- some of which eclipsed the Times in circulation; but the real competitor for the quality reader was the Herald-Tribune. I've heard it posited that WWII is what earned the Times the final victory lap: it used its war-ration reduced pages to emphasize news, whereas the HT gave the edge to advertising. I don't know how true this is, but it's a great story. Safe pre-OSHA WorkplaceLooks like way back then they didn't need an agency of the Federal Government to codify or remind them of the dangers of falling light globes (I didn't even know that was a thing.) Their safety conciousness even extended to the film used to record their workplace for posterity. Which begs the question, what happened to the guy at front left. Paper cut? Malingerer? Bar fight? Phones?I only see three telephones in that whole office! How can they get any work done? I'm sure that everyone they would've needed to speak with was within shouting distance. Amazing how efficient things were back then! No cubicle walls either. Makeup desk???What, are they planning early for TV? What a classic case of industrial chic, even with wire cages on the lamps! Front Page Headlines September 4, 1942 New York TimesUS FIGHTS NEW LANDINGS IN SOLOMONS; SINKS CRUISER, 4 OTHER SHIPS IN PACIFIC; NAZIS ADVANCE NORTH OF STALINGRAD Marines Meet Foe Franco Shakes Up Cabinet, Ousts Suner and 2 Others Allied Blows Force Rommel to Withdraw at Some Points President Warns Youth to Choose Death or Freedom Submarines Sink 5 Japanese Ships Astor Real Estate Policy Shifted to Meet New Order British Bombers Sear Karlsruhe; Sinclair Urges Sabotage in Reich OPA to License All Meat Packers and Wholesalers in Control Move The Copy Boywould take a writer's finished typing when the writer held it aloft saying a bit more than audibly, "BOY!" In later times this was changed to "KID!" Got that from a WSJ veteran. Why the cages around the lights?What do they need protection from? SPIKE THAT STORY! NOT my hand!Copyboy! Get me OSHA! And having worked in such dangerous places in the 1960s ... Light cagesWhy are there cages around the ceiling lights? All I could think of was that the composing room upstairs creates enough vibrations to occasionally knock a light fixture off its ceiling mount, and the cages protect those below. Typewriters?Interesting. When I worked in a newsroom in the 70s it wasn't much different from this except everyone had a typewriter. I wonder why there's not a single one visible in this photo. [You don’t need a typewriter to edit. Just a grease pencil. - Dave] Not many visorsThis most be towards the end of the era for visors. Green eyeshades or dealer's visors are a type of visor that were worn most often from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century by accountants, telegraphers, copy editors, and others engaged in vision-intensive, detail-oriented occupations to lessen eye strain due to early incandescent lights and candles, which tended to be harsh (the classic banker's lamp had a green shade for similar reasons). Wire mesh around the lights??What is that for. Oh, and that caricature, so not politically correct today. Memo SpikeThat Assistant put his hand through the CE’s memo spike again. Or maybe the editor is a very, very stern taskmaster. Back in the day..Bill spikes, stick telephones, eye shades, rubber stamps, oak office chairs, pipe smokers.. all of an era. Can anybody identify the round white things with the little handle sticking up? [Gluepots. - Dave] And the cages on the light fixtures — did things get rough in that room from time to time??? Times of ...Natural human data processing power. Light Globe Cages?Not sure what the well thought out and professionally made wire cloth covers on the lights are all about. I guess it has something to do with being at war??? Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old daysKind of depressing once you take it all in, a newsroom entirely staffed by men, plus the pipe smoking, the anti-Japanese propaganda poster, etc. It really is true that "The past is a different country. They do things differently there." So many wonderful things to see from the old timesThe guy smoking a pipe, The candlestick telephones too. The wire cages on the light fixtures are also strange. Overkill, I would say. But it's a delightful photo of the past. Shorpy logoIn an early comment below (“Safe pre-OSHA Workplace”), M2 writes, “Their safety consciousness even extended to the film used to record their workplace for posterity.” So I scrutinized the right edge of the photo, my head tilted down and to the right, to read: “EASTMAN—SAFETY—KODAK 101 SHORPY.” Very clever! SaunaThese men don't need to go to a steam bath - it looks like their work place is already very hot and humid. Each of those caged ceiling lights is probably putting out 200 watts of heat, plus all the body heat of the men. Their shirts look very moist. The large metal ducts on the ceiling might only be for exhausting smoke and heat from the room rather than forced air conditioning. I would love the see a photo of the cord switchboard with operators connecting the candlestick telephones. Not a coffee cup in sightCoffee rationing in effect already? SwelteringThe high temperature in New York that day was 93 degrees -- no wonder they all look so sweaty. Depressing? Why so Karen?Perhaps a history book is not in your future, or you'll be very very depressed. In other words. Lighten up. Sweet Smell of the City DeskInhale deeply and let’s go back in time and take an olfactory tour of the newsroom. The first thing that hits you as you enter the room would be the tobacco smoke. I count at least three pipes and a cigarette, but no ashtrays. In a closed room the smoke and ash odor would be the first thing you notice. Weather archives report that the temperature reached 93 degrees F. in New York City on September 3, 1942 – near record heat. The next thing you’d notice would be man-sweat and hair tonic. Vitalis and Brylcreem and Murray’s Pomade each had a distinctive aroma and the miasma rising from those guys must have been remarkable. Add to the vaporous atmosphere the smell of printer’s ink, gluepots, rubber-gum erasers, pencil shavings, leather satchels, and freshly developed photographs. Even though the clock says 9:20 AM perhaps you'd catch a whiff of flask-borne whiskey and, judging be the unshaven assistant city editor in the foreground, maybe the scent of monkey blood from his wound dressing. I’ll bet the gent in the eyeshade has a Limburger cheese and onion sandwich in a paper bag. You can exhale now. Goober Pea Where's Hildy?This makes me want to watch "His Girl Friday". Right off The Front PageThe movies from the 1930s led me to expect many more typewriters and whiskey bottles. Also, a sassy gal Friday. Walk in their shoes"Nothing is more unfair than to judge the men of the past by the ideas of the present. Whatever may be said of morality, political wisdom is certainly ambulatory". - Denys Arthur Winstanley I'm with Al Bear I always love these photos of how things used to be in newsrooms, offices, labs, etc. and I'm especially intrigued by wartime home front photos. It's really easy for some to hold the past up to today's politically correct standards, but perhaps one of two of these newsmen lost a son or maybe even a daughter at Pearl Harbor or Midway. Maybe they have a son who recently landed at Guadalcanal. And perhaps there are women who are working in this environment but just happen to be out of the photo at the time. You don't know for sure, so don't judge. And Now, The WeatherNOAA weather for Manhattan shows a high of 93 on 9/3/42. Might explain the matted hair, glistening foreheads and less than crisp work shirts. The Hot SeatNew York in September, no A/C, everybody packed in like sardines ... no wonder everybody looks sweaty! I too pictured a lot more typewriters. 9:20 am ... or pm?The previous shot of the wire service machines shows that it's pretty clearly dark outside (the left-hand window is open without whatever-it-is that's in the right hand window opening). It seems to me that this is more likely the evening of September 3rd, 1942 rather than the morning. [The Times is a morning paper, so yes, it's night. - Dave] Norman Rockwell PhotographIf Rockwell was a photographer he'd have taken this image. So full of action and detail. Those head visors, the not-paperless-office, the spiral staircase and all enveloped in that amazing masonry and concrete room. Those paper spikes were dangerous, so sharp that a careless hand could easily get a nasty wound (another reader has picked up a suspicious wound). Never mind that the spike might just go through and destroy a very important word. (The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC)
Midnight Special: 1943
... It was the biggest flood ever in Topeka. Steam at night There's an interesting technicality in this shot. The time exposure to ... of the steam whistle as I lay in my bed on a cold winter night. As a boy who spent his childhood summer days sitting by the tracks, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2013 - 12:23am -

March 1943. Argentine, Kansas. "Freight train about to leave the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yard for the West Coast." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. AT&SF # 31672-8-2 "Mikado" type. Lost in a flood in 1952 and now sunk in the Kaw River in Topeka, KS. What a Flood!The ATSF Argentine yard is in Kansas City. The Santa Fe placed several old engines on its bridge over the Kansas River (sometimes called the "Kaw") in Topeka to try to keep the bridge from being washed away during the 1951 -- it was 1951, not 1952 -- flood. It didn't work. The engines weren't salvaged after the flood and reportedly parts of them could be seen in the sandbars at low water levels for years. The ATSF bridge wasn't on the main line, but the Rock Island also lost its Topeka bridge during the flood, which was on its main line to the southwest. The city also lost two of four street bridges over the river. The water reached the street in front of my house, and we had to pump water out of the basement, but the house was up the hill a bit and wasn't otherwise affected. It was the biggest flood ever in Topeka. Steam at nightThere's an interesting technicality in this shot. The time exposure to ambient light means that there are light trails from the loco lights and a lot of motion blur in the steam, the train alongside and so on. However, the long burn time of the flash bulbs meant that there's motion blur in the flash part of the exposure, too. [This isn't a flash shot. The illumination is from lights mounted atop tall standards in the yard. - tterrace] 1 month oldMarch 1943: I would have been 1 month old. These Jack Delano railroad shots are fantastic moments in time. I can hear the hissing of steam, the smell of the exhaust and hot grease; the plaintive call of the steam whistle as I lay in my bed on a cold winter night. As a boy who spent his childhood summer days sitting by the tracks, these photos stir up a whole bunch of poignantly fond memories. I waved at the engineer who always waved back. As the caboose brought up the end of the train, they are now extinct, passed, the conductor would acknowledge my wave as he sat up in the cupola. If I were lucky, there was another engine coupled at the rear behind the caboose and another engineer to salute. I cherish the fact that I was born early enough to have witnessed steam locomotives as part of the passing scene. However, I regret the fact that I was born way too late to have been a steam locomotive engineer. Yes, I am truly an old geezer! (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Balmer's Baths: 1908
... and sand! After all that lot, you'd need a bath! Night lights There must have been far fewer people who could swim back then. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:30pm -

New York circa 1908. "Balmer's bathing beach, Coney Island." Beer, peanuts, surf and sand! 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Double imageLooks like camera was accidentally moved when this picture was shot. [Yes, it was bumped, so the picture is not up to the usual Shorpy sharpness standard. - Dave] Risque bather!Hard to tell with the blurred photo, but it appears to show a man in ankle-deep water wearing shorter than normal trunks, and with his bathing shirt REMOVED! Is this the reason for throngs of people on shore ... waiting for the police to make a pinch to protect probriety? Beer, peanuts, surf and sand!After all that lot, you'd need a bath! Night lightsThere must have been far fewer people who could swim back then. A web of ropes, the most elaborate we've seen in one of these views, to hang off while frolicking in the surf. And are those arc lights at the top of those poles out in the water? Would they have had nighttime swimming? Finally, is that big boxy building in the distance Steeplechase Park? Glimpsing the futureThat's an a-shirt/tank-top/muscle shirt/wifebeater. Shorts-guy was just ahead of his time. (Muscle shirts on the beach are SO East Coast.) Different swimmers there now.Balmer's Bathing Pavilion was on the east side of the intersection of West Fifth and Surf Avenues. Land now now occupied by the New York Aquarium. The Risque BatherI think the risque bather is a lifeguard. He looks rather muscular, and his outfit looks just like this fellow's https://www.shorpy.com/node/6901 (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC, Swimming)
Mass. Transit: 1941
... Dreaming of Hawaii? It's at The Lexington every night! The nearby advert beckons cold commuters to warm up at The Hawaiian ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/13/2018 - 3:10pm -

January 1941. "Commuters who have just gotten off the train waiting for the bus to go home. Lowell, Massachusetts." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size. YuckLooks like coal cinders spread on the frozen, snow-packed streets. I remember the city of St. Louis doing this when I was a boy and it sure was a huge slop when it thawed. Demolished in the '50sI sure hope they saved that Yellow Cab thermometer. Collected advertising thermometers for years. Never seen a Yellow Cab. I imagine it's a rare bird. Lowell Union Stationwas demolished in the 1950s for highway construction: The current station is not even worth posting. We are lucky to still have a few of the old granite "Richardsonesque" stations left on the Worcester line, notably Framingham (now a restaurant) and, of course, Worcester (not Richardsonesque, but still beautifully restored), but also the smaller versions in Ashland (veterinary) and Wellesley Hills (coffee shop). As the song goes, "you don't know what you got till it's gone." Dreaming of Hawaii? It's at The Lexington every night! The nearby advert beckons cold commuters to warm up at The Hawaiian Room, hosted by the self-described Irish Hawaiian Ray Kinney. Conveniently for us, there's an upcoming PBS special: https://www.pbshawaii.org/tag/the-hawaiian-room/ Chains, Leis and AutomobilesLowell's got it all! That blondeJust a little ray of sunshine isn't she? Tire chainsWhen coal cinders aren’t enough. Plymouths RockThat's a nice selection of taxicabs. I like the 1939 Plymouth seven-passenger with the tire chains. The other three appear to be 1940 Plymouths. To YuckI was born and raised in St. Louis. Cinders in the streets were common in my childhood. Most homes were heated with coal-fired furnaces and the cinders were typically deposited in a concrete-walled ash pit and, eventually, gathered for application to wintry streets. But there were other uses. Years passed. I became an engineer. One day a young engineer approached me with a set of plans of an existing old high school and asked the meaning of a notation on its plot plan. The note pointed to an oval running track behind the school labeled "CINDER TRACK." Compare to "Homeward Bound" travelersThis picture fascinates me because of the many similarities to my favorite photo on Shorpy -- Delano's color picture, "Homeward Bound." (It's my biggest Shorpy purchase, framed on my office wall.) In both pictures there is around the same number of bundled-up people waiting patiently for the bus in the same spot outside of the same train station in Lowell, and at least some look the same - but in the black-and-white taken from a second-story level, there's much less snow on the roof of the train station than in the color street-level photo. One gentleman appears in the same place in both photos, second from the left. My guess is that both were taken around the same time of day, one or two days apart. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Railroads)
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