The Cost Of Living In New York City In 1921

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In 1921 The Annual Cost Of Living In New York For Working Men & Women Was Just Over $1,000

A Family Of Five –  $2,263

Moving and searching for a new apartment illustration Eldon Kelley, New York Herald

For several weeks The New York Times has been running a column on the weekend “Affording New York.’

The headlines show there is a wide range of what is considered affordable in order to live in New York City.

Some of the recent articles hidden behind the Times paywall are :”How a Geologist Lives on $200,000 in Bushwick, Brooklyn.”  “How a Florist Lives on $23,000 a Year in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.” And “How an Artist Lives on $36,000 a Year on the Upper West Side” These articles elaborate on how people cope with the cost of living.

105 years ago in 1921 Dr. William Mosher of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research, conducted an exhaustive study of the cost of living in New York.

What Dr. Mosher found was that a male clerk could subsist well on $1,093 Year, while a single woman would need $1,118.

The study of minimum quantity and cost budgets made by Dr. Mosher was primarily dealing Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #193 – Bette Davis Off Camera With 4-Year-Old Co-Star

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Bette Davis Between Takes Of All This, And Heaven Too – 1940

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME
The best of friends are Bette Davis and Richard Nichols. Bette doesn’t make a practice of serving as a cushion for young men on her movie sets but Richard is an exception.

He’s 4-years-old and his friendship with the distinguished actress dates from the first days shooting on All This, And Heaven Too, the Warner filmization of the Rachel Field novel, starring Miss Davis and Charles Boyer. Master Nichols plays the important role of the Duc de Praslin’s youngest child. The youngster completely captivated everyone concerned with the production; no one “fell” harder for him than Bette. photo Warner Bros. Studio, Burbank, CA 1940

Bette Davis has her ever-present cigarette while relaxing between takes with her young co-star Richard Nichols.

Smoking was very acceptable for most of the twentieth century.  So there is nothing amiss in having a child sit on your lap while having a smoke.

Richard Nichols, born in Los Angeles, CA on December 14, 1935 appeared in a dozen films. His brothers also were motion picture actors. But Richard Nichols Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #195 – 125th St. West From 7th Ave. c. 1910

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Harlem 125th Street Looking West From Seventh Avenue

This undated, circa 1910 Detroit Publishing Co. photograph of Harlem’s main stem of 125th Street shows a flurry of activity. We are looking west from Seventh Avenue, today renamed Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. This area of Harlem looks like a small village with most buildings being four stories or less.

It’s obviously a chilly day, and every pedestrian is well dressed and wearing a hat.

Most don a modern hat.  Except for this retro, bearded man in a nineteenth century top hat. Both top hats and beards had fallen completely out of fashion in the early 20th century. He stands under the old lamppost street sign locator near an unusual type of fire hydrant.

On the northwest corner (right) is a Continue reading →

Bullet Train Arrives & New York City Cares About Pollution – 1934

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New York City Says No To Coal Or Oil Burning Trains – 1934

In the 1970s practically every apartment building had an incinerator to burn its trash. New York City’s sky had a constant haze of air pollution from a variety of smog producing outlets.

So it may be surprising to realize that New York did have concerns about air pollution in the 1930s. This photograph with the news slug explains:

An Electric Locomotive Draws The Record-Breaking Coast To Coast Train
New York – A scene on the Park Avenue elevated tracks in New York, showing the Union Pacific “Bullet Train” being drawn by an electric locomotive into Grand Central Terminal at the end of the 56-hour, 57-minute record breaking journey from Los Angeles. The locomotive was attached at Harmon, New York to conform with the law which prohibits a coal or oil burning engine o go through New York. The stream line train is an oil burner. photo: International News 10-25-1934

Union Pacific’s Continue reading →

A Valuable Motorcycle At The 1926 Bicycle Show

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Show Girl Agnes O’ Loughlin On A 1926 Excelsior Super X Motorcycle

The 12th National Bicycle Show
New York: Photo shows Agnes O’Loughlin riding the ivory and gold motorcycle which was one of the principle exhibits at the 12th National Bicycle Show at the new Madison Square Garden. photo; King Features Syndicate 1-12-1926

Some things have not changed much in one hundred years. Companies still hire pretty women to demonstrate their products at conventions.

Admission to The National Bicycle Show in 1926 was fifty cents. The show was held at the third and newest building named “Madison Square Garden” which opened on November 29, 1925 at  Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Street. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #194 – Seventh Avenue & 23rd St. – 1916

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Seventh Ave Looking North From 23rd Street

This photograph was taken by the City of New York to document construction along Seventh Avenue. The date is Tuesday, August 29 ,1916. The high temperature for the day was a comfortable 71 degrees.

The extension of the subway from Times Square south of Seventh Avenue to the Battery would necessitate ripping up the street along the route. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #192 – William Powell

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William Powell Paramount Publicity Photograph 1929

And A Rare Interview About Playing A Part

37-year-old William Powell looks very tan in this 1929 Paramount Pictures publicity photograph. Powell also looks like he has a case of the mumps.

Powell is best known to classic movie fans for author Dashiell Hammett’s creation; Nick Charles, a former private detective, in a series of hugely popular Thin Man films with Myrna Loy Continue reading →

They Died. The New York Times Forgot to Mention It –Again

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The New York Times Loves To Ignore Rock N’ Roll Deaths

On February 3, 2026 Lamonte McLemore one fifth of the great singing group The Fifth Dimension passed away at the age of 90.

Amazingly, The New York Times did cover McLemore’s death with a well deserved obituary a week after his passing . McLemore, while not a rock star per se, was definitely part of the sixties pop rock identity.

We use the term “amazingly” because Continue reading →

The God Of War Triumphs Over Peace

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Puck Magazine Illustration “Mars Triumphant” – 1904

There are no periodicals like Puck Magazine today.

The weekly political, satirical and humor magazine was in business from 1876-1918. A main feature of the magazine was a chromolithograph centerfold usually relating to events of the day.

Our illustration is from the February 25, 1904 issue and drawn by Udo Keppler (1872-1956). Continue reading →