The Beresford Hotel 1893
We are looking north along Central Park West then (known as Eighth Avenue), from 81st Street. Continue reading
Old New York in Photos #1 – Central Park West & 81st Street
4 Replies
Category Archives: Photography
Classic Hollywood #1
Jayne Mansfield Has A Press Conference 1957
Rome – November 8, 1957
Jayne Mansfield certainly knew how to get the media’s attention.
Literary Man Of Mystery
Who Is This Man?
At my local library there is a used book store. Sometimes they get unusual items donated. This is one of them.
It is a framed, large format photograph of apparently someone famous from the literary world. The staff at the library book store has put a sign above the photo saying “Who is this literary man?” Four years have gone by and still no answer.
I got out my cell phone and took a photograph of the photo (hence the glare from the glass covering it.)
So I pose it to you the readers, is there anyone who recognizes this man? Please feel free to forward, so we can solve this literary mystery.
How to Win the World Series – Don’t Hit! Presenting the 1906 White Sox
Nicknamed The “Hitless Wonders”: The 1906 Chicago White Sox.
Portrait White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan 1909 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
This dour looking man shared the team lead for the Chicago White Sox in home runs in 1906. His name was Billy Sullivan. He was the team’s catcher. He batted .218.
Billy Sullivan in 1910 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Billy Sullivan and Joe Sugden in 1901 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
The other slugger to lead the team in home runs was outfielder / playing manager Fielder Jones. He batted .230.
fielder Jones at South Side Park 1905 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Fielder Jones & Frank Isbell 1907 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Fielder Jones Base Hit vs. Cubs Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Sullivan and Jones each had two home runs. This is the shared record with the 1907 Cubs for fewest amount of home runs for an individual team leader on a modern (post 1903) world championship team. Let’s give the 1907 Cubs some credit they walloped nearly double the number the White Sox did in 1906 by hitting 13 home runs.
The White Sox hit a total of seven home runs in 1906. Count them, seven.
The White Sox batted collectively .230. They did not have one .300 hitter who had more than ten at bats. Pitcher Frank Smith had a higher batting average (.293) than any other regular starter. They did finish in first place with a 93-58 record.
In the 1906 World Series against the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs the Sox hit even lower, batting a collective .198.
1906 World Series West Side Grounds Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
1906 World Series fans Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
The Cubs had won a record 116 games, which is still the modern National League record for victories.
Yet the White Sox whipped the heavily favored Cubs four games to two and even managed to score eight runs in each of the last two games!
Late 19th / Early 20th century Photograph of a UFO in California
What is in the sky in this photograph?
Is this one of the earliest UFO photographs?
Catalina Island Circa 1900
I saw this magic lantern slide photograph for sale on eBay about 5 years ago and thought it was interesting enough to copy on to my computer, but not to bid on. It was identified as Santa Catalina Island at the turn-of-the-century and that was pretty much all there was to the description. The person selling it did mention there is a strange object in the photograph.
There certainly is.
First I do believe there are UFO’s. But let’s be clear – Unidentified Flying Objects. Not necessarily spacemen from other galaxies or strange visitors from other planets in flying saucers. I won’t eliminate the possibility, but I need better evidence.
There definitely is something in the right hand corner of the photo. For some strange reason I do not believe this photo is a hoax. It appears to be in the air. But, is it flying? Is it a blemish to the photo itself? Is it a reflection? Somebody threw their hat in the air? A cloud? Sunspot? Optical illusion? Or is it some sort of saucer-like spacecraft? Click on the photo and then click again to get an enlarged closer view.
Larger Image of Catalina Island UFO
I checked the newspaper archives from the Los Angeles Times from 1890-1915 and can find no mention of this event on Catalina Island where the photograph was supposedly taken. Continue reading
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Triangle Fire – One Hundred Years Later
Anniversaries of older, tragic events are usually the only time those events play into the public consciousness. Other than that, they are rarely thought about, discussed or even remembered.
This week a vast amount of attention has been devoted by newspapers, PBS, HBO and news stations in New York that are marking the 100th anniversary of The
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in which 146 people, mostly young immigrant girls, perished.
The details of the March 25th, 1911 conflagration which are summed up best by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School web site are heartbreaking. Many of these girls Continue reading
North Brother Island
A Close-up Look At Hidden New York: No People, But Lots Of Abandoned Buildings, Neglected Structures And A Safe Haven To Birds.
Having lived in New York City my whole life, there are places that I have never visited by choice and others that I have never been to because they are off-limits. One of those off-limits places is North Brother Island, which is a small island just off the southern coast of the Bronx near the entrance to Long Island sound.
North Brother Island, if known by the general public at all, is famous for two reasons:
1- In 1904 the excursion boat General Slocum caught fire and was beached near the island. The fire took the lives of over 1,000 people, mostly women and children going on a church outing to Long Island. Heroic rescuers who worked on North Brother brought many of the victims to the shores of the island.
2- Mary Mallon a.k.a. Typhoid Mary who was a carrier of typhoid and spread disease and death in turn of the century New York. She was quarantined there until she died in 1938.
I am fascinated by abandoned structures. 
North Brother Island is chock full of history. Presented here is the link to the fabulous web site The Kingston Lounge which has done a phenomenal history and photo essay of the decaying remains on this forgotten section of New York City.
The 19.3 acre island is now controlled by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and since its human abandonment in the 1970’s has become a bird sanctuary.
Babe Ruth As You’ve (Probably) Never Seen Him Before
Ask people to visualize Babe Ruth and some standard images of the Sultan of Swat might come to mind and look something like…
Have you ever seen Babe Ruth doing any of the following things?
The Babe practicing his bunting –
Babe Ruth practicing his right-handed hitting–
The Bambino sliding into home plate-
The Babe about to field a fly ball in the outfield-
Babe Ruth Pitching for the Yankees 1933 –
Babe Ruth smokes in the dugout-
Mia Kovacs
Here is Mia Kovacs in 1961, the only daughter of actress Edie Adams and television and movie star Ernie Kovacs. Mia is fast asleep on Edie’s lap. It is one of my favorite pictures. There is something especially touching about it. To me this captures a beautiful scene of the innocence of childhood.
Ernie Kovacs was one of the sharpest wits in Hollywood and his TV and film career was still flourishing when he was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident at the age of 42 on January 12, 1962 while on his way home from a party at Milton Berle’s house. His wife Edie was left a widow with an enormous tax bill and debts that Ernie had run up.
Rather than default, declare bankruptcy or accept money from friends, Edie worked and worked in television, on Broadway, commercials and in films such as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Love With The Proper Stranger; The Best Man; Under The Yum Yum Tree; and others until the debts were paid off – nearly $500,000.
Mia Kovacs inherited talent from both of her parents. She was following in their footsteps and was beginning to work in the entertainment industry.
Tragically, in an eerie twist, on May 8, 1982 Mia Kovacs was driving with a friend on Mulholland Drive when she drifted onto the shoulder of the road. The car flipped, killing her instantly. She was 22.
Carole King, Tapestry & The Art Of The Album Cover
The Story Of The Tapestry Photo Shoot And Some Out-takes
One of the best selling albums of all time is Carole King’s Tapestry from 1971. The appealing cover image of Carole King sitting in the living room of her home in Laurel Canyon, CA was taken by rock n’ roll photographer Jim McCrary. An interesting sidenote was that King’s cat Telemachus was moved while sitting on the pillow from across the room by McCrary to be used in the final cover shot.
We identify famous covers and just accept that is the cover. The conclusion is “it’s the right cover!” In Tapestry’s case, McCrary’s use of the cat definitely helps draw the viewer in.
What if a different cover had been used?
Here are four other photos from The Tapestry shoot
March 2 is the premiere of PBS’s “American Masters” which features Carole King in Troubadors: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter.