While both of these double entendre postcards would be considered risque around 1900, the photographs are quite different.
This first postcard of “Practice This Piece With Me” from 1907 implies making out during piano practice time.
The second postcard goes a bit further. Notice where his hand is. Continue reading
This stereoscope view of lower Manhattan was taken from the St. Paul Building at 220 Broadway around 1900.
The development of steel skeleton buildings enabled skyscrapers to be constructed towards the end of the 19th century.
The 25-story St. Paul Building stood at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street. Continue reading
It’s 12:20 in the afternoon according to the clock at Grand Central Depot as horse drawn vehicles congregate nearby.
We are looking north from 41st Street and Park Avenue. This contemporary colored magic lantern slide is from around 1895. Continue reading
Our Detroit Publishing Co. photograph is from 1906 and shows Eighth Avenue looking north. It is at this juncture the Ninth Avenue elevated completes its turn from Ninth avenue to Eighth Avenue at 110th Street and proceeds uptown.
As usual there was a postcard issued that almost certainly came from this photograph. The advertising and perspective are exactly the same, but the postcard contains many alterations.
For dramatic effect Continue reading
On January 9, 1912, the Equitable Life Assurance Building at 120 Broadway was destroyed in a fire of historic proportions.
In 2012 we covered the 100th anniversary of this historic fire and its consequences. Continue reading
This rare postcard view of The Vitagraph Theatre on the east side of Broadway and 44th Street shows the theatre’s marquee with people milling about a horse drawn promotional wagon.
The building opening in 1895 as the Lyric Theatre was part of the Olympia entertainment complex built by Oscar Hammerstein. Continue reading
Looking at this postcard of New York’s finest on horses my first thought was: where is this?
The postcard itself holds few clues unless you are an expert in recognizing mundane landmarks from 120 years ago. The card shows some buildings and the mounted police.
But there was a way to find out by taking a closer look.
Because this postcard was put out by the Detroit Publishing Company in 1905, there might be an original photograph held by the Library of Congress where much of the company’s archive resides. A search provided a clear match. And from that photograph the location could be pinpointed.
The most important clues Continue reading
Turning 90 is still considered a feat of longevity and cause for celebration.
But for two Canadian women, Annette Dionne Allard and Cécile Dionne Langlois, turning 90 on May 28 will still be a bittersweet day. Their siblings are dead and much of their early lives were lived under constant scrutiny.
Annette and Cécile, are each one fifth of what were the world’s most famous sisters.
When it was announced that five baby girls were born to Oliva-Édouard and his wife Elzire Dionne on May 28 1934 in rural Callendar, Ontario Canada, the world went into Dionne Quintuplet-mania.
The Dionne’s were the first known set of quintuplets to survive infancy. Continue reading
A brief description of Feltman’s from The New York Hotel Record July 9, 1912:
The Magnitude of Feltman’s Garden Coney Island New York
One of the largest and most unique restaurants and cafés in this country is Feltman’s at Coney Island New York was established in 1873 (ed. – actually 1871) with six employees and it now has a pay roll of more thirteen hundred names. Continue reading
This real photo postcard by Thaddeus Wilkerson shows the new Plaza Hotel. The hotel towers above its neighbors offering its guests terrific views of the city and the park. We are looking southwest from the Hotel Netherland on 60th Street and Fifth Avenue. The southern boundary of Central Park at 59th Street is on the right and on the extreme left is a portion of the Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Ave and 58th Street.
The original Plaza Hotel on the same site was opened in 1890 and demolished in 1905. The new Henry Hardenbergh designed Plaza Hotel was much larger than its predecessor.
The original estimate to buy the site, raze the old hotel and build the new hotel was Continue reading