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1910. Wellington, New Zealand. "David Taylor's butcher shop, Wadestown, showing decorated carcasses and horse-drawn delivery cart. David Taylor in doorway." Glass plate negative by Frederick James Halse. View full size.
Thanks for sharing these fascinating views of New Zealand. The location is the Wadestown Road/Pitt Street intersection, for people who want to have a look. There is a shop today on the spot occupied here by Mr Taylor's establishment, and it is indeed trapezoidal.
[Street view. -tterrace]
The phrase is still quite common in the UK (and still provides amusement).
Here's one near me.
I think I see Aunt Martha hanging in the window.
The left side of the shop appears to be missing, since the distant hills and other structures behind are quite visible where they should be blocked by the depth of the building.
I am thinking that the building's footprint is really a parallelogram vs a rectangle. If that is the case then the building's side walls are going straight away from the camera axis and the side wouldn't be visible. If the footprint was a rectangle then the side walls would be perpendicular to the street and the side would be visible.
[My money would be on trapezoidal or triangular. Or maybe the whole business is just a front. -Dave]
Hard to imagine a couple of dogs that close to raw meat without showing too much interest. The dog in the street might be interested (hard to tell with its pose) but the one on the sidewalk seems oblivious.
[That's because they don't want to be the next doggie in the window. -Dave]
It is all quite odd. The bizarre "decorations" of the carcasses, the strange aprons, the "family butcher" logo, and of course the meat exposed to whatever flies and other vermin might happen by. I would love to know more.
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