Just to the left of the stagecoach can be glimpsed the storefront of Yamanaka & Company. Sadajiro Yamanaka was one of the earliest dealers of Japanese art and antiquities in U.S. The Japanese and Chinese art he collected and sold was vital in the genesis of the impressive Asian art collections of the Metropolitan Museum, as well as the basis of the collection of the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery in Washington.

I noticed the ad for Marceau Photography — it must have been difficult for people to sit for a picture when the photographer was miming everything. How did they know if he was actually doing anything?

I found an account of riding it by Hamilton Fish Armstrong, First World War diplomat; and editor of Foreign Affairs magazine 1928-1972.

http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2012/10/31/riding-a-turn-of-the-century...

Born in 1893, so his related experience would have been about 1902. The fare was five cents.

As usual with these old city scenes, I'm impressed with how unencumbered people are. Most are not carrying anything and have their arms free, including the women. The two foreground women's cinched waists illustrate the misery of wearing a tight corset.

D.B. Bedell & Co. must have moved to West 34th St. soon after this photo was taken. The ad below is from the New York Daily Tribune on May 28, 1905.

Was it cheaper to ride inside or on top? Maybe it depended on how much you annoyed the driver.

I see several women sitting on top. It must have been interesting watching them get up and down from that lofty perch.

[That's the Fifth Avenue Stage, also seen here. - Dave]