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New York, 1938. "East 62nd Street." Medium format acetate negative by Sheldon Dick for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Looking at Google Maps Street View, the building that housed The Bristol Co. at 319 E. 62nd Street is still there, as is the building across the street at 316 (although one half of the parapet has strangely disappeared):
The mover appears to be wearing a split apron similar to a farrier's apron. It allows you to bear loads on the front of your thighs while protecting your trousers and your skin from punctures and abrasion.
I wonder what the woman on top of that building was doing - aside from making me nervous -- 80 years later.
[This might be a good opportunity to investigate the difference between "woman" and "women." - Dave]
Ahhh... isn't it great when it's never too late to learn singular from plural?!
I can remember trashmen in Philadelphia in the mid 1950s wearing that kind of heavy cloth leg apron that didn't go above the waist. I think a trashman character in the Snuffy Smith comic strip also wore it.
I know there have been other photos showing people watching life go by from their windows, but this is one of the few I remember. I've always thought it odd that more people didn't keep an eye on that stranger in the 'hood with a camera.
As a young boy, my father and I drove past a gasometer. There were several men sitting on top of the bladder with their legs hanging over the side. My father said they were filling it up. It's easy to fool a kid when he adores his father.
Between Second and First avenue as this 1930 Plat map of Manhattan shows the Bristol company on 62nd Street.
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/16723/Plate+105/Manhattan+1930+La...
Was this style popular circa 1938?
Can anyone share any insight into that pair of pants? Was that a style? Born of necessity? Please advise.
Does anybody know what those two, apparently round, structures are there were being built at the end of E. 63rd down by the water?
I've tried finding out online but to no avail.
[Those are gas holders, also known as gasometers, and they're not under construction. - Dave]
I spy some great gasometers lurking in the distance.
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