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A Lion in the Sand: 1900
... license). The lion has killed the elephant: William McKinley and party. The snake is the devil himself as portrayed in the book of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 1:32pm -

Continuing our sojourn by the sea: Atlantic City circa 1900. "Sand modelling." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Yesterday's headlinesSeeing the phrases "There is hope" and "Domestic Troubles" piqued my curiosity. Apparently this is an allegory about the 1900 presidential election, and in particular about William Jennings Byran, the populist who was reputed to have taken over the Democratic Party. The elephant at the top is a dead giveaway. Mixed Bag of SandThe sculptor seems to be revealing his inner conflicts. Is that Fred Nietzsche? A male lion and a female snake in domestic conflict with the proverbial elephant in the room? I'll leave it to the Shorpy historians to explain what its about. On a lighter note, I thought the kid crawling in the sand on the lefft looked like an lizard rushing over to see whats going on. Like sand through the hourglassThis photo immediately brought to mind sand-sculpting a little more local to me in space and time, at Revere Beach in Massachusetts. The artistic style is strangely familiar, and the "big theme" choices for subject matter are similar. 1900's "Domestic Troubles" could easily be placed right next to 2009's "Ouroboros: Life, Rebirth, and Stuff", the second-place winner at the annual competition on Revere Beach. http://reverebeachpartnership.com/nessf07/index.htm Bryan's Populists were depicted as a snakeIn a popular cartoon of the time, depicting the Bryan wing as devouring the whole of the Democrat party -- represented by the Donkey then as now. I think the sculpture may be showing that the snake is killing the lion, and thus crushing the notion of the King of the Beasts cowardly or not. Embraces of negative caricatures are familiar in our politics. For example, Martin Van Buren's faction in New York State adopted the name "bucktails," which was originally meant as an insult to show them running away. Concerning PoliticsThis is a stretch, but here I go anyway. The man is the Democratic presidential candidate for that year who has an anti-imperialist platform and the Republican press mimic him as "the cowardly lion": William Jennings Bryan (The hair is artistic license). The lion has killed the elephant: William McKinley and party. The snake is the devil himself as portrayed in the book of Genesis. Pardon me for wishing myself good luck with this one. Images in the sandThe 1900 election explanation sounds credible enough, but person in the "There Is Hope" sculpture has way more hair than Jennings ever did. On another note, that sure looks like a rather large lizard scrabbling along the sand in the upper left section. Is it, or is it an optico/photographic illusion? Update: on the other hand, maybe I should read all the comments before commenting. But hey! I just want to fit in here. [He/she/it should be familiar to cryptozoologists everywhere. - Dave] No sweat tterranceThat long hair bothered me too until I thought of him being represented as a biblical prophet. Only his sister would call him a lizardThat's because little boys can be so annoying! Dave, thank you so much for this ongoing shore series. I'm from New Jersey, and I'm inordinately proud of my little densely-populated state of cities, shorelines, farmland, highways, and forests. We're tremendously diverse and remarkably tolerant, for the most part, being descended from Quakers at one end and Dutch merchants at the other. The joie de vivre on the faces of these bathers, the care and engagement with the world that you see in these sand sculptures, all make me proud of my 250-year New Jersey heritage. Bravo, Garden State! With all that hairI think this may be Robert La Follette, another Populist orator of the time. Do you know the Munyon ManMunyon Remedy Company out of Scranton, PA. 'There is Hope' for consumptives. I recognized Mr. Munyon from some old shares of stock I have. Company went down with the crash of 29 or soon after. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Hobey Baker: 1913
... This is all from memory, having read Michael McKinley's excellent "Putting A Roof On Winter". My goodness! Hobey ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/11/2008 - 2:21pm -

September 11, 1913. "Hobart Baker, Princeton football captain." Hobey Baker, better known as captain of the Princeton Tigers hockey team, was a World War I Army pilot who was killed when his plane crashed in France shortly after the signing of the Armistice. View full size. G.G. Bain Collection. Three Sport ManHobey Baker not only played football and hockey, but in his freshman year was also on the baseball team. In these days of athletes specializing in single sports, it's hard to remember that there was a time when it wasn't at all uncommon for athletes to play multiple sports. The legendary Lionel Conacher played as a pro in five sports (Canadian Football, Hockey, minor league Baseball, Boxing and Lacrosse). Holy Hobey.What a hunk...and a hero, to boot. Fitzgerald's IdolF. Scott Fitzgerald and other Princeton underclassmen idolized Baker. Fitzgerald was supposed to have based one of his heroes in "This Side of Paradise" on him. Hobey wowed not only Princeton but NYC as well. Society Swells in evening clothes would watch his Tigers hockey games at Madison Square Garden where the marquee read "Hobey Baker vs. Yale". Games there sold out! After college, Hobey eschewed going pro (after all, "gentlemen" didn't play for pay) but continued with amateur hockey. As an idealised and idealistic young Yank, he signed up as a pilot for the nascent Army Air Corp in WWI. When the war ended, the troops were readying equipment to be shipped back. Reportedly, he never asked his men to do anything he wouldn't do, so rather than allow his mechanics to test a repaired plane, he took it up only to crash and die in France. His tragically young death stunned so many of his generation. The NCAA Men's College Hockey annual trophy (think Heisman Trophy) is named the Hobey Baker in his honor. If they made a movie about Hobey, nobody would believe what an absolutely perfect gentlemen, scholar, athlete, and patriot the man was... ___________________________ This is all from memory, having read Michael McKinley's excellent "Putting A Roof On Winter". My goodness!Hobey sure was a looker wasn't he? Sounds like he was a class act too. Very cool. NamesakeBaker Rink at Princeton University is named after Hobey. You can see his skates and stick there. Skates look more like figure skates than today's hockey skates. A young Robert Redford would have been a good movie version of Hobey Baker. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Sports, WWI)
The Turning Point: 1910
... the estate of the late John Hay, Secretary of State under McKinley. It was in a log cabin in Crystal Park that Secretary Hay sought ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:06pm -

Colorado circa 1910. "Crystal Park autoroad trip. Pike's Peak and Cog Road from Inspiration Point, alt. 7945 feet." At the end of the road, a handy turntable. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Now I get itMy mom has similar pictures from the Dakota Badlands, snapshots from the 1940s. As I child, I could not understand what was so everlastingly fascinating about rocks and trees. Walls of Paradise The Packard, 1910. On Mountain Trails Eight Thousand Feet Above Sea Level, Packard Trucks Fitted with Sight-Seeing Bodies Beat the Colorado Burros at Their Own Game To Crystal Park in the heart of the Rockies is the scenic trip advertised by the Crystal Park Company of Colorado Springs. Five Packard sight-seeing cars are used on the route, one leaving every hour from Manitou. From Manitou to the Gateway of Crystal Park is a steady climb of 2248 feet. One mile of road covers thirty acres of ground, winding in loops across the face of the mountain, and in one place completing a double bow-knot. To make possible this wonderful scenic trip, the company has built its own road up the mountain. This road is carved out of the solid rock and is as smooth a highway as you will find wherever your travels may lead. On leaving Manitou the road leads straight to the mountains. Almost at once the tourist reaches a country as wild and rugged as any ever travelled by Zebulon M. Pike on his first famous visit to the Colorado Rockies. … Crystal Park itself was purchased from the estate of the late John Hay, Secretary of State under McKinley. It was in a log cabin in Crystal Park that Secretary Hay sought seclusion while writing his story of the life of Lincoln. Until the advent of the Packards but few tourists have visited this beautiful natural playground in the heart of the Colorado hills. Forest and Stream, Vol. 81, 1913. I made up my mind to one thing, that it did not matter how often I visited Colorado Springs in the future. I would never attempt another trip by auto to Crystal Park, till the auto company that controls the road up the mountain had so thoroughly barricaded the sides of the road next to the walls of those deep gulches, and deeper cañons so as to make it impossible for the auto to go off into one of them, either face foremost, backward, or sideways, no matter what happened to it. I have always had a great desire to be in an exceedingly calm state of mind when I am called to give an account to the Great Judge. I have no desire in the world to go by the way of an auto over a precipice 100 or 500 feet deep, or to be ushered out by means of a cyclone; hence my great caution. -G.S. Wyatt. Seeing the Far West, John Thomson Faris, 1920. Up one of the canyons reached from Manitou leads the Crystal Park auto road. By tremendous zigzags it climbs Sutherland Canyon, where Pike the explorer succeeded in outwitting pursuing Indians, up the rugged slope of Eagle Mountain, to a point under Cameron's Cone. Loops, hairpin turns, and a steel turntable help in the conquest of the mountain. The road affords views so different from those spread out before those who go to the summit of Pike's Peak that both trips are needed to complete the vision that waits for those who would persuade the Walls of Paradise to yield their secrets. Crystal Park Auto TripsThe charabanc, or sightseeing bus, is a Packard truck from about 1910. Colorado did not issue license plates or register vehicles until 1913 so there are pre-state municipal license plates on the back of the bus. I find the fact that someone actually built a turntable on a mountain very novel. When I was young, I was shown an old garage in a very nice neighborhood that had a turntable inside. This enabled the owner's wife to never need to back the car out of the driveway. There is an excellent website with more photos of this road trip here: http://historiccrystalpark.blogspot.com/search?q=turntable (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Railroads, Travel & Vacation)
Albany Armory: 1905
... bombing and killing European royalty and William McKinley. State governments constructed armories against the threat, and middle ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/02/2020 - 2:55pm -

Albany, New York, circa 1905. "Armory, 10th Battalion, New York National Guard." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Power Lines IIThe three lines are transmission lines for electricity at high voltage. Many utilities have relocated distribution lines (those that provide electricity to consumers) to underground conduits. When patriotism was fashionablePrior to 1903, each state essentially had their very own "army", (ie., 'the militia') controlled by the governor. Consequently, the equipage/training of each state's militia depended on the amount of money available in that state. Consequently, the states with the most (tax) money, were rather extravagant in the buildings they erected, to say nothing of the amount they spent on uniforms and equipment. Poorer states purchased cast off/obsolete/surplus U.S. Army equipment. In 1903, the Dick Act was passed. The Federal Government would supply each state's militia with the then current U.S. Army equipment, and pay for the monthly training / summer camp of each unit. The catch was that the Federal Government could now call up state militia units when a national emergency was declared. Prior to this, each state's militia could only enter Federal service if they "volunteered" to do so. Power LinesOne thing I have noticed on almost all of these old photos of city scene there are a lot more power lines strung across multiple cross-ties on the poles. The power lines we have now usually only have three lines with one cross-tie on the poles. I wonder why that is? Hasn't gone anywhere and not likely soon Telephone, not power!The many lines on the poles are telephone lines, not power lines I believe. They didn't have the multiplexing or thick cables of later years. Best thing is undergounding though. re Power LinesPerhaps the poles in the old photogrphs carry telephone/telegraph lines ? Telephone wires, etc.Those multiple crossbars with multiple wires were for telephone lines, not electric power. More recently they were bundled into cables. And, of course, now we have coaxial cables and fiber optic cables replacing telephone bundled wire cables. Now power lines are always at the top of the poles. High voltage above and stepped down to 120/240 volts below. Phone and cable TV are below that. Communication linesWhat VicS is seeing are mostly communication lines, for telephone and telegraph. These were two steel wires, uninsulated, for each device on the network. They needed to be separated since they ere uninsulated, and quite large to stand the strain of suspension between poles. More modern systems used copper wires, covered with insulation, in twisted pairs, the pairs bundled into cables. Unsightly Telephone linesBack in the good old days each phone line had it's own discrete wire. The more subscribers the more lines. Eventually, they figured out to use smaller wire in large bundles and 75 years ago they started multiplexing, hence one wire could carry the bandwidth of several. So it's not power lines you see, its telephone wires. The purpose for so many armories built in the 1890sNot a coincidence that so many of these red-brick castles sprang up in that era: fear of immigrants, labor unrest, the Panic of '93, an influenza pandemic, anarchists bombing and killing European royalty and William McKinley. State governments constructed armories against the threat, and middle class men gathered inside them to exercise with Indian clubs and drill with Krag-Jorgensens. Walt Disney later portrayed this as an era of hayrides, ice cream socials and barbershop quartets, but really; the more things change the more they stay the same. (The Gallery, Albany, DPC)
Circle in the Square: 1908
Buffalo, New York, circa 1908. "McKinley Monument, Niagara Square." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 10:40am -

Buffalo, New York, circa 1908. "McKinley Monument, Niagara Square." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On the edgeThat lawn guy on the bottom right is doing a terrific job. Castle InnFormerly the Fillmore House, residence of Millard Fillmore after his term as President. It was converted to a hotel by his son and later renamed the Castle Inn for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Demolished in 1919 to make way for another hotel. More information available at History of Buffalo. ShipshapeGot to hand it to Buffalo, this is one of the neatest and cleanest big city views I've ever seen. (The Gallery, Buffalo NY, DPC, Streetcars)
Toy Story: 1925
... Gen. Sherman, Adm. G.W. Baird, Judge Dent, and President Mckinley.] (The Gallery, D.C., Horses, Natl Photo) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2011 - 3:45am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1925. "The toy shop, 1207 New York Avenue." The former Apolonia Stuntz store (seen earlier on Shorpy here and here) where Abraham Lincoln is said to have bought toys for his son Tad, now the Lee Lung First-Class Laundry ("Bosom 6¢"). A scene so sun-dappled and languid, it's making us ... very ... sleepy. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Camera ShyThe horse may be drowsing, but his groom is very aware of the photographer. PricesIs that 6 cents a bosom? Perhaps a dime for the pair? Looks like horseyhas a hairball. Boot & Shoe RepairingIt's good to see Louis Kurtz is still going strong these 12 years later. His store hasn't changed a bit. Rooms For RentI wonder how you got to your room when Lee Lung had closed up shop for the day. Before inflationTo launder a complete shirt: 7 cents for the shirt, 15 cents for the collar, and 3 cents for the cuffs - a total of 25 cents. In 1966, it cost me 25 cents to launder a shirt (with starch) in Carbondale, IL. The collar and cuffs were attached. Louis Kurtz: Presidential Bootmaker Washington Post, Sep 23, 1923. Made Boots for Gen. Grant. By Byrd Mock. How many people in Washington know that the shoemaker to President Grant still makes shoes at this little shop at 1209 New York avenue northwest? Above the door of this battered-looking old shop is the legend, "L. Kurtz, Boot and Shoe Manufacturer," but it takes good eyes to make out the lettering dimmed with age, for the sign has never been changed or renewed since it was first nailed over the door of the cobbler's shop 43 years ago, when he moved from the old shop at 733 Seventh street northwest, where Grant, both as general of the United States army and as President of the United States, personally paid frequent visits to have his boots made and repaired, as well as to order shoes for his entire family. At the time Gen. Grant gave his first order for pair of boots, L. Kurtz was a young apprentice to his uncle, Louis Kurtz, and it fell to the young man's lot to stitch the tops of the uppers of the general's boots and to fit them to the bottoms, which were made by his more experienced uncle. Gray haired, horny-handed, wrinkle-skinned, almost at the end of his three score and ten, Louis Kurtz still toils. "Week in, week out, from morn till night," smiling as he sits on his low and much worn cobbler's seat, keeping a sort of jagged rhythm with his hammer strokes with which he punctuates his conversation. … [Stories of Grant's first visit to the shop, his shoe size, "He wore a 7½ on a wide last," and visits from Grant's children. Other famous patrons: Gen. Sherman, Adm. G.W. Baird, Judge Dent, and President Mckinley.] (The Gallery, D.C., Horses, Natl Photo)
Hotel Nicollet: 1905
... three U.S. presidents – Grover Cleveland, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt — along with other local and national ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/23/2017 - 10:29am -

Minneapolis, Minnesota, circa 1905. "Hotel Nicollet, Nicollet & Washington Avenues." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Widow's walksWhat were they looking for in the distance? Errant Norwegian bachelor farmers? Clean Slate.Everything you see here(and for blocks in all directions) is gone. Urban renewal in the 50s and 60s blessed the city with many parking lots. A bit of history here. Ancient Architecture?What are those lantern style structures on the roof? Natural lighting and ventilation for the staircases? The Place to Be"Even so, the Nicollet House was the place to stay in Minneapolis as the city began a post-Civil War economic boom. Guests included three U.S. presidents – Grover Cleveland, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt — along with other local and national notables." https://www.minnpost.com/business/2015/01/nicollet-house-was-minneapolis... It's easy to see howThe noble sport of jaywalking came about. No traffic conrol in force or needed. Still, judging by the way the couple behind the horse-drawn wagon are gingerly picking their next step, used organic products littering the roadway were a constant worry for those trying to keep a shine on their boots. I'm old enough to remember horses on the streets as a kid. Don't miss them. The folks staring down the street are probably looking for the next streetcar. Amazing how these old photos often show wide streets. Rather remarkable planning foresight for future traffic or was land just inexpensive one wonders. Grandma was thereMy grandmother, Marit Tobiasdatter Steivang (AKA: "May Thompson" in the US), immigrated to the US from Norway in 1903 at age 15 and, after a short stay in Stanley Wisconsin with her oldest sister (who was "too bossy" and expected my grandmother to do all of the household grunt work), moved on to live briefly with her brother Andrew's family in North Dakota. In ND she attended school with much younger grade school kids in order to learn English and, to earn her keep, did housework for the Mayor. She never learned to pronounce "vegetable" without a leading "W." Shortly thereafter she and a 3rd cousin, whose family had immigrated in an earlier generation, upped and moved to the big city where they worked together in a boarding house in downtown Minneapolis. This is a eyeball-scape she would undoubtedly have seen and I get pleasure in studying what she saw and in searching for her in the photograph. No 4½ foot woman in this photo though, so she was probably off peeling potatoes for the boarders. She was a perfecto grandmother and would be 130 years old next month, had she made it past 93 and kept on pluggin'. Oh, how I miss her! (The Gallery, DPC, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Railroads)
Barber and Ross: 1926
... My family are DC area natives from the 1870's. Wilson and McKinley Tech graduates. My father graduated from GW. Most of my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 1:09pm -

Washington, D.C., 1926. "Semmes Motor Company. Barber & Ross truck." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. ReflectionsWow! Beautiful building reflecting in the hardware store windows. They sure don't make them like that anymore. Trash LoversI can hear their radio ads now: "Let Barber & Ross fulfill all your wastebasket wishes." They also appear to be really into crocks. My father worked for Barber & RossMy father, Marty, worked as a salesman for Barber & Ross from the mid-50's til the early-70's. This was after they expanded into the building supply and millwork business. My family are DC area natives from the 1870's. Wilson and McKinley Tech graduates. My father graduated from GW. Most of my childhood and early adulthodd was spent in Silver Spring and Kensington MD. This is a great site. I wish my folks were alive to see it. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Atlantic House: 1907
... Famous guests included President William McKinley, presidential candidate William Jennings Bryon who gave a speech in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/08/2016 - 7:06pm -

        "The 175 room hotel burned to the ground during a blizzard on January 7, 1927." Circa 1907. "Atlantic House, Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. January 7, 1927Sadly, the Atlantic House conflagration has apparently been relegated to a minor footnote in history by other events occurring on the same day (as often happens), such as the beginning of regular commercial transatlantic telephone service and the Harlem Globetrotters playing their first basketball game (in Hinckley, Illinois). The same spot todayHere's what that same spot looked like in 2010. I prefer the old hotel. Before the FireThe photo below, from the Library of Congress, shows the hotel in 1882. The Queen Anne style building was built in 1877 by John L. Damon. There were multiple dining rooms, as well as private dining rooms, an immense ballroom, game rooms, roulette parlor, as well as several bars and lounges. Damon's son took over the establishment, but he sold the hotel in 1924. Several sources mentioned the hotel was on the verge of bankruptcy when the fire took place. After the fire multiple houses were built on the property, but eventually the land was turned into seaside condominiums. Famous guests included President William McKinley, presidential candidate William Jennings Bryon who gave a speech in the ballroom, and Enrico Caruso who performed at the hotel. The Detroit Publishing Company photo here shows the same building and beach in 1920. In this photo the photographers shack is gone, and the bathhouse has been moderately modernized. The beach in this photo looks much larger, but this photo may have been taken at low tide. The newspaper article about the fire below is from the Lowell [Massachusetts] Sun on January 8, 1927, Page 4. (The Gallery, DPC, Swimming)
Capitol Square: 1910
Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "State Capitol and McKinley monument." And birdhouses. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/06/2020 - 11:34am -

Columbus, Ohio, circa 1910. "State Capitol and McKinley monument." And birdhouses. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. For the birdsAs someone who sets up half a dozen nesting boxes for tree swallows each spring I was delighted to see the birdboxes. Hopefully efforts were made at the time to discourage invasive house sparrows from occupying them, their having been declared a major pest. Already too late for North America as they had already proven to be non-eradicable as early as 1910 and have contributed significantly to a serious decline in our native cavity nesting songbird population since. Did bike locks exist back then?I wish we could leave our bikes at the curb today. (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC)
Central Station: 1901
... million visitors. Notable as the location of President McKinley's assassination by anarchist Leon Czolgosz on September 6 at the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/24/2018 - 1:57pm -

Circa 1901. "Illinois Central Depot, 12th Street and Park Row, Chicago." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Pan-American ExpositionHeld in Buffalo from May 1 through November 2, 1901, attended by eight million visitors. Notable as the location of President McKinley's assassination by anarchist Leon Czolgosz on September 6 at the Temple of Music (in a night-time view, below). (The Gallery, Chicago, DPC, Railroads)
Uncle Fred: 1905
... of Government land fraud cases under Presidents McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and Taft. He was a close friend of my ... 
 
Posted by CarlosJ - 07/02/2018 - 6:57am -

Grand Rapids, circa 1905. Uncle Fred wasn't my mother's uncle, nor was he Judge Maynard, as he often referred to himself in and around Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Owosso, Michigan. My family called him Uncle Fred and judging from all the family records and photos, he seems to have been a pretty fun guy. His name was Frederick Augustus Maynard. He served as the Michigan State Attorney General from 1895-1898. In 1901 he was indicted on 48 charges of embezzlement, which were quashed before the case went to trial. In 1901 he became Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, serving until 1914 in the prosecution of Government land fraud cases under Presidents McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and Taft. He was a close friend of my grandfather, Rex Johnson, of Grand Rapids. Rex and my grandmother Dorothy stayed with him for a spell in the early 1900s while Rex built his house on Rural Route 5 in Grand Rapids. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
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