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This is my stepfather, taken around 1960. He worked for the Newark Police Department, 4th precinct. I am curious, can anyone identify the object behind his ashtray? I know that a friend of his (maybe the one who took the photo) was a bus driver, that would account for the money changer on the table. I see a loaf of bread, sugar, a matchbook... View full size.
Looks to me to be a butter dish sans butter.
The object lying flat on the table between the ashtray and the coin changer could be a small framed photo. It's quite thin. The changer is reflecting in its shiny surface which is probably glass. There wasn't nearly as much plastic around in 1960 as there is today. You say you see a match book, but it looks too thick to be a book, perhaps a small box of matches ... or a lighter. Notice how it seems to be almost twice as thick as the mystery item? Hmmmm ... the longer I look the less I see. At first I was sure that part of it was a dark frame. Now I'm not so confident. Well, enough of that. I think the photo was taken on a Sunday. Your step-dad appears to be reading the full color comic section of the paper.
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