It apparently predates the invention of the giant-size beach towel. Just imagining the combination of damp sand and salty-wet woolen swimwear makes me squirm in my seat.

(And is it just me, or is something odd going on in the front of Mr. A.C.B.'s trunks?)

Look at the two little tots standing on the boardwalk upper left. I had no clue children really dressed like this. I remember watching Bugs Bunny cartoons with kids dressed like this holding a lollipop but I never really thought it was the norm.

Although they look fairly similar, I don;t believe they are the same. The Handsome Rake (on Brighton Beach) from the other photo looks a few years younger and this photo was taken the year before the other photo.

https://www.shorpy.com/node/6901?size=_original

I now amuse myself when pictures of crowds and kids' classes come up by counting the comments before someone declares, "And nobody in the picture is fat!" Getting to be quite a theme!

This was back in the day when male chests had to be covered in public by local ordinances and laws.

[In addition to swimsuits! - Dave]

Clueless dork? Can't think which one you mean! That's too funny.

So many in this century-old scene! Jocks, the Pretty Girl, the Clueless Dork, the Twins, Dude Checkin' Out the Ladies. Plus of course lots of Old People.

The young man in the middle-ground right side is about to touch the big-toe of the woman next to him with the tip of his index finger. He was probably forced to marry her after that.

I wonder when some unsung genius thought up the idea of sitting on a towel while at the beach. All of these old seashore images show everyone's bathing costume caked with scratchy sand, but they look as if they are happy as pigs in the mud.

Well, now I understand the song, "Under the Boardwalk." Those chairs would appear to be comfortable perches from which to watch the peopled world go by. The white canopies above the chairs are apparently to catch sand and trash that fall through the cracks.

Not an overweight person in the crowd. My how times have changed.

Is that the lifeguard from a previous post adjusting his trousers?

I'm always surprised to see that people used to use the place under the boardwalk for shade. Any time I'm down at the shore, especially Atlantic City, I try to avoid going under the boardwalk, imagining that there's unpleasantness of various sorts under there. And too, the beach there at Atlantic City is so deep, you'd never touch the sea if you stayed under the boardwalk.

The girl in the sailor swim suit is so pretty. What cheekbones!

Is that Tom Selleck's Grandfather scratching his leg?

I think this less-than Shorpy photo is a continuation of the one posted; the "ry & co." to the left seems to be a part of the S. Emanary sign.

Anyways, that ACB Patrol gentleman looks awfully wary of the camera.

My paternal gradmother, Emma, and her kids had their postcard format photo taken at the Phillips studio, 1619 Boardwalk, about a dozen years after the "Greetings" photo. My father, Bill, is in front with the shovel, while older brother and sister Sam and Hazel are behind. They were Philadelphia residents and an excursion to Atlantic City by ferry and train was a typical summertime activity.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the Phillips photo studio included in the Shorpy scene.

He looks very familiar.

I found Waldo. He's right behind the dude from Village People adjusting his wedgie.

A google search shows an Emanary business in NY specialized in Japanese goods. We can indeed (barely) read "Japanese" on that S.Emanery shop window.

http://www.14to42.net/16street2.html