Thomas Holman collection of Flatiron Building photographs and ephemera
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
A small collection of visual representations of Manhattan's iconic Flatiron Building (1902), in photographs, prints, stereographs, on postcards, sheet music and magazine covers, and dining menus, assembled by art historian Thomas Holman.
Historical / Biographical Note
Manhattan's iconic Flatiron Building, designed by architect Daniel H. Burnham and completed in 1902 on the triangular gore formed by the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, was originally called the Fuller Building for its original owner, the George A. Fuller Company architectural firm. Its popular, and now official, name, comes from its similarity to the shape of a cast-iron clothes iron. To some early sightseers it even resembled a ship, its prow aiming north up Fifth Avenue. The building's shape, combined with its height, causes gusty downdrafts near its "cowcatcher" at 23rd Street. This gave rise, it is believed, to the phrase "23 Skidoo," said by police officers to chase away men who lingered on the corner in hope of catching a glimpse of forbidden female stocking bared by the wind. Images of the Flatiron Building have appeared on countless advertisements, postcards, souvenirs, sheet music covers, paintings, and photographs. Even the surrounding neighborhood, the Flatiron District, bears its name. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966. For more, see Alice Sparberg Alexiou's 2010 book, The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose With It, available at the New-York Historical Society's Patricia D. Klingenstein Library (call no. F128.8.F55 A44 2010).
Native New Yorker Thomas Seth Holman (1953–2015), assembler of the present collection, was an author, art historian, and private art advisor who held degrees from Macalester College and the University of Chicago and also studied at Oxford and the University of Vienna. Holman filled curatorial and directorial positions at the Albany Museum of Art, the Forum Gallery, the Hudson River Museum, the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Norton Museum of Art. His main, personal, collecting focus was on souvenirs of the Grand Tour of the 18th and 19th centuries, when wealthy young Englishmen traveled the European continent in pursuit of the knowledge of languages, history, art, and architecture.
Arrangement
The collection came to the New-York Historical Society in no discernible order. It has been organized alphabetically by format under the following categories:
• book
• calendar
• dining menus
• exhibition catalog
• greeting cards
• map
• periodical
• photographic negatives [GLASS]
• photographs
• postcards
• prints
• sheet music
• stereographs
• toy
• unrelated material
Scope and Contents
Art historian Thomas Holman collected visual representations of the Flatiron Building. Since its completion in 1902 the popularity of the skyscraper has ensured its continued appearance on advertisements, postcards, menus, sheet music covers, and greeting cards. Photographs of the building, and commercially-produced stereographic views abound. While not extensive, Holman's collection is probably strongest in its postcards (see Box 2, Folders 2-17), most of which date from the early 20th century and depict the Flatiron under construction, and, once completed, during daylight, nighttime, and snowstorms. Some cards make humorous reference to the phrase "23 Skidoo" by showing women's skirts flying on the Flatiron's windy corners.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from: Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 270. Fax: (212) 579-8794.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the Thomas Holman Collection of Flatiron Building Photographs and Ephemera, PR 372, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Thomas S. Holman in memory of Merton Holman, 2013.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Arranged by Processing Archivist Joseph Ditta, October-November 2018.
Repository
View Inventory
Book | Nancy Groce, New York: Songs of the City, 1999, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Reproduces several sheet music covers depicting the Flatiron Building.
Calendar | Flatiron Building 1997 Calendar, 1996, inclusive
Dining menus (2), 1906, 1996, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Flat Iron Restaurant [in Flatiron Building], Five Hundred Members Night Banquet, National Lodge No. 209, F. & A.M., Friday, April 27th, 1906
• Flatiron Diner & Baking Company [18 West 18th Street], Preview Menu, December 1996
Exhibition catalog | The Prowed Tower: Early Images of the Flatiron Building, 1991, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Catalog for the exhibit "The Prowed Tower: Early Images of the Flatiron Building," curated by Bruce Weber at the Berry-Hill Galleries, 11 East 70th Street, Manhattan. The exhibit ran from November 14 through December 28, 1991.
Greeting cards (4), 1995-1999, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Four greeting cards (two inscribed to Thomas Holman) depicting the Flatiron Building.
Map | Flatiron District Visitors' Guide (2), [1990s], inclusive
Periodical | Fame: A Journal for Advertisers (vol. 36, no. 5), 1927 October, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Flatiron Building on cover.
Periodical | Flatiron News (4 folders), 1995-1996, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Five issues of the Flatiron News: vol. 1, nos. 1-3, and vol. 2, no. 5. The Flatiron Building appears on some covers, and as the letter "I" in the magazine's title.
Periodical | Where New York, 1995 April, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Flatiron Building on cover.
Photographic negatives [GLASS] | Broadway, north to East 19th Street, 1913 November 2
Photographic negatives [GLASS] | Broadway, north to East 23rd Street (at Flatiron Building), 1913 November 23
Scope and Contents
Includes a print made from the glass plate.
Photographs | Flatiron Building site (1), circa 1902, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch print of a historic photograph.
Photographs | Flatiron Building under construction (1), circa 1902, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch print of a historic photograph.
Photographs | Flatiron Building (1), 1910, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch print of a historic photograph.
Photographs | Flatiron Building (4), undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch prints of historic photographs.
Photographs | "Seeing New York" tour bus at Flatiron Building (1), undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch print of a historic photograph.
Photographs | Aerial view (1), 1930, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Modern, mounted 8 x 10-inch print of a historic photograph. A notation on verso of the mount reads "Madison Square aerial overview [looking] south towards Union Square with U.S. Navy Planes, 1930."
Postcards | "23 Skidoo" (5), circa 1907-1916, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Five postcards featuring the phrase "23 Skidoo," which is thought to have originated near the prow of the Flatiron Building, at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, where men lingered to catch sight of female ankles exposed by the downdrafts blowing off the skyscraper. Police officers, wise to what they were doing, would chase them away with a "23 Skidoo."
Postcards | Flatiron Building alone (35), circa 1903-1913, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building and vicinity (14), circa 1904-1909, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building foldout (2), circa 1905, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Two wooden or paper-board postcards of the Flatiron Building, with center panels that pull out to reveal other New York City sights.
Postcards | Flatiron Building holiday and souvenir greetings (8), circa 1904-1912, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building humorous (4), 1907, 1908, 1992, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building lenticular printing (1), 1903, inclusive
Scope and Contents
A lenticular printed postcard that, when tilted left or right, displays alternate views of the Flatiron Building and the structures it replaced.
Postcards | Flatiron Building modern (6), 1980s-1990s, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building night views (10), circa 1905-1909, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building real photo (3), circa 1904-1920s, inclusive
Postcards | Flatiron Building romantic (7), circa 1907-1909, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Views depicting male-female couples strolling near the Flatiron Building, or dropping letters into a mailbox near the skyscraper.
Postcards | Flatiron Building under construction (2), circa 1907, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Note that the date of circa 1907 refers to the approximate year these cards were published, not the construction of the Flatiron Building, which was completed in 1902.
Postcards | Flatiron Building windy corner (6), circa 1902-1909, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Humorous views depicting hats, umbrellas, and skirts flying in the downdrafts of the Flatiron Building.
Postcards | Flatiron Building winter scenes (2), 1906, 1908, inclusive
Postcards | Seeing New York, 1904-1907, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Two postcards and an advertisement for the American Sight-Seeing Car and Coach Company's "Seeing New York" tour bus, which operated from the Flatiron Building.
Postcards | New York Skyscrapers Souvenir Folder, circa 1913, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a view of the Flatiron Building.
Prints (2), 1902, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Two printed images of the Flatiron Building after a 1902 photograph by C. L. Ritzmann that were apparently cut from periodicals.
Sheet music | Don't Blame it All on Broadway, 1903, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Front cover depicting the Flatiron Building, and first page of the song by Bert Grant to lyrics by Harry Williams and Joe Young.
Stereographs (3), 1904-1925, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• A.C. Co., 1925 | 33. "Flat Iron Building, New York City."
• Geo. W. Griffith, n.d. | 2783. Flatiron Building and Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.
• International Stereograph Co., 1904 | 21606. "The Celebrated "Flat Iron" Building, Broadway and Fifth Avenue, New York City, U.S.A."
Stereographs (4), 1903-1904, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Keystone View Company, 1903 | 13504. "Flat iron" Building, Fifth Avenue and Broadway, New York, N.Y., U.S.A.
• Keystone View Company, n.d. | 13504. "The Flatiron Building, Fifth Avenue and Broadway, New York, N.Y."
• Keystone View Company, n.d. | V23215. "Flatiron Building (S), Most Remarkable Business Structure on Earth, New York, N.Y."
• Keystone View Company, 1904 | 13772. "Up Broadway and Fifth Avenue from Flat Iron Building, New York, N.Y., U.S.A."
Stereographs (2), 1903-1904, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "Perfec" Stereograph, 1903 | 10. "Most striking of Sky-scrapers,—the "Flatiron" Bldg., (20 Stories) Broadway, New York, U.S.A.
• William H. Rau, 1904 | "New York's Celebrated Flatiron (Fuller) Building, Intersection of Broadway and 5th Ave. (20 Stories, 286 Ft. High).
Stereographs (2), 1903-1904, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Underwood & Underwood, 1903 | 99. "The Famous Flatiron Building—most remarkable commercial building in the World, New York"
• Underwood & Underwood, 1904 | (99)-5316. "The famous Flatiron Building—most remarkable commercial building in the world, New York"
Stereographs (1), undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• No publisher, n.d. | "Flat Iron Building and View of Fifth Avenue."
Toy | Car with "23 Skidoo" slogan, [1930s?], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Red tin toy convertible coupe jalopy by Linemar toys, the Japanese-manufactured division of Louis Marx and Company, covered with slogans like "10 Miles to a Gal," "Sit Here and Be on Top," "Dig This Crazy Car," and "23 Skidoo."
Unrelated material | map, 1993, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Larry Wolfe Horwitz's Official Map of Movie Stars' Homes, New York City
Unrelated material | poster, 1997, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Poster announcing the route of "Disney's Hercules Electrical Parade / Midtown Manhattan / Saturday, June 14, 1997 / 9 pm to 11 pm."
Unrelated material | transit ephemera, 2004, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Six copies of an MTA / New York City Transit leaflet outlining subway entrance restrictions at Penn Station, street closures, and bus reroutings during the 2004 Republican National Convention, held at Madison Square Garden, August 30 through September 2.