Peter Cohen collection of New York City snapshots
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Abstract
A small collection of amateur, anonymous snapshots of New York City scenes (most in black and white, a handful in color) taken between 1891 and 1981. Along with ubiquitous tourist subjects, such as the Empire State Building and the 1939 World's Fair, the collection includes rare views of early Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades, which document the first appearances of the balloons "Mickey Mouse" (1934) and "Superman" (1940).
Arrangement
The collection is organized in two series:
Series I. Views of New York City, 1891-1981 & undated
Series II. Views of locations beyond New York City, 1919-1971 & undated
Scope and Contents
The Peter Cohen Collection of New York City Snapshots contains images largely of New York City scenes, and a few of other locations, taken between 1891 and 1981 by anonymous, amateur photographers. Along with popular sites like the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and the ubiquitous Manhattan skyline, the collection includes some uncommon street views, such as those taken outside Peter's Italian & American Restaurant at 59 Grove Street, in Greenwich Village, now the site of famed piano bar Marie's Crisis. One rare image from 1949 captures a group of women protesting the "Dividing of Ireland" outside the offices of the British Consulate General, located then in the Empire State Building. (The House of Commons had recently enacted a "New Ireland Bill," enabling the Northern Ireland Parliament to decide the status of its six counties; the demonstrators urged the United Nations to conduct a plebiscite to permit the people to vote on whether or not to join the Republic of Ireland.) Perhaps of most interest are the shots of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades from 1933, 1934, 1937, and 1940, which show the first appearances of the balloons "Mickey Mouse" (1934) and "Superman" (1940), among other less-remembered characters such as "Gulliver the Gullible" (1933) and "Morton the Nantucket Sea Monster" (1937). Also present are views of people posed on ferries or rooftops, or in various places throughout the city. A small number of images from locations beyond New York City (only a few of which are identifiable) rounds out the collection. Except for a handful in color, all the photographs in this collection are in black and white.
Subjects
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Donors
Access Restrictions
This collection may be stored offsite. To arrange to consult it, please go to www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: www.nyhistory.org/rights-and-reproductions.
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: Peter Cohen Collection of New York City Snapshots, PR-456, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Peter Cohen, 2019 (accession number PPAC-2019-034).
Separated Materials
The donation of this collection included a handful of cabinet card portraits, about 30 postcards, and 2 stereographs, all of which have been removed to the New-York Historical Society Library's Portrait File (PR-52), Postcard File (PR-54), and Stereograph File (PR-65).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta arranged and described this collection in March-April 2023.
Repository
Series I. Views of New York City, 1891-1981 & undated, inclusive
Bridges [16 images], 1925-1947 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Brooklyn Bridge [9 images], undated
• George Washington Bridge [3 images], 1941 October & undated
• Hell Gate Bridge [1 image], undated
• Manhattan Bridge [1 image], 1925 August 29
• Marine Parkway Bridge [1 image], 1947 May
• Unidentified NYC-area bridge under construction [1 image], undated
Brooklyn — Brooklyn Heights [2 images], 1948 May, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Aerial views of taken from the roof of the Squibb Plant, 25–30 Columbia Heights.
Brooklyn — Coney Island [5 images (1 color)], 1930 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Bather at Sea Gate, undated
• Cyclone, undated
• Man swimming with campanile of Our Lady of Solace in background, 1930
• Parachute Jump [2 images (1 color)], undated
Manhattan — Buildings — 1 New York Plaza [1 image (color)], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Chrysler Building (405 Lexington Avenue) [1 image], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Empire State Building (350 Fifth Avenue) [4 images], 1946 November 22 & undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Flatiron Building [3 images (1 color)], 1919 & undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Lord & Taylor (424-434 Fifth Avenue) [1 image], 1943, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — New York Stock Exchange (18 Broad Street) [1 image], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Panhellenic Tower, a.k.a. Beekman Tower (1-7 Mitchell Place) [1 image], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Pennsylvania Station [1 image], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Rockefeller Center [12 images (1 color)], 1937-1966 & undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1071 Fifth Avenue) [1 image (color)], 1965 August, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — United Nations Secretariat Building [2 images], 1957 August 8 & undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — Woolworth Building (233 Broadway) [6 images], 1926 June & undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Buildings — World Trade Center [2 images (color)], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Monuments and statues [21 images (1 color)], 1942, 1945 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Statue of Liberty [17 images (1 color)], 1942, 1945 December 3 & undated
• George Washington equestrian statue, Union Square [1 image], undated
• Washington Arch [3 images], undated
Manhattan — Parks [12 images (4 color)], 1918-1951 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Battery Park [3 images] (1935 April 20 & undated) and South Ferry [1] (1948 August)
• Central Park [7 images (4 color)] (1946, 1951 & undated)
• Madison Square [1 image] (1918 November 11, Armistice Day)
Manhattan — Skyline [6 images], 1932, 1933, 1952 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes aerial views taken from the tops of the RCA Building (1932), 580 Fifth Avenue (1933), the Empire State Building (July 1952), and the Woolworth Building (undated).
Manhattan — Streets — Broadway [2 images (1 color)], 1947, 1964, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Looking north from Dey Street, 1947
• Looking south from West 96th Street (color; shows telephone booth and red & blue mailbox), 1964 April
Manhattan — Streets — Christopher Street [1 image], undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
View includes St. Veronica Church, 153 Christopher Street.
Manhattan — Streets — Cooper Square [1 image], circa 1964, inclusive
Scope and Contents
View of 61–71 Cooper Square between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place.
Manhattan — Streets — Grove Street [2 images], [before 1937], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Views outside Peter's Italian & American Restaurant, 59 Grove Street, future site of Marie's Crisis; the building stands on the site where Thomas Paine died in 1809.
Manhattan — Streets — Riverside Drive [1 image], 1919 April 27
Scope and Contents
View of the intersection of Riverside Drive and West 135th Street, wth a battleship passing in the Hudson River.
Manhattan — Streets — Wall Street [1 image (color)], 1981, inclusive
Manhattan — Streets — Washington Square North [1 image], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Streets — West 33rd Street [2 images], undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• South side, outside Penn Station, looking east to Empire State Building
• Looking east to Empire State Building from just west of the bridge connecting Gimbels and Saks stores over West 33rd (demolished 1966)
Manhattan — Streets — West 34th Street [1 image], 1933 January 1
Scope and Contents
Looking east to Empire State Building from between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.
Manhattan — Streets — Unidentified [4 images (3 color)], undated, inclusive
Manhattan — Theaters & entertainment venues [3 images], 1935, 1941 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Hippodrome (1120 Sixth Avenue), 1935
• Madison Square Garden (3rd site; Eighth Avenue between West 49th & 50th Streets), 1941 January
• Rialto Theatre (1481 Broadway), undated
Manhattan — Waterfront [11 images (1 color)], 1933, 1958, 1970 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Views of piers, ferries, ships, and New York Harbor.
Parades & protests — May Day / Communist Parade [2 images], 1935 May 1
Parades & protests — V-J Day, Wall Street [4 images], [1945]
Parades & protests — "Dividing of Ireland" [1 image], [1949 May 31]
Scope and Contents
Women holding placards outside the British Consulate General's office in the Empire State Building. For a description, see "100 Pickets Protest 'Dividing' of Ireland," New York Times, June 1, 1949, p. 36, col. 3 (copy included in folder).
Parades & protests — Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1933 [3 images], 1933 November 30
Scope and Contents
Includes views of the balloons "Fritz the Dachshund" and "Gulliver the Gullible." The latter debuted in 1933.
Parades & protests — Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1934 [6 images], 1934 November 29
Scope and Contents
Includes views of the balloons "Colicky Kid," "Eddie Cantor," "Little Pig," and "Mickey Mouse." The last three debuted in 1934.
Parades & protests — Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1937 [5 images], 1937 November 25
Scope and Contents
Includes views of the balloons "Morton the Nantucket Sea Monster" and "Officer SOS 13," both of which debuted in 1937.
Parades & protests — Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1940 [15 images], 1940 November 21
Scope and Contents
Includes views of the balloons "Uncle Sam," "Santa Claus," and "Superman." The latter debuted in 1940.
[Note the date discrepancy in the captions on these photographs, some of which read "Nov. 21, 1940," and some of which read "Nov. 25, 1940." Thanksgiving 1940 actually fell on November 21. The holiday fell on November 25 in 1937 and in 1943 (there was no parade in 1943 due to U.S. involvement in World War II). None of the three balloons mentioned above appeared before 1938. This version of "Uncle Sam" appeared in 1938-1940; "Santa Claus" appeared in 1939-1941; and this version of "Superman" appeared only in 1940. Thus the caption date of "Nov. 21, 1940" is likely correct.]
People — On ferries [6 images], 1912, 1939, 1958 & undated, inclusive
People — On rooftops [7 images], 1891, 1931, 1935 & undated, inclusive
People — Posed throughout New York City [21 images (4 color)], 1943 & undated, inclusive
Queens — 1939 World's Fair [21 images], 1939-1940, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes views of the night fountain and fireworks displays.
Queens — Rockaway [5 images], 1915, 1939, 1944, 1951, inclusive
Staten Island — Small boy holding "Staten Island" pennant [1 image], undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Taken near a street sign for Martling Avenue.
Series II. Views of locations beyond New York City, 1919-1971 & undated, inclusive
California — San Francisco — Bay Bridge [1 image], undated, inclusive
New Jersey — Atlantic City [1 image], 1927 July, inclusive
New York State — Nassau County — Jones Beach [3 images], 1935-1942, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Jones Beach Water Tower [1 image], 1935 July 29
• Beachgoers [2 images], 1938, 1942
New York State — Unidentified locations [11 images], 1919 September, inclusive
Parades & protests — Unidentified locations [6 images (1 color)], circa 1926-1971 & undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a view of an early Nazi rally.