Valentine's manual of old New York . roughthe pages of the Manual. The volume of our correspond-ence grows daily and in normal times we think the saleof the Manual would be greatly increased. We consider ourselves peculiarly fortunate in beingable to present to our readers in this number, throughthe courtesy of Mr. Simeon Ford, a splendid coloredsupplement showing the afternoon promenade at the Bat-tery, from the only perfect known copy of this lithographpublished by Thos. Thompson in 1829. At the time our picture was taken the population ofNew York was 129,000—considerably less than Philadel-
Valentine's manual of old New York . roughthe pages of the Manual. The volume of our correspond-ence grows daily and in normal times we think the saleof the Manual would be greatly increased. We consider ourselves peculiarly fortunate in beingable to present to our readers in this number, throughthe courtesy of Mr. Simeon Ford, a splendid coloredsupplement showing the afternoon promenade at the Bat-tery, from the only perfect known copy of this lithographpublished by Thos. Thompson in 1829. At the time our picture was taken the population ofNew York was 129,000—considerably less than Philadel-phia, which was still the first city in the Union. Fifteenyears were yet to elapse before running water would beintroduced into the houses, the supply still being obtainedfrom pumps at the street corners and in the middle ofroad ways. Anthracite coal, or as it was called, seacoal, was yet unheard of and illuminating gas whilediscovered, was not yet in general use. Pigs were stillthe most important branch of the Street Cleaning [4]. - aT ° ! OF OLD NEW YORK Department and together it was a strangely different cityfrom the one of today. The costumes are delightfullyquaint and represent quite a radical change from the col-orful dress of Colonial days. The trousers had finallybeen stretched below the knee and caught with a strap onthe instep of the foot. They were skin tight. The coatsand vests still rivaled Jacobs garments in their varioushues and brilliancy. Huge brass buttons shone conspic-uously and the high stocks of mufflers served to impartan imposing appearance to the wearer. The tall andsomewhat ponderous beaver hat was a radical departurefrom the three cornered cockade and had not yet assumedthe smartness which it subsequently achieved. In factthe high hat seemed to have bothered our grandfathersquite considerably, and relics are still found in our atticsmeasuring eighteen inches in height, several inches in thebrim and covered with a coat of long beaver. Strangeto rel
Size: 1268px × 1971px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorbrownhen, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1919
