PotW: A Mournful Ouroboros
This black beaded bracelet is shaped like a coiled snake swallowing its own tail, which is an image known as an ouroboros. The ouroboros symbol can have many meanings, but this one, created during the late 19th century, represents the eternal cycle of life and death. The bracelet’s color, materials, and symbolism identify it as an article of mourning jewelry. Victorian mourning culture was…
Railfan Sandwich Man's Loco-Motive to Increase Business
Local businesses are acts of faith - an individual dream of creating a place that people will want to patronize, enriching the owners and community alike. This Photo of the Week shows one inventive owner’s novel idea to boost his business. In early 1951, Ben Lewanda took over the Parkway Sandwich Shop, 4223 Fort Hamilton Parkway. Finding his custom lacked pep, he got the idea of installing a model train to travel around the periphery…
New York City History Day
Last June, 30 students from New York City participated in National History Day, a contest for Middle and High School students held at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. After months of hard work crafting original historical research projects and competing in multiple contests, they were selected from over 500,000 students who competed internationally. The projects, all connected to the theme – Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas – ranged in topic and presentation. From performances examining the visionary of David Sarnoff and his impact on television; to papers examining…
A Horse-Drawn Toilet
This Photo of the Week* highlights what at first seems to be a perfectly ordinary horse-drawn carriage. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the team of six is not drawing a carriage, but rather a toilet. Ronalds…
Four Horses of Fort Greene
In this Photo of the Week, Brooklynites of two and four legs are lured to what appears to be a refreshing fountain on a warm day. The women wear light, summery patterns, and the workmen have bared their shirtsleeves and even forearms. Yet neither heat nor work could disrupt hat fashions. The women display their ornamented millinery while the men sport a variety…
The Fashion Show that Helped Launch a Movement
On January 28, 1962, a groundbreaking fashion show was held at the Purple Manor jazz club in East Harlem. The show, titled Naturally ’62: The Original African Coiffure and Fashion Extravaganza Designed to Restore Our Racial Pride and Standards, was organized by the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), a group of Black creatives, co-founded by legendary photographer Kwame Brathwaite and his brother, activist Elombe Brath. The show featured Black models, referred to as…