Monday, December 20, 2010

A Great Way to Spend a Weekend




Well, the weekend absolutely flew by thanks to two straight days of being completely engrossed online. No, not on Facebook which, in the words of Betty White, can be a "huge waste of time." Instead, I got wrapped up in the Museum of the City of New York's website. Thanks to Curbed National, I learned last week that the museum had recently uploaded about 50,000 New York related photographs to its website- just part of the museum's amazing collection. Of course what I got sucked into were the photographs of interiors, especially those by noted photographer Samuel H. Gottscho. The photographs are a real treat for those of us interested in 1930s design, old New York apartments, and the homes of William Odom, Elsie de Wolfe, and others. There is just so much to look at! I've downloaded a few images that caught my eye, but trust me, there is a lot more where these came from. If you have time over the holidays, you should visit the MCNY collection portal. Just be prepared not to come up for air anytime soon.



Samuel H. Gottscho, " Herbert Sondheim [residence]. Bar. Located at 146 Central Park West, NYC." 1930. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.



Samuel H. Gottscho, "Bruce Price Post [residence]. Hall. Apartment of Bruce Price Post, 39 East 79th St." 1927. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.




Samuel H. Gottscho, "Benjamin Wood (residence). Linen closet." 1925. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.




Samuel H. Gottscho, "Mrs. G. Fuller [residence], 41 Park Avenue, NYC. Nursery panel." 1930. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.





Samuel H. Gottscho, "Faris R. Russell [residence]. Terrace from door." 1931. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.


Image at top: Samuel H. Gottscho, "Mrs. Radcliffe Romeyn [residence], 25 East End Avenue. Living room mantel detail, 2.". 1935. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.

17 comments:

  1. The Sondheim residence is the home of composer Stephen Sondheim's parents. And Mrs Romeyn's place is chic, no? She was the former Rosalie Southgate Elliman and married Yale's 1912 varsity crew captain Radcliffe Romeyn in 1914. Here's some more about her: http://www.jwrbusinessattorney.com/gallery.htm

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  2. Fascinating! A good photo does indeed tell a story. After the Sondheim example, we may be seeing a whole Mini-Pub-In-A-Closet movement.

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  3. Aesthete- Thank you for always being able to fill in the blanks, so to speak!

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  4. Classicist- So true! I have a closet that would work perfectly as a mini bar!

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  5. OMG! I am so glad I was not the only one who spent literally HOURS looking at this amazing collection. I know that I will be referring to these photos constantly in the new year on my blog.

    Just a wonderful present to all of us.

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  6. Thanks! Now I know what I will be doing as I sit on the couch over Christmas break.

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  7. love the linen closet !

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  8. That linen closet is to die for! WOW!

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  9. Now I now what I will do...in freezing Sweden -15 degrees C. TV broken...TY!!!

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  10. wow -i know what i'll be doing while at my parents house for the holidays bored out of my mind! These have some really great ideas -don't you think? That bar in the closet with the built in benches is amazing!

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  11. What a treasure trove, these photographs!
    It was especially interesting to see a glimpse of the
    Sondheim apartment where Stephen was taken to live
    at the age of 6 months. His mother, a force of nature
    type, began as a fashion designer and then became
    a decorator. In other words, not much time devoted to little Stevie.

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  12. im looking forward to the next rainfall here on the island (barbados!) - thanks for bringing this to my attention. Brilliant as always.

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  13. Thanks for filling in the details. This was an unbelievably creative period of time, I would never have thought to photograph a linen closet--but way not, especially when it is perfect.

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  14. How FABULOUS!! I can't wait to check it out (just love that era) - but must force myself to wait until some more Christmas work is done! MCNY has had some great exhibits - they are definitely an underrated museum with incredibly resources - as you've shown here!

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  15. Now you've done it. I didn't know about these. I won't be surfacing for a week, greedily following your path through this marvelous collection. What a treat. Led astray by the Peak of Chic.

    Love the Greek Key mantel

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  16. Notice the one recurring under-theme of stylish New York City apartments of the period these photos cover - delicate whimsy, great wit and a lack of pomposity. Even truly serious art and furnishings were handled with a verve and dash that breathed life into the space, a knack lost in later eras that became so very serious, almost dogmatically documentary and, ultimately, not as much fun to live in or visit. I remember some of these apartments when I visited then as a boy with my parents; before the heirs overdid them or stripped them of their quirky charm.

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  17. i'm off to go check out the archives! these images have peaked my curiosity.

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