My father, Irving Kaufman (1910-1982), a professional photographer who started in Brooklyn in the mid-1930s applying for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. He captured thousands of photographs of Brooklyn in the 1950s. I recently scanned a lot of them. My father’s profile can be found here.
This week’s theme:
I hope you enjoy this week’s selections. Of course, I expect both one and two weeks. But this time it’s another time because I’ve never done a week with such obvious repetition. I say “obvious” because, both one symbol is another of all others, they are all diversifications of the same two scenes.
As you’ve noticed before, the theme of the week is “Skylines”. Despite how rich the New York skyline was all those years ago, there were really only two fundamental possibilities: Lower Manhattan or Midtown Manhattan. This week’s images are almost slightly divided between the two. But, as you’ll see, similar scenes become very different from each other because of perspective, time of day, composition, cropping, and editing. With all those variables, it’s hard to decide which one I prefer between multiple shots of the same scene.
Some prospects of Midtown were taken from Brooklyn, others on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or Queens. Manhattan and Queens create a rare appearance. From its northeast corner, the Chrysler Building is closer than the Empire State Building, so it looks noticeably larger and, with one construction behind the other, seems closer than usual. A more common view of the Manhattan skyline is taken from a square perspective, with the two separate buildings appearing throughout their north-south distance and with the Empire State obviously, and as it should be, the larger of the two.
As far as I know, none of those photos were taken for a visitor or sold for advertising purposes. Many have notes that contain fundamental information, and my father had wonderful impressions of them that he used as samples. But there is no indication that articles have been sent to Eagle for publication, nor do they have a call from an advertising company or a customer. As I said about the first post I published in April, “Quiet Streets,” my father took them just for their progress and professional enjoyment. I have the thrill of providing them with your enthusiasm so many years after he took them.
Photos of the day:
We’ll finish the week with a little variety. First, there are two Manhattan plans that broaden the definition of “horizon.” Then (I said “a little” variety), one last look from the st. George ceiling.
A couple: Trinity Church and the Empire State, undated
If the clouds and viewing angle don’t make you dizzy, you’ll be able to appreciate the novelty and the good look of this shot. These remarkable and symbolic buildings are rarely noticed or imagined together, and we only get a small component of one. However, the mixture of clouds mottled in the background, with a variety of tapered arrows and horizontal ceilings, makes it an inconventional and attractive image.
Can you call it a horizon? Another look at Manhattan, undated
I’d like to know precisely where this image was taken. In fact, it’s a sight that will never be noticed again, even though the 4 Manhattan skyscrapers seen on the roofs of the foreground are still there. They are, from left to right: the old Met Life Tower on Madison Avenue and 24th Street; Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway, near Park Place; The Empire State Building on 5th Avenue and 34th Street; and finally, small and far, on the right, the Chrysler Building on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.
It took a little bit of popularity to get the right point of view for those buildings, and not others, to be visual and distributed. This point is across the East River, a little north of downtown, in Long Island City, Queens.
(Some of you may not forget the old Elmhurst fuel tanks, and I know the design on the far right looks like them, but the angle would be everything and I can’t locate any indication of similar tanks in Long Island City. )
Light sun or not sun: the two from the roof of St. George, 1942
I thought it appropriate to conclude with two others that my father’s favorite place was. There are many more shots from here than from anywhere else. (Not all are funds; many are occasions and meetings here that I have not published. These two shots show the same family symbol of Lower Manhattan, taken an hour apart. The sun just above the horizon adds to one symbol, although some may prefer only the trail of soft on the other. My father didn’t miss many variants of this site.
Here is an index of Kaufman’s publications in Brooklyn.
Irving Kaufman’s profile can be found here.
I invite you to submit your comments, souvenirs, photographs of Brooklyn and, in particular, any other background information you may provide about the images posted here at [email protected]. I would also be happy to provide data on the purchase of hard copies of any of the photographs. noticed here. Many photographs of my father can also be consulted and purchased at http://yourartgallery.com/irvingkaufmanstudios. All prints purchased will be the product of professional digitization and editing.
Weekly Collection 15: images from the “Skylines” collection
Brooklyn, New York’s most populous district, has a population of approximately 2.6 million. If Brooklyn were an independent city, it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has the quintessence of “fresh and modern” in recent years, for those born here, have formed families here and taken a step forward in communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been “not great.”
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online and five days a week in print with the slogan “All Brooklyn All The Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is the only true New Yorker exclusively in Brooklyn.
© 2020 All Brooklyn Media
Kaufman’s Brooklyn: Four photos from the ‘Skylines’ collection
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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online and five days a week printed with the slogan “All Brooklyn All The Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is the only true New Yorker exclusively in Brooklyn.
© 2020 All Brooklyn Media