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New York circa 1904. "Easter crowds on Fifth Avenue." Happy Easter from Shorpy! 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
I always check images of this period to look for automobiles. Is this a motorized Hansom Cab I'm seeing? Never saw such a thing before.
[It's an electric cab, seen and discussed in several other posts here. - Dave]
Growing up, I used to listen to the lyrics of Cole Porter's "You're the Top," from "Anything Goes," and try to understand all is references to the "top" things of 1934. Some of the items he lists remain easy for us to understand, for example Mickey Mouse and the Mona Lisa. I had less luck with his couplet
"You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare's sonnet . . ."
until after I moved to New York City. Traveling up Fifth Avenue in April of 1994, I noticed a sign in the windows of the Henri Bendel flagship, "THE BONNETS ARE HERE!"
And indeed, Henri Bendel has been a designer and vendor of Easter bonnets to fashionable New Yorkers since 1895. Their main location is exactly six blocks north of where this photo was taken (though I don't know if they occupied that real estate in 1904).
Anyway, I bet some of the ladies in this photo are wearing Bendel bonnets, and if you are so inclined you can still buy them yourself.
Just looks like folks are taking in the sunny day and hoping to spot some famous New Yorkers leaving church.
Unfortunately the Easter Parade has evolved from a high fashion and tasteful (for the times) public event. Yesterday's Parade was what it has been for the last few decades, an obnoxious demonstration of Lampshade wearing, overloaded trash can cover millinery and similar outerwear.
To me Easter means light clothing in pastel colors. I guess it is still cold in New York on Easter day. The bonnets laden with spring flowers, worn with heavy coats looks very odd to this Texas girl.
Poor forlorn gentleman, in his best bowler, standing in the "clearing" at the bottom left. Looks like he's very distraught. Poor guy!
This must have been a very cold Easter in New York. Everyone is quite bundled up with overcoats and mufflers. Quite a contrast to today's temperature in New York. According to the Weather Channel right now it's 64 degrees and raining.
and I'll be wearing a black hat and a black coat.
In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it . . .
Wondering whether these gals found that they were "in the rotogravure."
What were they thinking?
Perhaps this...
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