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Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1900. "Boardwalk, Easter morning." 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
When I was a very little girl (I am guessing spring of 1960) they still had the wicker rolling chairs on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. By that time they were not pushed, but pedaled by a driver.
In some cases the driver was at the front of the chair, on others at the rear behind the passengers. Very few were motorized back then. Some were no longer wicker.
The second time I was in Atlantic City (late 1960's) there were no wicker pedicabs with bicycles left. They were all motorized, made of steel, but still of the rickshaw concept.
They were part taxi (since you pay to ride them and they have a driver) and part amusement ride. At the time this photo was taken (until a 1944 hurricane destroyed it) the Boardwalk was seven miles long. That is why they had cabs. By the time I was there it was still over four miles long, as it remains today.
Corsets, darling Anonymous Tipster. Corsets which bind, restrict and generally squeeze everything in a manner in which they were not meant to be squeezed are the cause of the "slim" waistlines.
Who needs to take a full breath if their waist looks slim?
a lot of bustle-tugging by the ladies.
I don't see any guys in speedos on the beach.
The ladies cut some beautiful silhouettes.
Rolling chairs have been an Atlantic City boardwalk tradition for many decades. They're still popular today.
Well, I see at least 8 kids on the foreground, before the masses in the back make it too difficult to count...
The importance of hatboxes, hairpins, hat racks and so on now helps me understand. There isn't one hatless person around that boardwalk.
Where are the kids? I can only see one. A scene like this today would be dominated by families with children.
I guess it was fashionable in this era to take the wife out for a push.
I am curious about the adult baby buggies. Does anyone know who used these? Some of the passengers look like they could be dowagers, but it's hard to tell. Maybe it was just lazy people.
The man walking toward us on the lower far left, close-by the boardwalk fence, and just past the streetlight -- is the fact that he appears to have only one leg some kind an illusion? He doesn't have a cane, nor any help from the people he is with. How deyupd he otherwise move along?
[I think he probably has the usual number of legs. ("Deyupd"?) - Dave]
It's lovely to look at the wonderful dresses and hats of old, but it makes me sweat! I know they look beautiful and I love looking at them but not so practical!!!
Amazing how many more power lines there are in 6 years. Check out "Under the Boardwalk: 1906".
I realize it is Easter, but everyone is dressed so well that they all look like someone important. I wonder how different their attire would be on a regular day.
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