On eBay Now...1942 NYC Photograph Adele Sam & Dotty at Murray Hill Bell Telephone Bldg For Sale
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1942 NYC Photograph Adele Sam & Dotty at Murray Hill Bell Telephone Bldg:
$15.99
This silver gelatin print with a deckled edge captures three companions—identified in green ink on the verso as Adele, Sam, and Dotty—posed before the limestone facade of a Manhattan commercial building on June 1, 1942. The women wear knee-length dresses with padded shoulders and tailored waists, their hair styled in the rolled curls characteristic of the early 1940s, while the lone man stands between them in a light suit and tie. Above them, a painted sign advertises "OFFICES & FLOOR FOR RENT" through Albert Rashforth at 12 East 44th Street, with the exchange "MURRAY HILL 2-1930" anchoring the scene in Midtown's Murray Hill district. A circular Bell System Telephone emblem, mounted near the entrance, confirms the building's commercial tenant and situates the photograph within the visual culture of American telecommunications branding.The image bears the hallmarks of a casual wartime snapshot: slight surface scratches, scattered dust specks, and gentle yellowing consistent with age, along with a small crease at the upper left edge. A faint vertical line runs along the left side, likely a storage mark rather than a darkroom artifact. The photograph's documentary value lies in its layered signage—real estate advertising, the Bell logo, and the exchange name—which together map a precise moment in New York's commercial geography during the Second World War. The date places the trio on the home front, and the relaxed, well-dressed posture suggests a social outing rather than a formal studio sitting, making this a vernacular record of urban leisure in early-1940s Manhattan.
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