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May 27, 2008

Picnicking it Old School

After yesterday's whiff of Memorial Day weekend barbecue madness, we offer today some archivey goodness: picnicking in Prospect Park circa 1953-54, courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library "Historic Brooklyn Photographs" collection.*

BPL picnic1 This is "the Wexler family after a picnic."  They look like a fun bunch, but with plenty of edge.

The buffet raiders below are unidentified, although the photo is credited to a Jules Geller.
Looks like a Darwinian fight for the food; the littlest Brooklynites are holding their own.  BPL picnic2




 







 
BPL picnic3  Finally, we have this feisty clan from the Bronx (according to the notes on the original photo, which was grease-penciled for cropping by the Brooklyn Eagle). From left to right, they are "Mrs. Flora Gurn, Regina Pearl, Paul Gurn, Mrs. Louis Pearl and her husband."  Poor Mr. Nameless Pearl, pouring out libations and waiting to be played someday by John Turturro. Meanwhile, is anyone keeping an eye on the baby presumably at rest within that Cadillac of a carriage?

* Intellectual Property Wonk note: The Brooklyn Public Library digital collections site offers a long, aggressive, and (to me) fairly incomprehensible "terms and conditions" section; it seems to imply that I can post their pictures if I don't  do so for commercial gain (roger that).  If I've read this wrong, someone can alert me and I will plunge the Gurns and the Wexlers back into digital obscurity.

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