Thursday, March 4, 2010

Blizzard of 1888



We thought we had a snowy winter?

These photos and illustration are from 1888 when the Great Blizzard hit the east.

Most of these photos are taken in New York City at the time.

Amazing amount of snow.





Look at this lady standing by a tunnel shoveled out of the snow drift!
Imagine that.

She looks pretty pleased with it , pleased enough to want her photo taken in front of it.




Faces of busy, tired fellows.
Handsome fellows ...long gone now.
What a job they had before them.




♫ ♫ ♪ ♫
♪ Dashing through the snow in a two horse open sleigh.♫ ♪ ♫
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♫

right past F.J. Kaldenberg's
221-229 East 33rd St,
New York, NY... pipe manufacturer and maker of the famous Meerschaum pipe!


Police still ride horses in NYC. They always used to ride Morgans.
Look at all that hand shoveled snow!






They used to burn holes in the snow when it was too deep for shoveling.







Wires down. So many.








My mother used to collect the glass pieces that were on those telephone
poles to the left.








The glass toppers look nice in windows.
I found this color photo of the glass telephone pole toppers on the internet.Its not my photo and I don't know who did take it.
While I think of it, scroll back up and have a look at the gorgeous street lamps on the open sleigh photo. Imagine them lit up by gas in the evening.

Lovely!

8 comments:

  1. Annie, that blizzard tops them all! I can't imagine how they cleared all that snow with no plows or snow blowers.

    It should be a little warmer this weekend..emjoy it!

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  2. Hi Annie;

    As a young girl growing up in the Bronx, I remember snowfalls like that. We used to sled down the piles the city workers made when cleaning the streets. Love the photos especially the glass toppers. Thanks for sharing and thank you for your lovely comment on my blog. I created those spacers to match every background template I use. ;-}

    Have a lovely weekend my friend. Hugs

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  3. Hi Annie: I love the old pictures. The street lamps in a near-by were all renovated back to the old ones of that era. I love them.

    Have a lovely weekend.
    HUGS

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  4. Months ago, you had a picture of a red convertible roadster posted. You asked what it was, and I responded, I think incorrectly. It's something I should know, but I have some trouble with my memory. At the time, I told you I thought it may be a badly done kit car, or something like that. The picture was blurry, and I still can't be certain, but I think it was an English Morgan.

    http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/index.html

    They are neat cars, some of which still have a wooden chassis. More recently, they started building cars with aluminum chassis.

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  5. Happy " It's A Sunny Day " Day ! The weather is warmer , too , to make it splendid !
    The thought of having to hand-shovel all that white stuff is staggering ! We have much to be thankful for . Thanks for sharing all the neat stuff you discover !
    Enjoy your day !

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  6. Hi Annie! Thanks for explaining about the nickname Fifi. I must admit it was hard not to want to giggle when this very burly man introduced himself as Fifi. ;)

    I enjoy seeing those old time photos. Interesting about the telephone pole toppers. Reminds be of the colorful glass floats from Japan that used to wash on shore.

    (((Hugz)))

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  7. Being a Southern girl, I've never lived anywhere but the warm South...except for a five-year stay in Palm Springs, California. I cannot imagine this type of weather:)

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  8. HI Annie I love old photos thanks for sharing about the snowy winters of the past. I don't understand about collecting the glass part though. Why did you mom collect the glass? I must be dense.
    I wonder though it it were different colored glass she might of thought about making a mosaic art piece? is the lamp glass from old street lights? anyway I await your answer to my silly question. LOL! your background is so cute with the little sailboats. did you make it? it's very pretty. Big Hugs

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