Dreamland: “Coney Island Holocaust” — 1911

A photo showing the post-apocalyptic scene following a fire at a hugely popular amusement park was used to advertise rubber fire hoses. (Click to see the full ad.)
A photo showing the post-apocalyptic scene following a fire at a hugely popular amusement park was used to advertise rubber fire hoses. (Click to see the full ad.)
Check out the forgotten world of stand pipes — tall, cylindrical water towers often the pride and joy of cities and towns.
Gregorio Prestopino — known as “Presto” to his friends — was an American artist whose works ran the gamut from socially conscious depictions of poverty, nostalgic memories of the Little Italy neighborhood he grew up in, a series on prison life for Life magazine, a series of anti-war works, sensuous female nudes, and colorful magazine covers. See a few of my favorites.
One of the many creations of priest-inventor Father John Milo was this coin-operated pig which would squeal like a pig when you twisted its tail, measure your strength, dispense chewing gum, and play a ragtime ditty. Read more about Father Milo inside.
Between 1908 and 1910, the city of Buffalo, New York issued a challenge to the city’s children: collect as many Tussock Moth cocoons as possible, and collect a bounty of ten cents a quart. Kids made lots of money and Buffalo’s trees were saved.
Camera setup for an early industrial film about the Larkin Factories in Buffalo, New York. More on the film inside.