I hadn’t written anything for the past two week, because I had been approached by a historian working for the N.Y Inst of Photography for an interview of my experience in their school. The NYIOP will soon be celebrating the 100th year of its existence. I met with Anna,the historian and we had an interesting two hour lunch’ Her project is to dig up as much details of the owners of the school,its students and teachers and its method of instruction, etc. She is having a difficult time finding historical details due to changes in management and ownership. Business records are missing. We had an interesting discussion and I hope I was helpful.
The meeting really stirred memory and I had a difficult time falling asleep that evening. Scenes of those early years flashed through my mind. Memories that were buried so long ago, from pre-war period. The period may have been during 1937 thru 1941. My younger brother Nat had graduated from High Schol and released me from my job at the family store. I had completed my Night school attendance in the NYIOP and was ready to seek a job in photo-graphy.
The economy at that time is similar to the one we are now experiencing. In 1929, we experienced the Wall Street Crash. In the 1930s FDR became president and he was using Government stimulus programs to create jobs. So, you can imagine the difficulty I was faced with to find work. I had no contacts in the photo field, so I relied on the want ads in the newspapers and also the job agencies that were lined up on Sixth Avenue in the 30th-40th St. area.
My first job was with a Xerox Studio that catered to the Advertising field. The owner was a man in his thirties and his father had purchased this new apparatus that made it possible to reduce or enlarge art work. I was his assistant and also the pickup and delivery boy. My memory is mostly af the employer, who was tall but gaunt, in his thirties and very sad. He told me that he was a concert violinist, but unable to earn a living and this is what he is sadly doing to support himself and family. It was not an encouraging place.
I’m not sure how long I stayed at this job. While I was doing the pick-ups of work, I would look at store windows and door signs where offers of jobs were displayed. The Xerox studio was in lower Manhattan. I passed a window that wanted a photographer for passports. This shop was near City Hall. I was accepted and worked there for several months. I enjoyed it , only because the developer and printer of the snaps that I took , became very friendly and we were two blocks from Chinatown and ate $2.50 lunches. The shop was tiny and offered 1 hr service. After, I took the photo, I would put the negative and holder into a basket that was tied to a rope and sent up to a balcony level, where my lunch friend was located to develop and print.
The owner of the shop had advised me that he will close down when the travel season is over and to keep my eyes open for another place to work.
(to be continued)