HECKSCHER PARK : HUNTINGTON, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK : VINTAGE POSTCARD c1915-1925

This vintage lithographic postcard offers a tranquil early view of Heckscher Park in Huntington, Long Island, capturing the park in its formative years as a carefully landscaped civic retreat. In the foreground stands the distinctive stone pavilion, its rustic construction harmonizing with the gently sloping lawns, young plantings, and wooded hills beyond. The stone house and pavilion still stand and are in use today. The scene featured on this postcard reflects the early 20th-century ideal of public park design—orderly, pastoral, and restorative—intended to provide town residents with a refined escape from daily life. Heckscher Park was a gift to the Town of Huntington from August Heckscher, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist. Heckscher, who made his fortune in zinc mining and banking, was deeply committed to public welfare and urban beautification. In 1920, he donated the land and funds necessary to establish the park, which officially opened shortly thereafter. His vision was to create a permanent green space that would enhance civic life and cultural enrichment—an ambition that continues to define the park today. Over the decades, Heckscher Park has become one of Huntington’s most beloved landmarks. It now hosts concerts, festivals, art fairs, and seasonal events, and serves as the outdoor setting for the adjacent Heckscher Museum of Art, also founded through August Heckscher’s philanthropy. The park remains a focal point of community life, blending recreation, culture, and history in a setting that has changed remarkably little in spirit since this postcard was produced. The postcard was published by A. M. Simon, located at 32 Union Square, New York City, a prolific early-20th-century postcard publisher known for high-quality photographic and halftone views of American cities, parks, and landmarks. Simon postcards are widely collected for their clear imagery and strong documentation of urban and suburban development during the Undivided Back and early Divided Back eras, generally dating this card to the circa 1915–1925 period. This unused postcard is in good condition with minor corner and edge wear (see scans).

This vintage postcard is available for purchase at The History Peddler for $17.50 or Best Offer.   

Interested collectors may view the listing here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/336351859848

Published in: on December 21, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A JOCKEY WEARING HIS COLORS IN SARATOGA, NEW YORK

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This cabinet card is a portrait of a horse racing jockey wearing his colors. The photograph was taken by the Record & Epler studio in Saratoga, New York.  According to the printing on the reverse of the photograph, the studio was located on the corner of Broadway and Phila Street. To view other photographs by this studio, click on category “Photogapher: Record & Epler”.  Saratoga is a resort and horse racing town. The Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs. The track opened in 1863.

Published in: on February 1, 2013 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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OLD WOMAN WEARING A SHAWL AND HOLDING A BOOK IN WATKINS, NEW YORK

Photographer R. D. Crum produced this terrific portrait of an older woman whose hairstyle and fashion choices allows one to say that she is  dressed for the part. Before I am accused of being an ageist, let me say that I am well aware that there were, and are many older people who are quite fashionable and contemporary. The fact is though, that if I was casting a movie and needed a character to play an elderly 1890’s woman, this lady has got the part hands down and doesn’t even need to audition. The subject of this photograph has her gray hair parted in the middle and she wears it close to her scalp. She is wearing a black dress, as well as a black shawl which is clasped by a piece of jewelry. There appears to be lace or needle work on her shawl and sleeves. She holds a book on her lap with her thumb holding a place in the volume. She has an extremely serious expression on her face. The photographer, Richard D. Crum was located in the 1860 census and he is listed as working as a “Dagarian Artist”  (photographer) in Watkins, New York. The 1870 census finds Crum working as a clerk in New York City and living there with his wife and three children. The 1880 census finds Crum still married to his wife Maria and working as a photographer in Watkins. He lived in a residence with his wife and three children and a 21 year old boarder named, George Stanley, who worked as a photographer (likely “apprenticing” to Crum). Interestingly, living nearby was a Fred Crum, who was listed as a photographer (one of Richard Crum’s children?). An application that Crum made for a passport in 1897 is on record and lists his birth year as 1831. By 1900, Crum had left the field of photography and was living in Ocean, New Jersey. He died in 1913 and is buried in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

Published in: on August 21, 2012 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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TWO YOUNG SISTERS WEARING EXQUISITE DRESSES IN GOSHEN, NEW YORK

These Goshen girls are likely sisters, and they are wearing identical exquisite dresses as they pose for photographer A. G. Wheeler, in Goshen, New York. Wheeler is mentioned in the book,The Empire State: Its Industries and Wealth (1888). He is described as a native New Yorker who established his Goshen gallery in 1885. The brief biographical sketch adds that, earlier in time, he had a photographic studio in Hempstead, New York.

Published in: on July 26, 2011 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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CUTE SIBLINGS IN HUDSON, NEW YORK

This cabinet card features two very cute siblings photographed by the Sullivan Brothers of Hudson, New York. The older sibling, with bows in her hair, seems to be evaluating he situation as she stares at the camera. The younger sibling appears comfortable atop a cushion on the seat of a wicker chair. The photographic studio’s partners were Frederick and Alfred H. Sullivan. One of their photographs of a child was published in the Burr McIntosh Monthly (1907). The Bulletin of Photography (1915) reported that the Sullivan Brothers studio was sold to James C. Van Loon in 1915. To view other photographs by Sullivan Brothers studio, click on the category “Photographer: Sullivan Brothers”.

Published in: on March 2, 2011 at 12:01 am  Comments (2)  
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