In 1910, the world looked different.
William Davis Hassler came to New York from a small Pennsylvanian town with his wife and son in 1905 and worked there as a professional photographer from 1909.
Joseph P. Day, a land broker who had already sold large parts of Brooklyn and Queens, saw the future in the Bronx. "The man who sold the Bronx" commissioned Hassler to photograph the Bronx, undeveloped lots, but also the Bronx already built on. For New York electric companies, Hassler shot photos of electrical installations, close-ups of electrical parts such as a lamp socket, and images of electricity, for example, beautifully (electrically) lit streets and storefronts. One spectacular photo shows the Manhattan Bridge from above, photographed from Brooklyn Tower, with the old piers on the East River in the background.
But in many of the more than 5,000 photographs preserved at the New-York Historical Society, Hassler's family and his residential neighborhood of Inwood play the starring role. Inwood is the northernmost neighborhood in Manhattan, bounded by the Hudson River to the west and the Harlem River to the north and east. At the time, Inwood still had an almost rural, provincial feel. Hassler photographed parks, school classes, fire engines, old-fashioned steaming and still pulled by horses, the somehow "quintessentially American" police couple of the neighborhood, rows of houses, streets, also the many dirt roads, factories, boathouses on the Harlem River, excursion boats, community festivals. Many photos show his apartment, everyday life indoors and out, family celebrations, the family in the allotment, outings, and in a great many shots also his son, his cats Reddy and Peach: Peach in a basket in the middle of a still life of corn on the cob and tomatoes; William Gray, about eight years old, fast asleep, with teddy bear in his arms; William Gray and the cat Reddy having breakfast at the small children's table. The scenes seem like snapshots - but: each photo was carefully staged. For the children's cat breakfast, a candle burns decoratively next to a package of "Quakers Puffed Rice Cereal", a typical American ready-made morning porridge - the photo was probably a commissioned advertising shot. Capturing the startled, astonished look on the boy's face as the cat stands up to lick milk from the little table - that's just Hassler's great photographic art.
Because: spontaneously shooting photos with a cell phone? That didn't exist in 1915.
William Davis Hassler used the Kodak No. 8 Cirkut outfit for professionals, which with a tripod could even shoot panoramic photos at 180 degrees. But the whole camera equipment weighed about 20 kilograms. And in analog photography, there were negatives that had to be developed first. Hassler used glass plates, the most common photographic medium before films made of rollable celluloid could provide good photo quality. The glass plates were coated with a light-sensitive emulsion - a film of black-and-white gelatin - and developed into a negative after the photograph was taken. Exposure times, and thus the pure shot, were much longer than today, which is why the tripod was needed.
On the other hand, the glass plate process produces black and white photos with beautiful gray tones and areas of blur while maintaining high detail.
Why do Hassler's photographs touch us? Is it the look back into our past, into a long gone world in New York?
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_Ji_-_(MeisterDrucke-251946).jpg "Group portrait of English boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Jim Maloney, and")
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.jpg "Sherman Creek Power Station, W. 201st Street, Inwood, New York City, June 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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_posing_in_training_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-274714).jpg "English Boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Posing in Training Togs Doing Leg Lifts by William Davis Hassler")
_posing_in_training_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-274714).jpg)
_posing_in_training_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-272711).jpg "English Boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Posing in Training Togs with a Speed Bag by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group of Little Girls Posed on a Small Stage Holding Dolls, Probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx, c.1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Audubon Ballroom, 165th Street and Broadway, c.1910-21 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Night view of the Fifth Avenue facade of the main branch of the New York Public Library in the snow, 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City, March 6, 1915 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Bease group portrait: men, women, children, and small dog by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Four Children Pose on the Porch of a House on a River or Lake, Inwood, New York, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified woman in")
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.jpg "Group of children in cart, with girl and woman standing behind by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Bathers at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Erie Railroad Locomotive, Side View, c.1911-12 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Pair of kewpie dolls, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Sixth Floor Workshop, Geyser Electric Water Heater Company, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Postal Telegraph sign, 1906 Broadway, New York City, August 18, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler in straw hat and overalls, carrying fishing pole and basket in the woods by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "1807-1813 Park Avenue, 124-125th Streets, 1915 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Night view of the northeast corner of the steps outside the main branch of the New York Public Library in the snow, 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle shot of children working in the garden at the Poppenhusen branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, August 14, 1915 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified informal group portrait at a picnic, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Seymour boy posed with tricycle beside Christmas tree in parlor, Christmas 1912 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Flowing the tops of wooden caskets, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "ALC basketball team group portrait, c.1913-14 by William Davis Hassler")
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_posing_in_training_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-146568).jpg "English Boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Posing in Training Togs with Weight Pulleys, c.1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Ethel Gray Magaw Hassler taking bread from the oven by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Illuminated Sign for Chalmers Underwear, New York City, January 6, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Elmhurst branch of the Queens Borough Public Library; A Carnegie library by William Davis Hassler")
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_posed_seated_in_a_tw_-_(MeisterDrucke-225223).jpg "English Boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Posed Seated in a Tweed Suit by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Beachgoers and bathers, Deal, New Jersey, July 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Men working in the W. 129th Street sewer, New York by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Barefoot boy, possibly William Gray Hassler, plays with dog on the shore of a river or lake, New York, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Graduating Class of Girls from the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum in the Flower Garden, in Front of the Virgin Mary")
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.jpg "Jointing the Ogee of a Wooden Casket, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler Seated at a Small Table Eating a Bowl of Quaker Puffed Rice Cereal, c.1912 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle interior view of the 95th Street Market, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "View of Hell Gate and the East River from 86th Street Park, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Children listen to a woman in the reading room of an unidentified branch of the Queens Borough Public Library by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Horse-Drawn Hearse Belonging to F.S. York, New York City, December 1, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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_and_friends_c1910_-_(MeisterDrucke-199925).jpg "English boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells) and friends, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "The Ideal Theatre on Eighth Avenue, New York City, January 6, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "United Electric Light and Power Company Storefront Decorated for")
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.jpg "Unidentified Sewer Workers Pose Above Ground, New York by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Times Square, from the 16th Floor of the Times Building, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Under the Elevated Railroad Tracks at the Corner of Greenwich Street and Rector Street, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group portrait of unidentified little girls, probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified woman demonstrating the use of an electric iron, watched by little girl, c.1913-14 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle View of Harlem River Drive Running Past the Polo Grounds, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler Asleep with His Teddy Bear by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Evangelistic Society children")
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.jpg "Window Display of Ribbons, Gimbel")
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.jpg "Campus of the City College of New York, viewed from St. Nicholas Avenue, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two men loading wheat sheaves on to a horse-drawn cart, probably the McCready Farm, Crawford County, Pennsylvania by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler and Reddy the Cat, Eating Quaker Puffed Rice Cereal by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "K.E. Barry Squatter")
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.jpg "Knapp")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler in Straw Hat and Overalls, Carrying Fishing Pole and Basket, Walking Down a Path in the Woods Alone, August 20, 1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Illuminated sign for advertising and floodlit sign for Selznick Enterprises, New York City, January 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Interior of Unidentified Police Station, Showing Officers and Front Desk, c.1913-14 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler posing with bow and arrow, c.1912 by William Davis Hassler"){kind=icon}
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.jpg "Little girls at the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx, coming back from chapel in white dresses with wreathes and garlands, October 20, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Children reading in the reading room of an unidentified branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Fitting on the Ornament of a Wooden Casket, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle view of Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, September 2, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Interior Warehouse on Dock, Portable Electric Winches Being Used to Unload Ship, 31st Street, Brooklyn, 1912 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified woman demonstrating the use of the Apex vacuum cleaner, c.1913-14 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "The Grave of Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, N.Y., July 8, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Illuminated Signs in Times Square, New York City, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two young men on unidentified clay tennis court at night, July 1915 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Times Square, crowded with cars, buses and people, c.1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, New York, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Children Seated, Listening in the Reading Room of an Unidentified Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group portrait of unidentified little girls, probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "R.M.S. Carpathia loading at Pier 54 N.R. by William Davis Hassler")
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_E_125th_Street_New_York_City_May_2_1916_-_(MeisterDrucke-145187).jpg "Canterbury Lunch sign at 202 (or 178) E. 125th Street, New York City, May 2, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Erie Railroad locomotive, head-on, c.1911-12 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Washington Bridge, Harlem River, c.1912 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Informal Group Portrait of Unidentified Family in Their Apartment Seated in Front of a Christmas Tree, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group portrait of children in front of the Steinway branch of the Queens Borough Public Library by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler in Straw Hat and Overalls, Carrying Fishing Pole and Basket, Walking Down a Path in the Woods with a Small Dog (Bessie), August 20, 1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-280294).jpg "Close-up portrait of English boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells) by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Churchill")
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.jpg "Fifth Floor Workshop, Geyser Electric Water Heater Company, 42 Hudson Street, New York City, December 31, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "The Henry W. Merriam House, Newton, N.J., c.1911-12 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Interior of the Residence of Mr. and Mrs. William Mill Butler, Decorated for Christmas by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Statue of William Tecumseh Sherman on 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two Patients Being Examined in the Main Hospital Examining Room, Seton Hospital, Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, October 30, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Tryon Hall, Billings Estate, Inwood, New York City, c.1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified Girl Poses in Woods in Costume by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Direct load coal elevators, Interboro Rapid Transit Company, W. 58th Street, New York, c.1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "The caretaker of Washington Irving House in Irvington-on-Hudson by William Davis Hassler"){kind=icon}
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.jpg "The Washington Bridge, High Bridge, and Washington Heights viewed from the Bronx, July 19, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Graduating Class of Girls from the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Posed Before the Grotto with Their Diplomas by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle Misty Night View of Lower Manhattan Looking North, with the Singer Building, Woolworth Building, and Municipal Building Visible, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Large group of children assembled for a group portrait in an unidentified playground, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Edging lumber intended for use in casket manufacture, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Quinn family group portrait by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Worker feeding lumber into a planer, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "High-angle view of the intersections of Downing Street, West Houston Street, and Varick Street, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Coaling Steamship with Portable Bucket Conveyors by William Davis Hassler")
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