Gathering Steam

For some reason this avalanche of push-pinned black-and-white photos—vintage portraits, cabinet cards, and casual snapshots rivetted me. Maybe because I spend a lot of time looking at, studying, sometimes buying paper epehemera just like it but the fascinating new information this image provides I think is the display style, chaotic and organic- organized into almost eerily beautiful tableaux. Its yet another dot in the increasing interest in Victorian/19th century aesthetics- like the tintype imagery in this NYTimes spread, Just in from the 1890's clustering around a trend concept that continues to gain momentum called steampunk ( here's the British take on it). These, for example are steampunk USB's.

If you look through the other images from the source article Still Life describing Jeffery Moss' home, you'll also see a fresh combination of this era's maximalist aesthetic with more minimalistic 20th century pieces- almost like the interior decoration version of pairing t shirt and jeans with victorian tailoring and facial hair.

Nighthawks Address

Does the diner pictured in Hopper's Nighthawks really exist?

"Nighthawks," Hopper said in an interview later, “was suggested by a restaurant on Greenwich Avenue where two streets meet.” The location was pinpointed by a Hopper expert, Gail Levin, as the “empty triangular lot” where Greenwich meets 11th Street and Seventh Avenue, otherwise known as Mulry Square. This has become accepted city folklore. Greenwich Village tour guides point to the lot, now owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and tell visitors that Hopper’s diner stood there. But did it? from Nighthawks State of Mind NYTimes