People-watching in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1937


Like just about everyone, I love to sit and people watch. Being a red-blooded American boy, I'm usually girl-watching, but as someone who has always loved to draw, I enjoy looking at everybody. And that's why I'm inviting you to time-travel to Atlantic City in 1937 with me. We're mostly gonna people-watch on the boardwalk.

By the way, the only reason we're going to that time and place is because I just found this wonderful photo on the Duke University site. There are many images there, intended for study, of the R.C. Maxwell advertising company. So let's look studious! But really, we're doing this just for fun.

As someone who has taken a lot of photos in my day, the first question I always ask is "point of view", that is, where the photographer was standing. And since this is our point of view, and we're well above the hats of the men in front of us I'm going to assume that we're standing on something. Of course, the photographer could have been seven feet tall, but it's not likely. So let's look out at the people walking by.


There's just so much wonderful detail in this photo that it's hard to know where to begin, so let's just start with the two young men in the foreground. I was surprised to see what they were wearing, and I really have no idea if it's the latest fashion or if these guys dressed in the dark. The collar over the lapels looks very '70s to me, and the sweater with the of the man walking towards us is either something that he thinks looks great, or maybe his grandma gave it to him. And note the detail on the cart, you can even read the name - Shill. I suppose I could Google that and find out more.


Let's look at the women. My eye is caught by the black lady there with the newspaper, although now she'd probably just be carrying her smart phone. The woman in the center of the photo looks to our modern eyes as if she were talking on her phone, but of course she wouldn't be, it was 1937. She just probably raised her hand to her face just when the photo was taken, just like the guy there who seems to be scratching his nose. After all, they weren't posing, this was just a candid shot! And how about those two stylish women in the cart there - I don't know anything about women's fashion, but my best guess is that they were very fashionable!


The detail in this photo is just amazing, and there are two reasons for it. First, it was taken with a large format camera with a long exposure, and secondly, the nice people at the Duke University did an awesome high-resolution scan. Most of the old photos that I see on the internet are low resolution, which is a shame, because so much is lost from the original photo. Looking at the clothes, white seemed to be a popular color, which means that this is before Labor Day, right? You ladies out there would know! The man in the dark shirt with the white slacks is wearing his tie the right length for the era, I know that, but it just looks so wrong nowadays.


And here's what it's all about: advertising. And there was a LOT of it along the boardwalk. Frank Buck was a famous "bring 'em back alive" explorer, and people back then, as now, like to use the same products that celebrities do. Apparently you could be as cool as him if you smoked the same cigarette that he did. And there's the R.C. Maxwell billboard, presumably waiting for a client to fill the space.


As far as I know, all of these buildings are long-gone, but if you know otherwise, please tell me and I'll update this post. Thank you for people-watching with in in Atlantic City in 1937!

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