Description:

19th Century New York
Flushing, NY, ca. 1880s-90s
NY Crime Harry Hill's Notorious 1880s Establishments, 3 Photographs
Archive
A group of three photographs depicting establishments of notorious sportsman and saloonkeeper Harry Hill (1827-1896), Flushing, New York, ca. 1880-90s. Ranging in size from 8" x 10.5" to 11" x 14". Each image shows a different one of Hill's many businesses, identified as Harry Hill's Steamboat Hotel, Road House, and Shed, respectively. Featuring handwritten captions on verso throughout, with one exhibiting a mounted backstamp from G. H. Gardner, Out Door Photographer. With varying degrees of uneven soiling, moderate creasing, and foxing to image surfaces; areas of evident mounting residue present. Slight loss to mounts throughout. Good to fair overall- scarce depictions of the underbelly of Gilded Age New York!

Provenance: Accompanied by a postcard addressed to Forest H. Sweet, dated May 25, 1935.

Harry Hill was an English-born American businessman, sportsman, and saloonkeeper whose establishments were regular meeting places for gamblers and politicians, as well as members of New York City's criminal underworld during the late 19th century. The most famous of these was his Bowery gambling resort located on West Houston Street east of Broadway, and was long considered "one of the sights of the metropolis" from the 1850s until its close in 1886. Hill eventually owned a number of businesses including two high class hotels in Queens, in addition to several steamboats which carried both freight and passengers between Flushing and New York City.

We are proud to include items consigned by the Manuscript Society in this auction. These items come from the estate of well-known manuscript dealers Forest G. & Forest H. Sweet and Julia Sweet Newman. Forest G. Sweet was an early leader of the Manuscript Society as well as a rare book scholar. The proceeds from your purchase of these items will benefit the work of the Manuscript Society. You can learn more about them, and become a member of the Manuscript Society, at www.manuscript.org.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Provenance: Postcard to Forest H. Sweet.
  • Dimensions: 11" x 14" (largest)
  • Medium: Archive

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March 12, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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