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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.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 "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-272711).jpg "English Boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Posing in Training Togs with a Speed Bag by William Davis Hassler")
_posing_in_training_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-272711).jpg)
_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)
_Ji_-_(MeisterDrucke-251946).jpg "Group portrait of English boxer William Thomas Wells (Bombardier Billy Wells), Jim Maloney, and")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler in straw hat and overalls, carrying fishing pole and basket, posed in the woods with a small dog (Bessie) by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "K.E. Barry Squatter")
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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 "Prescott Cottage Fire at Night, Inwood Hill 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 "Sign for the Palace Restaurant, W. 28th Street, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Northern border of New York City at Broadway at 263rd Street, looking south, June 8, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group portrait of unidentified little girls, probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx by William Davis Hassler")
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_and_ted_-_(MeisterDrucke-181554).jpg "Harriet E. Hassler and William Gray Hassler, seated with tabby cat (Reddy) and teddy bear, c.1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Illuminated Sign for the Winter Garden Theater")
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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 of Little Girls Posed on the")
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.jpg "The Jefferson Theatre, New York City, January 6, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Travelling Cranes, Pennsylvania Rail Road, Greenville, N. Y. 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 "Outdoor performance of")
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.jpg "Unidentified Sewer Workers Pose Above Ground, New York 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 "Unidentified branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, New York, c.1910 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 "Lit Up Store Fronts Advertising Smith")
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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 "Evangelist Committee Lesson at Mrs. Bostick")
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.jpg "Bathers at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two patients being examined, Dentist")
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.jpg "View along the Boardwalk from Beach 125th Street, Belle Harbor, Queens 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 a Girls")
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.jpg "Evangelistic Society children")
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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 "Members of the Salvation Army relief corps about to depart for the Dayton, Ohio flood by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Family poses beside their backyard vegetable garden, Inwood, New York, c.1910 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 "Western Union office sign at W. 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, New York City, April 28, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Docks and Boats on Unidentified Waterfront, Possibly Harlem River, Inwood, New York by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Italian Signs Outside the Thalia Theater, 46 Bowery, New York City, March 1916 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 "William Gray Hassler Asleep with His Teddy Bear by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Illuminated Marquee for the Rialto Theater, New York City, January 6, 1917 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Portrait of")
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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 "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 "Cows resting under a tree, probably the McCready Farm, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Seven Children Pose in Front of an Unidentified Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, New York, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "View of lane leading to water, 86th Street Park lane to the East River, New York City, July 31, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two Unidentified Boys Pose Aiming Pistols, July 1915 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 "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 "High-angle view of Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, September 2, 1914 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Worker fitting a piece of a casket lid, Oneida, New York, April 3, 1916 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 Alone, August 20, 1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Two Children Play with Wood Scraps in Shallows, Coney Island, c.1910-21 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "63 Downing Street, New York City, February 18, 1916 by William Davis Hassler")
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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 "Beach Scene, Coney Island by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified construction site, April 25, 1914 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 "Subway Sun, May 25, 1920 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "New York Public Library and Bryant Park by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Group of little girls posed on a small stage holding fans, probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx, c.1911 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Outdoor portrait shot of an unidentified little girl in a white dress by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Children with a Dog and Puppy Gathered Around a Rope Swing at the McCready Farm, Pennsylvania 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 "Seven Unidentified Men Pose Near a River or Lake by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Aerial view of the Polo Grounds by William Davis Hassler")
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 Harriet E Hassler (operating sewing machine) and Reddy (cat) in the dining area of 150 Vermilyea Avenue Apartment 44 New York City c19 - (MeisterDrucke-175971).jpg "Ethel Gray Magaw Hassler, William Gray Hassler, Harriet E. Hassler and Reddy in the Dining Area of 150 Vermilyea Avenue, Apartment 44, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
 Harriet E Hassler (operating sewing machine) and Reddy (cat) in the dining area of 150 Vermilyea Avenue Apartment 44 New York City c19 - (MeisterDrucke-175971).jpg)
.jpg "Unidentified informal group portrait at a picnic, c.1910 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified funeral chapel interior with casket and flowers, decorated for Octavio Davis by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Interior View of the 95th Street Market Looking South, New York City, October 22, 1915 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 "Small Girls Pose in and in Front of a Horse-Drawn Wagon, in Front of an Unidentified Building, Probably the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Kingsbridge, Bronx by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Outdoor Portrait Shot of Four Children by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Unidentified man loading milk on to horse-drawn cart parked over railroad tracks outside the McCready farm, Pennsylvania, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Harriet E. Hassler with a group of young women, 206 W. 13th Street, New York by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "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 "Bease group portrait: men, women, children, and small dog 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 "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 "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 "Sign for Lawson Pianos, 372 E. 149th Street, New York City by William Davis Hassler")
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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 "Illuminated marquee for")
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.jpg "William Gray Hassler in straw hat and overalls, posed seated in the woods with a small dog (Bessie) by William Davis Hassler")
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.jpg "Harriet E. Hassler with a group of young women, 206 W. 13th Street 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 "Quinn family group portrait 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 "Children Seated, Listening 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 "Illuminated Signs in Times Square, New York City, 1917 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 "View of the Boardwalk and Beach from Curley")
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.jpg "Toddler")
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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 "Cows resting under a tree, probably the McCready Farm, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, c.1913 by William Davis Hassler")
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