The Woodchuck Sunning

Chicago, 
1877-1881

The annual game dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago was a nationally-renowned event in the late nineteenth century. Featuring every conceivable species of game, there were dishes like ham of black bear, leg of elk, loin of moose, and buffalo tongue. Small forest animals appeared on the menu as broiled rabbit and ragout of squirrel à la Francaise. Dozens of roasted fowl were at hand, including Blue-billed Widgeons, Red-winged Starlings, and “Sand Peeps,” slang for any one of the five smallest North American sandpipers, the tiny shorebirds that once flitted along our beaches in large numbers. Ornamental dishes with fanciful names, such as “The Coon at Home” and “Woodchuck Sunning,” completed the yearly spectacle.

Liberty Enlightening the World

New York City, 
1885-1986

The 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty was recognized this year by the issuance of a “forever” stamp. However, it turned into an embarrassment after it was discovered that the new stamp was based on a photograph of a half-size replica which stands in front of the New York-New York Casino in Las Vegas. Making matters worse, the U.S. Post Office decided to stick with the new stamp anyway, explaining, “We still love the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway…Our track record is excellent for this as far as we’re concerned.”

Dante’s Pullman

New York City, ca. 1935

Dating back to the late 1860s, the three-story townhouse at 59 Charles Street in Greenwich Village is considered notable because so much of the building is original. When the historic residence was sold in 1967, the New York Times reported that Miss Emma Gerdes had lived in the house for eighty-two years.1 Having moved there with her family in 1884 when she was eight years old, she never left, staying long after her brothers moved away and her parents died. During all those years, she kept the house almost exactly the same, slowly turning it into a time capsule, until she had died the previous year. The Times dutifully informed its readers that there had been a few small changes—the large metal chandelier hanging from the hand-painted ceiling in the parlor was converted from gas to electricity, and new wallpaper was hung in the stairwell in 1923. In more recent years, subsequent owners have meticulously maintained the original details, confining most of the improvements to systems hidden inside the walls like plumbing, electrical systems, and air conditioning. Given its well-documented pedigree, it was surprising to discover something about this building that had been long forgotten—it had once housed an Italian restaurant.