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Photos: Behind That 1920s Selfie Taken On A NYC Rooftop
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 10, 2014
Modified Mar 10, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 10, 2014
Modified Mar 10, 2014
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A couple of years ago we unearthed this old 1920s-era selfie in the MCNY archives:
Courtesy of the MCNY
The photo was taken in 1920 on a New York City rooftop, and while we originally thought this was at 285 Fifth Avenue, between 30th and 31st Streets, it's noted (on the below, new-to-us photo) that St. Patrick's Cathedral is in the background, so it was further uptown. The caption reads: "Five photographers posing together for a photograph on the roof of Marceau's Studio, while Joseph Byron holds one side of the camera with his right hand and Ben Falk holds the other side with his left hand." When we took selfies, we had to use two people's hands to hold the camera steady.
Courtesy of the MCNY
The above shot, capturing how this was done, was just included in the MCNY's post about the photographer's relationship with New York City. In the piece, they note: "Occupational self-portraits proclaim a new profession independent from tradition. Images of photographers taken by photographers illustrate a developing self-awareness, an inventiveness and an introspection at once calculating and as casual as the experience of noticing one’s reflection in a shop window." This particular shot features Uncle Joe Byron, Pirie MacDonald, Colonel Marceau, Pop Core, and Ben Falk... who didn't have any social media to share their experiment on.
Of course, it wasn't in New York that the First Ever Selfie was taken (though will we ever really know?)—Robert Cornelius took one in Philly in 1839, and teenage Russian princess Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova took one in 1914.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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