Cynthia Brenwall
Happy Birthday, Calvert Vaux!
Kenneth Cobb
Demonstrations, Disturbances, and a Papal ...
Robert Garber
Tracts, Farms, and the Great Reindexing Project ...
NYC Municipal Archives
Happy Thanksgiving
Kenneth Cobb
Birthday Greetings, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge!

WPA

Preserving the Ghosts of New York City

New York City loves its holiday seasons. Whether it is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Lunar New Year, or the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center, New Yorkers participate in major seasonal celebratory touchstone events. Halloween is no exception, and what better pastime to celebrate the scariest season than to share ghost stories?

This week For the Record highlights stories of the paranormal recorded by the WPA Federal Writers’ Project in the 1930s. Housed at the Municipal Archives the WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection contains a wealth of material that examine multiple facets of New York City life. Established in 1935, the Federal Writers’ Project was an important wing of the overall WPA. It employed an army of writers to document, publish, and preserve the local histories of every state and territory. New York City, like other major cities, received its own specific guide from the project as well. The Municipal Archives is fortunate to house many of the working files of the writers assigned to document New York City.

The Walton House, Pearl Street, New York. Valentine’s Manual, 1857. NYC Municipal Library.

Researchers familiar with the Municipal Archives may have already used elements of this collection in their studies. The WPA Federal Writers’ Project conducted the Church Records Survey, a very popular resource for researchers, but this only represents a small portion of the entire collection. Totaling 64 series and roughly 165 cubic feet, the entire collection is a valuable source of ethnographic, sociological, and cultural content. One series is particularly relevant to this season.

Series 28 of the Federal Writers’ project is titled “Look Behind You (Psychic Phenomenon) 1937-1938.” The records contain information on various aspects of the history and study of psychic phenomena and folklore in the United States, particularly in New York City and environs. Research on demonology, famous spiritualists, ghosts, haunted houses, psychic painting and photography, Native American spiritualism and folklore, witchcraft and other aspects of psychic research is included. The records document the efforts to assemble the information for both a popular historical and contemporary account of the study of psychic phenomena and folklore in the US. A draft manuscript was produced but there is no evidence that it was ever published.

Walton House, Sitting Room, 2nd Story. Valentine’s Manual of 1857, NYC Municipal Library.

The first highlighted story recounts the tale of an ill-fated sea captain named Guilford Walton. He was a resident of the Walton House in Franklin Square in lower Manhattan. He was a mysterious man, but residents of the house claimed he was a respectable individual. However, the captain soon began to mysteriously, much like his arrival, waste away.

It appears there was some “entity” hunting the unfortunate captain. Who knows what truly happened to Guilford Walton on that fateful night? Did the hard years at sea finally take their toll on the ex-sailor, or was there truly something hunting him? Additionally, what happened to the creature if it did exist? Despite the efforts of Walton’s comrades, the suspect was never caught. The Walton House and Franklin Square no longer exist so potentially the creature’s lair was demolished as well, or it possibly found a new home somewhere else in Manhattan?

The undead are not the only creatures who stalk the night. Some New Yorkers have seen more insidious creatures that are truly demonic in nature. Take the account of Thomas Flarity. He was a gardener on an estate near Fort Schuyler in what is now The Bronx. Flarity happened upon a fellow traveler late one night who happened to be looking for a gardener.   

It is fortunate that Flarity had more sense than Faust. While he was initially tempted to do so, he ultimately rejected the Devil’s deal and escaped with his soul intact.

This incident is not the only time a fiendish creature was spotted in the boroughs. In Staten Island there was a truly frightening patron who chose the famous Bull’s Head Tavern as its preferred haunt.

The Bull’s Head Tavern had attracted many famous visitors over its years of operation, but perhaps its most famous visitor was also its most infamous?

The Revolutionary War provides a connecting theme among the stories within series 28. There is a common notion that ghosts linger around sites of trauma and suffering. War is no exception and many haunted sites around the New York area are linked to that war. The most famous spirit cursed to haunt the area is the Headless Horseman of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but there is another deadly Hessian that haunted New York.  

These stories represent only a portion of what the WPA Writers’ recorded. There are many more tales of hauntings, ghosts, and other paranormal activities within the collection.

From For the Record, have a Happy Halloween!

“See You in New York Over the Weekend”

On September 1, 1942, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia issued a press release appealing to New Yorkers to “avail themselves of existing recreational facilities in New York City over the Labor Day weekend.”  He explained that the upcoming holiday “will be our first war-time Labor Day. Because of war conditions, transportation is difficult for everyone.”  LaGuardia continued, “I, therefore, am taking this opportunity to remind all residents … that New York City offers the greatest recreational facilities to be found anywhere in the world.” 

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage month. In recognition of this tribute, For the Record is showcasing manuscripts and photographs documenting some communities in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) Collection. The May 14, 2021 blog Documenting the New Deal recounted the history of New York’s Unit of the FWP. It described how the draft manuscripts and photographs had been prepared for 64 books, only a handful of which were published, notably the New York City Guide, and New York Panorama.

Manilla Restaurant, 47 Sands Street, Brooklyn, NY, November 19, 1938. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection, Federal Art Project photograph. Photographer: Pollard. NYC Municipal Archives.

One of the more notable research endeavors of the NYC FWP were studies of the dozens of ethnic groups and communities that made up the city’s population. Then, as now, New Yorkers came from around the world—Armenia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland, Egypt, Syria, Turkey—to name just a few counties. The list of countries also included several Asian Pacific nations—China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.   

For each group or community, the WPA staff researched and wrote articles on a range of subjects, typically “present distribution in New York,” customs and costumes, history, literature, music, religions, holidays, etc.

Friends of China Parade, Chinatown, December 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection, Federal Art Project photograph. Photographer: Hawes. NYC Municipal Archives.

Friends of China Parade, Chinatown, December 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection. Photographer:  Hawes. NYC Municipal Archives.

It appears that this research was primarily intended for their signature publication, The New York City Guide. The Chinese communities in New York received fairly extensive treatment. There are seventeen folders in the collection containing articles on contributions to American culture, occupations and professions, politics, publications, in addition to the topics listed above. The Guide editors distilled this research into four pages for the section on Lower Manhattan, under the sub-head “Chinatown.” It begins with the story of “...the first Chinese known to have visited New York... Pung-hua Wing Chong, who arrived in 1807,” and goes on to describe increasing Chinese migration to New York until imposition of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Pell and Mott Streets, Chinatown, June 1938. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection.  Photographer: Treistman. NYC Municipal Archives.

The passage continues with a description of holidays celebrated in the community, local customs, and a lengthy discussion of popular stores, restaurants and menu items. “Chop suey came into existence in Chicago in 1896... literally translated the name means ‘hodge-podge.’ As prepared by restaurants in Chinatown the dish is far superior to that served in drug stores and cafeterias.”

Shop interior, Chinatown, June 1938. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection. Photographer: Treistman. NYC Municipal Archives.

Looking at the coverage of another of the Asian Pacific nations, the Philippines, provides an interesting contrast. A total of three folders apparently sufficed, although maybe not surprising given the relatively small population of Filipinos in the City at that time. The following is one of the articles:

“The Filipinos of New York

Few of the Filipinos who enter the United States come to New York City; most of them settle in West Coast cities. There are 2,000 in New York, about four percent of the country’s Filipino population. Small colonies have developed in the neighborhood of Second Avenue between Thirteenth and Sixteenth Streets, and on Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Streets between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. Some Filipinos are established in Brooklyn and the district around Sands, Concord, and Nassau Streets, and along Columbia and Hamilton Avenues in South Brooklyn.

Since the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935, Filipinos, whose former status was that of American “national” – neither citizens nor aliens – have been classed as aliens, and only 50 a year may enter the United States.

The Filipino American Restaurant at 132 East Sixty-Fifth Street is the only Filipino eating place in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn there are two: the Manila Restaurant at 47 Sands Street, and the Sunrise Restaurant at 67 Sands Street. Favorite native dishes served in these places are adobon baboy—pork fried in garlic and soy sauce—and fish soups such as sinigang isda and sinigang visaya.

Most Filipinos here are Roman Catholics. About 100 belong to the Interdenominational Church at 209 Concord Street, Brooklyn. The only Filipino paper published in the city is The Filipino Student Bulletin, organ of the Filipino Students Christian Movement of 347 Madison Avenue. There are, however, 21 Filipino social and athletic organizations in New York.”

Manilla Restaurant, 47 Sands Street, Brooklyn, NY, November 19, 1938. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection, Federal Art Project photograph. Photographer: Pollard. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Filipino article, much reduced, did appear in the Guide, in the section on the Navy Yard District: “…Around Sands and Washington Streets is a colony of Filipinos; native food, extremely rare in the eastern part of the United States is served in a Filipino restaurant at 47 Sands Street. Among the favorites …mixta (beans and rice), and such tropical fruits as mangoes and pomelos, the latter a kind of orange as large as a grapefruit.” 

Manilla Restaurant, 47 Sands Street, Brooklyn, NY, November 19,1938. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection, Federal Art Project photograph. Photographer: Pollard. NYC Municipal Archives.

In 1993, the National Endowment for the Humanities supported processing and microfilming the WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection. Readers are welcome to explore the collection guide and visit the Municipal Archives to research this rich and varied collection.

Sabbath Studies, the Arnold Eagle Interview

In 1980, curator Barbara Millstein conducted interviews and corresponded with several surviving staff members of the New York City unit of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project (FWP). The knowledge she gained helped prepare interpretive materials for the Department of Records & Information Services’ exhibition “NYC Work and Work: WPA Photographs.” Recent blogs highlighted Ms. Millstein’s interview transcript with  Clifford Sutcliffe and correspondence with Ralph De Sola. Both served as photographers for the FWP. This week, in the final installment of this series, we are reproducing the notes from her interview with photographer Arnold Eagle.   

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Arnold Eagle was part of a generation of Hungarian emigrees who were influential in photography including Robert Capa, Cornell Capa, André Kertész, Brassaï, László Moholy-Nagy and Martin Munkácsi. Although not nearly as well known as his contemporaries, Eagle was significant in his own right as a photographer and photo-educator. Eagle was born December 14, 1909, in Stryi, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was later incorporated into Poland before becoming part of Ukraine in 1939.

Eagle emigrated to the United States with his family in 1929. He took up photography soon after and was a member of the Film and Photo League in New York, and then the social justice-oriented Photo League. In 1937, he joined the WPA as a photographer and worked with both the Federal Art Project and the Federal Writers’ Project. He also photographed for the Public Works Administration (PWA), another New Deal program.

Eagle is best known for a book of portraits of the Orthodox Jewish community on the Lower East Side, which was published posthumously by Aperture in 1992 as At Home Only with God. Many images from this project are included in the Archives’ FWP photograph collection.

The following is a summary of Barbara Millstein’s interview conducted with Arnold Eagle on January 31, 1980.

Eagle said that he was on the project for about two years, from 1938 to 1939, but he has some records that indicate that he was on from 1937 [many of the prints from his “Sabbath Studies” project are marked “Jan-Mar 1937”]. After he left the WPA he became head of the photography project at the National Youth Administration.

Eagle said that he was one of the non-relief workers. A Mr. Vincintini, his first supervisor, liked Eagle’s work (a series of photographs on the 3rd Ave. El) and asked him to be part of the project. About 20 or 30 people worked in the photography division. Very few of the photographers did creative work. They mostly photographed paintings, murals, and models. They photographed work for the Index of American Design, and did publicity shots for other WPA agencies, as well as some creative work.

WPA publicity. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Eagle seems to have done a little of everything, but he most clearly remembers two creative projects. The first was a series on housing, with Dave Robbins. This took about six months. He photographed slums and also some of the same people after they moved into new public housing [Eagle was probably referring to the Williamsburg Houses, which were built as a PWA project. The photographs are uncredited, but the Municipal Archives’ collections include “before” shots from 1935, and “after” shots from 1937, which might be by Eagle and Robbins.]

Eagle has a book of photographs (and also the negatives) titled ‘One Third of a Nation: A Social Document, by Arnold Eagle.’ Some of the stills were used in the film, One Third of a Nation. The photographs were also exhibited at the Federal Art Gallery. He has no recollection of these or other photographs being used in the Federal Writers’ Project books. He thinks that the Citizens Housing Council had something to do with his work, but not sure exactly what. [One Third of a Nation was a still photograph project by Photo League photographers Eagle, Sol Libsohn and David Robbins from 1935 to 1937 documenting New York City slum conditions. It was made into a 1938 play and a 1939 film by the WPA Federal Theatre Project.]

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

His second creative project was Sabbath Studies. He has postcards done recently which reproduce these photographs, dated 1937. He had his own equipment (Speed Graphic and Roloflex cameras), but he remembers that the WPA had equipment as well, although he thinks he used his own equipment when he did his creative work. The WPA provided the other supplies (which he says were plentiful) and darkrooms as well, where he would develop his own work. He feels that he “learned a great deal from his work, even his copying work.” In general, he felt that it was a “helpful and creative kind of thing.” He had great pride in his work and enjoyed doing his work. He had a great deal of respect for the whole WPA as representing a great cultural awakening for America. He and others were trying to get away from Salon Photography, which was considered conservative, and a phony painter tradition.

He felt that photography was communication, and he came out of a documentary tradition, although many of the photographers on the WPA felt like news reporters covering assignments. He had earlier been a portrait photographer, but was always interested in documentary photography. 

After the WPA, Eagle took photographs for Fortune and The Saturday Evening Post magazines and worked with Roy Stryker for Standard Oil of New Jersey. He later became a cinematographer and taught filmmaking and photography at the New School for Social Research from 1955 until shortly before his death in 1992.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sabbath Studies, 1937. Photograph by Arnold Eagle, WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Ralph De Sola, WPA Photographer

Ralph De Sola, Editor and Photographer, WPA Federal Writers’ Project, 1940. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The recent blog Because He Had a Camera, featured an interview with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project photographer Clifford Sutcliffe. The interview transcript was filed in the records of Barbara Millstein, curator of the Department of Records & Information Services’ exhibition NYC Work and Working: WPA Photographs. Opened in September 1980, it displayed more than 130 images from the Municipal Archives’ WPA Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) photograph collection. Ms. Millstein’s files also contained correspondence with another FWP photographer and editor, Ralph De Sola. This week’s blog reproduces De Sola’s letter to Millstein, and highlights seven of his photographs. A future blog will feature Ms. Millstein’s interview with FWP photographer Arnold Eagle. These materials add valuable knowledge about the FWP and the provenance of one of the most appealing and enduring collections in the Municipal Archives.

Ralph De Sola to Barbara Head Millstein, March 4, 1980. NYC Municipal Archives

As noted in his letter, De Sola sent Ms. Millstein a selection of photographs he took for various FWP book projects including The Maritime History of New York, Who’s Who in the Zoo, Birds of the World, Reptiles and Amphibians, and American Wildlife Illustrated. The pictures he sent were appended to the original FWP collection that had been transferred to the Municipal Library by the FWP at the conclusion of the project in 1943. (The Municipal Archives, an offshoot of the Municipal Library, was established in 1950 and many collections were transferred from the Library at that time.)

The inventory of the Archives’ FWP photograph collection lists 103 images created by Ralph De Sola. Of these, twenty-four have been digitized and are available in the gallery. 

American Eagle, photograph for American Wildlife Illustrated. ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Old wooden three-story house under the bridge, Water and Dock Street, Brooklyn side, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brooklyn Piers near Fulton Street, December 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Artist, Jack Nelson, with animal paintings, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Printing press, Brooklyn Museum, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

WPA Bookbinder, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

“What We Have Done,” book covers newspapers, reviews, Harry Hopkins quotation, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Display of WPA guidebooks at Macy's, ca. 1937. Ralph De Sola, photographer. WPA Federal Writers’ Project photograph collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Clarence Ralph De Sola was born at 64 West 88th Street in New York City on July 26, 1908. His post-WPA career included technical writing and editing. From 1955 to 1968, he taught technical English in the San Diego Unified Colleges. He authored several books including Abbreviations Dictionary, Crime Dictionary, A Dictionary of Cooking, and Worldwide What & Where: A Geographic Glossary & Traveler’s Guide.  He died June 8, 1993 in California.

“Because He Had a Camera,” the Clifford Sutcliffe WPA Interview

Fruit Seller, Manhattan, ca. 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

On September 3, 1980, the Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) opened its first exhibition as a new agency, “NYC Work and Working: WPA Photographs.” The exhibition was installed in the lobby at 31 Chambers Street. One year previously the executive and administrative offices of DORIS had moved from 23 Park Row into the first floor of the Surrogate’s Court building. The Municipal Archives relocated from Park Row to the Tweed Courthouse pending completion of renovations to the basement level of the building.  

The exhibition featured more than 130 images from the Municipal Archives’ WPA Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) photograph collection. Curated by Barbara Head Millstein, the exhibit was funded by a New York State Council for the Humanities grant. Ms. Millstein was a curator at the Brooklyn Museum and a special assistant to Archives’ Director Idilio Gracia-Pena.

To prepare for the exhibit, Ms. Millstein located several surviving photographers from the New York City Unit of the FWP, including Sol Libsohn, Esther Mipass, and David Robbins. She interviewed two photographers, Clifford Sutcliffe and Arnold Eagle, and corresponded with another, Ralph DeSola. Millstein’s interview notes add valuable knowledge about the FWP and the provenance of one of the most appealing and enduring collections in the Municipal Archives.

Waterfront scene, Manhattan, ca. 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. Photographer:  Clifford Sutcliffe. NYC Municipal Archives.

In this week’s blog we are reproducing Ms. Millstein’s notes from the Clifford Sutcliffe interview; a future blog will feature the Arnold Eagle interview and the correspondence with Ralph DeSola.

Clifford Sutcliffe lived at 41 Morton Street, in Greenwich Village. Barbara Millstein and Kenneth Cobb, then an assistant archivist at the Municipal Archives, interviewed him in his home on February 1, 1980. The following are the interview notes.

“Clifford Sutcliffe had no formal training in photography, but from the time he was five years old (he is now 74) he was involved in photography. There were always cameras and darkrooms in his home.

Sutcliffe joined the Federal Writers Project in late December 1935. His job was to rewrite material that reporters brought in for various FWP books. He remembers working on the Almanac for New Yorkers. Another FWP work was a series of books about animals which Ralph De Sola edited.  

Feeding Pigeons, Manhattan, ca. 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sutcliffe was asked at various times to go out and take a few specific shots which were needed for the books. It seems that he was asked because he was interested in photography and he had a camera. He was the photo editor of the book Who’s Who in the Zoo which De Sola edited.

Accordion player, Manhattan, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

At some point early on the FWP felt the need to have a formal photographic unit, mostly to help with the finances so that they could purchase film, developer, developer tanks, etc. Bobby Edwards was appointed the Senior Supervisor and given the job of running the unit, although he probably didn’t do any photography. Sutcliffe and another man (he can’t remember who) did the work.

Sutcliffe was paid about $22.00 per week and later was made the Supervisor at $27.00 per week, but he worked fewer hours. For two books, Who’s Who in the Zoo and Reptiles and Amphibians he worked under De Sola and had direction. They visited all the zoos and took many photographs, although in the end they used mostly those photographs they received from the N.Y. Zoological Society. He also did the end papers on these books.  

For the most part, though, there was no direction from above. Sutcliffe would roam around the city, but what he would photograph was his decision. The general idea was to “show contemporary life.” One way that he would work would be to take a street like 14th Street. He would start on the west end of 14th St. and take six photographs on each side of each block all the way over to the East River. He did this on several streets, and specifically remembers Washington Square and 19th Street, in addition to 14th Street. His idea was to “try to reproduce the way that the ordinary person in New York City lived.” 

Salvation Army sidewalk stand, Manhattan, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

He also said that “the city is going to change, and a house-to-house view of each street would be valuable.” He was also “interested in showing what it was so that when it became there would be some record of it.” He tried to capture people; he was not interested in pure architectural photography, but he tried “to show the relationship between the architecture and people and city change.”

Sidewalk Santa, Manhattan, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

He also tried to pick up signs of the times such as the outside of a barbershop with haircut 10¢, etc., and to show what people were wearing. All-in-all, he thinks he took thousands of photographs.

He also did a lot of photography of WPA people at work, especially in the theatre and indoors of WPA white collar personnel. He thinks, though, that 90% of his photographs were outdoors. 

There were a maximum of three people taking photographs for the Writers’ Project. He used his own camera and enlarger and they bought the paper, film, developer etc. He did most of his developing and printing [in his] facilities at home. There was no real darkroom at the FWP. There were very ad hoc arrangements for photographers.

He used a Zeiss Contax camera, 1:1,5, 35mm. He still has the camera. He says that in its day this was the best camera, and that in the 1930s very few people used 35mm cameras. Also, at that time the fastest film was 20 ASA. He would generally photograph and develop his film on the same day. He has a great number of “record prints” (4" x 6") in his home.

May Day Demonstration, Union Square Park, 1938. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

WPA Federal Writers’ Project staff on picket-line, Manhattan, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

He left the Project in about 1937, after the Dies Committee subpoenaed his photos because they wanted to show evidence of Communist Party influence in the FWP.  He had taken a good many photographs of people in sit-ins and other demonstrations. [The Dies Committee was a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, more commonly known as the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).]

Bus interior, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sutcliffe believed that the WPA projects made a great contribution to the cultural life of the United States by conserving artists’ skills and also making those skills available to the public at a price that they could afford. For him personally he improved his skills tremendously, and actually learned a skill. He had been an amateur photographer and in the course of the project he became a professional.  He continued to be a professional photographer after he left the Project.

He had one opportunity to exhibit his work in a branch library. They asked for 36 8” x 10” prints but he never learned what happened to those photographs.”  

Foley Square, Manhattan, 1937. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The inventory of the Archives’ FWP photograph collection lists 160 images created by Clifford Sutcliffe. In addition to his pictures for Who’s Who in the Zoo, he photographed a wide range of subjects such as bridges, churches, libraries, and government buildings. The collection also includes photographs documenting the “contemporary life” in NYC that he discussed in his interview.  Many of these images can be found in the “People, Local Color, Scenes About Town,” “Street Scenes,” and “Waterfront” categories in the collection. There are also images of his FWP colleagues in their offices and on strike. Only two Sutcliffe pictures are included in the selected images from the WPA FWP photograph collection available in the online gallery.

Clifford V. M. Sutcliffe was born in London, England, on November 8, 1905, and emigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1911. He died in October, 1986.