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On the date

Monday, May 31, 1909

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Tactile

The heavy wool of my herringbone jacket chafes against my neck as I crouch for the shot, my fingers tracing the slick, laminated finish of the Rook cards discarded in the gutter. Gadzooks, the midday sun glints off the polished brass of a passing motorcar, highlighting the stiff starch of the gentleman’s high collar and the abrasive grit of the New York pavement. I find myself whistling "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet" to drown out the somber murmurs regarding poor Mrs. Cunningham, my thumb pressing the shutter just as a woman in heavy mourning crepe brushes past. The smell of scorched bread from a nearby window hangs thick, mingling with the metallic tang of the harbor breeze.

Memories from that day

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Best-selling Sheet Music

Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet

Percy Wenrich

The must-have

Rook (Card Game)

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

bullyfit as a fiddleblockhead

Aristocrat

capitalmy wordbally

Working Class

gadzooksblimeychump

Catchphrases of 1909

  • Peary to the Pole

Tech Check

Toaster, Silencer for Guns & Instant Coffee.

Cost of Living (1900)

Loaf of Bread

$0.05

Gallon of Gas

$0.10

Average Home

$3,200

New Car

$1,000

Time Elapsed

42,739 days ago

(117 years, 34 days)