1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. This is 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: gonna not be related exactly to what we're talking about today. 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: But Tracy, have you watched the documentary series Light and Magic? Okay, Well, 6 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: it's amazing. UM if you are a film dork and 7 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: you you love particularly VFX. Uh, it is about the 8 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: beginnings of industrial light and magic and how all of 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: those people really did, in their very very disorganized and 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: wonderful creative ways, UM, change the film industry. But that 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: is not at all what we're talking about today. We 12 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: bring this up because in one of his interviews, Richard Edlund, 13 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: who is one of the great uh forerunners of visual 14 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: effect X, at least in the modern era, mentioned himself 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: as a kid running around with a camera and he 16 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: I don't remember the exact quote, but he says, you know, 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: like looking like I was Wegi, and I was like, 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: oh I forgot I had Wegi on my list. Uh. Weigi, 19 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: if that name is not familiar to you, is a 20 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: fairly famous photographer. UM. He's often cited as having been 21 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: a really strong influence on the work of artists like 22 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: Dan Arbis and Andy Warhol, but on the on a 23 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,119 Speaker 1: bigger scale because he's pretty unique in that a lot 24 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: of people saw his work without knowing who he was, 25 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: and he was also getting attention from the art world. Uh. 26 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: He influenced the entire world really in how New York 27 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: City was viewed by people, both people who lived in 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: the city and people outside of it, because he really 29 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: showed the city through his lens in a way that 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: was very unvarnished and raw, in stark black and white. 31 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: So that is who we are talking about today. So 32 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: he's known as we G today. He was born Usher 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: Felic in Zulichev, which at the time was in Austria 34 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: Hungary now it's in Ukraine. That was on June twelf 35 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: and when he was seven, his father, Bernard left for 36 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: the United States, so Usher and his mother and his 37 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: three siblings stayed behind. They were there for the next 38 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: four years while Bernard was working on all kinds of jobs, 39 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: just trying to get settled enough that he could send 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: for the rest of the family and have them join 41 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: him in the US. At one point early on, he 42 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: sent his wife some stage money as a joke. She 43 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: initially thought it was real. I'm a little just irritated 44 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: by this story. Uh. She packed herself up at the 45 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: children and got ready for a move, and the bank 46 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: also initially thought this was real and exchanged this currency. 47 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: They figured it out though, before the family left for 48 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: the US and they had to cancel their move. Yeah, 49 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: I mean, uh, this is all based on of course, 50 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: we's later recollections, and he's known for kind of embellishment 51 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: and whatnot. But the way he describes the money, it 52 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: had some pretty key indicators that it was fake, like 53 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: a joker on the back and stuff, but like not 54 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: legal tender and right, and it wasn't like from a game. 55 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: It was like to be used in a play. It 56 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: was stage money, but apparently good enough to fool a bank. 57 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: But they did eventually make it in nineteen o six, 58 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: when Usher was still ten, the family was finally reunited. 59 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: At that point, Bernard had started a push cart of 60 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: his own to make money because he had just struggled 61 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: so much trying to get other people to give him 62 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: an opportunity that actually paid a decent living wage. This 63 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: was a lesson that I think you can see as 64 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: we talk about Wei's life story, it clearly imprinted on 65 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: his son, Usher, and in later years, Ogi wrote about 66 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: coming to the United States and said that Ellis Island 67 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: seemed quote the most beautiful place in the world, even 68 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: as immigration officials inspected him and his family to make 69 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: sure they weren't bringing disease into the country. But what 70 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: really struck this ten year old boy was being given 71 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 1: fresh fruit while he was there. He had never, he said, 72 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: seen a banana or an orange before. And his name 73 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: also changed at this point, at least on paper, to Arthur. 74 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: He does not appear to have ever gone by that name, 75 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: and his family certainly didn't use it, but in the 76 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:37,239 Speaker 1: United States and in biographies, she'll often see him listed 77 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: as Arthur Felik. The family moved soon after that from 78 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: Bernard's Lower East Side tenement apartment on Pitt Street to 79 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: another at the corner of Cherry and Jackson that was 80 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: right next to a public school, and his father had 81 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: negotiated for the family to live there for free because 82 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: he and his wife were going to do all the 83 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: buildings janitorial work. They still struggled financially, they were still 84 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: trying to learn English. They were often called out as oigners, 85 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: but we do described his family as having a pretty 86 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: happy time during this point in his life. Yeah, he's 87 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: he whether or not he is um glossing over it 88 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: or making it sound better than it was because he 89 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 1: talks about going hungry sometimes. He still talks about like 90 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: it was pretty carefree though for me, and I really 91 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: liked my childhood. As he was learning English, Usher at 92 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: the time became engrossed in the stories of Horatio Alger, 93 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: who famously popularized the rags to riches story in popular novels. 94 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: The young Fellig was convinced that he too could amass 95 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: wealth if he just worked hard enough, just like the 96 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: boys in the books. So he started his own paper 97 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: route just pretty enterprising. But the problem was he could 98 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: only get English language papers, and most of his neighbors 99 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: were immigrants to They could not read English well enough 100 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: to want to buy a daily paper, so that didn't 101 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: pan out. Usher moved on to reading detective novels and 102 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: transitioned his person no business to selling candy. He started 103 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: out by purchasing the candy on credit. He somehow talked 104 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: to a store manager into allowing him to do this, 105 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: and then he took the candy cart around to the 106 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: sweatshops in the neighborhood after school. He would sell things 107 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: like chocolate and chewing gum to the women who were 108 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: working in these sweatshops during their breaks. He reported making 109 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: a hundred percent profit from this enterprise, and he gave 110 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: all of his earnings to his parents to just keep 111 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: the family fed and clothed. When Usher was fourteen, he 112 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: quit school. He was a smart kid and he did 113 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: pretty well, but he found it very boring compared to 114 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: the rest of his life. He also was known to 115 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: sleep in and he would kind of sleep until he 116 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: heard the bell, and then, since he lived right next 117 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: door to the school, he would just kind of run over, 118 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: looking completely disheveled, and start his day. Although his principle 119 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: really tried to get him to finish school because he 120 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: was pretty smart, the family really needed more money than 121 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: he was pulling in with his after school candy car, 122 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: and he had already become fascinated with photography before he 123 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: had left school. A street photographer had taken his picture 124 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: with a tin type camera. Those were the cameras that 125 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: captured images on sheets of metal that had a dark 126 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: lacquer coating. This whole experience had really captivated him. He 127 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: saved up enough money to order his own inexpensive tin 128 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: type camera, so he did manage to get an eight 129 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: am to six pm job with a photography studio after 130 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 1: a few months of working with this tin type. He 131 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: definitely saw this as a way to continue his education 132 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: and learn from actual photographers. That studio specialized in taking 133 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: photographs of large objects that door to door salesman would 134 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: then use to make their pitches to potential buyers. It 135 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: of course, was not realistic to carry things like furniture, chandeliers, 136 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: and headstones around to make sales, and Ushered worked as 137 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: an assistant, positioning the products and the lights as directed, 138 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: and just trying to make everything look as good as 139 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: possible for these photos. He also ran errands. He swept 140 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: up after shoots. He did basically all of the jobs 141 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: that the lowest man on the ladder would be assigned. 142 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: The other area of specialty for this photography business was 143 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: taking photos of burned out buildings for insurance filings. Usher 144 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: was in charge at these shoots of blowing flash powder. 145 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: He described blowing the powder through a tube onto alcohol 146 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: soaked rags to ignite that powder and light up the photograph. 147 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: It's probably informed his later work doing a lot of 148 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: night photography. But for all of this work, some of 149 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: it pretty dangerous. The flash powder not always very safe 150 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: to be around. He made four fifty a week. So 151 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: two years and his job, the camera operator left and 152 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: Usher was promoted into that vacant position. When his boss 153 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: refused to pay him even half of what the previous 154 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: camera operator had made, Usher quit on the spot. This 155 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: might sound rash for somebody who was helping to support 156 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: his family, but Usher had a whole other income stream 157 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: because he was still selling candy on the side, although 158 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: his later work hours had led to him transitioning to 159 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: selling this candy at burlesque clubs instead of it factories. 160 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: And at this point Usher was eighteen, So he bought 161 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: himself of you camera and he started his first career 162 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: as a freelancer. And he was really really pretty smart. 163 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: You'll see throughout his story he's pretty savvy about business. Uh. 164 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,680 Speaker 1: He he kind of made his own customer base, so 165 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: he would take photographs of children on the weekends riding 166 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: a pony that he rented. Basically, he would just get 167 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: neighborhood kids and put him on this pony and take 168 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: their picture, and then once he had developed the proofs, 169 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: he would visit those kids parents, show them nose proofs, 170 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: and then be like, don't you want to order some prints. 171 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: He later wrote that he believed that there was not 172 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: a single East Side home that didn't have one of 173 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: his photos of a child on a pony sitting in it. 174 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,439 Speaker 1: But once boarding the pony outpaced his income, he had 175 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: to give that enterprise up. This is the time of 176 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: restlessness for Usher. He wanted to move out on his own. 177 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: Although this was painful for his family, they were really 178 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: close knit, it was upsetting to his mother. In particular, 179 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: she caught him trying to leave with a suitcase and 180 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: was so upset about it that he stayed. A few 181 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: weeks later, he sneaked away when the rest of the 182 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: family was asleep. This was a bold and kind of 183 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: foolhardy move. He didn't have money or a job or 184 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: a place to stay, so he was sleeping in parks 185 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 1: and missions, but eventually started spending the night at Pennsylvania Station. 186 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: He had a whole routine where every night he would 187 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 1: check the pay phones for loose change, and then he 188 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: would find a bench in the waiting room to sleep 189 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 1: on until police came to move people out in the morning. 190 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: We G wrote in his autobiography that he would tip 191 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: the officers a dime to let him sleep a little long. Younger, 192 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: he was finally able to find some work as a 193 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: bus boy in an automatic restaurant. This was part time work. 194 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: It was ten thirty am to two thirty pm, basically 195 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: to cover the lunch hours, but it also included a 196 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: light breakfast beforehand and then all the leftover unpurchased items 197 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 1: when lunch was over, as well as being paid a 198 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: dollar a day. This is a pretty good deal at 199 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: the time. He spent twenty five cents a night to 200 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: rent a room, and he spent the extra available time 201 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: looking for more photography jobs. He claimed that he eventually 202 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,199 Speaker 1: got himself fired from the automatic job on purpose because 203 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: he felt like as long as he stayed there he 204 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: was doing well enough that he was not working as 205 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,440 Speaker 1: hard as he should to get a photography job. We 206 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: don't really know if he got fired on purpose or 207 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: if he got fired because he did something actually wrong, 208 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: but he definitely lost the job. Uh And after that 209 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: he took some day labor jobs, mostly in factories, until 210 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: he found a job taking passport photos. He was really 211 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: good at this passport job because he managed to sell 212 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: people who only needed to photos for their travel documents 213 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: entire baggages of portraits for twenty five dollars each. Having 214 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: had multiple passport photos, I'm also impressed that they were 215 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: photos anyone would want to half of themselves, right, I 216 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: don't want more of those. His boss increased his salary 217 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: from fifteen dollars a week to forty dollars, and he 218 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,199 Speaker 1: described this period in his life is living it up. 219 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: He was a young man making great money, and he 220 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: partied a lot. But after three years of the job 221 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: at the Passport studio, twenty four year old Ushert took 222 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: a fifty percent pay cut to start working at ACME 223 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: News Pictures in and we will talk about Wegi's time 224 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 1: at ACNE after we first pause for a sponsor break. 225 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: We mentioned that we started at ACMEE New Pictures in 226 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 1: and that was the year that ACMEE had started. It 227 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: was a subsidiary of Scripps Howard and this was essentially 228 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: set up to be an in house source of imagery 229 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: for the scripts Howard News syndicate, including the New York 230 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: Herald Tribune, and Usher was hired to work in the 231 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: dark room, developing photos and making prints. He made it 232 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,959 Speaker 1: known that he wanted to be a photographer, but because 233 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: he was unwilling to agree to the dress code of 234 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: shirt and tie, he only got sent out on night jobs, 235 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: kind of an emergency situations. This actually aligned pretty nicely though, 236 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 1: with Usher's desires. He loved taking photos of New York's 237 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: night happenings, and a lot of his work on those 238 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: early assignments was taking pictures of fires. He was really 239 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: glad to be shooting more dynamic moments instead of things 240 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: like passport photos, and he recognized that working in the 241 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: dark room had actually made him think about how his 242 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 1: photos would develop, so he had a stronger eye for 243 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 1: catching moments that if he had not been doing that job. 244 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: He was working in the news photo business and a 245 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: really unique time. He was seeing all of the events 246 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: of the time as they developed under his hands. But 247 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: he also saw the transition from flash powder to flash bulbs, 248 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: and he saw the shifting roll of news photographer as 249 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: subjects like presidents became important to capture. Keep in mind, 250 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: it was only in the late nineteen teens that newspapers 251 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: started running photographs with stories instead of illustrations, so it 252 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: was really the start of the field of photojournalism. We 253 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: do it later write that he and photography were growing 254 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,440 Speaker 1: up at the same time. He also saw during this 255 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: work that speed was vital. Whichever outlets got their negatives 256 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: to the telephone company's distribution offices first ensured that their 257 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: credit was the one that the entire country would see. 258 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: So while it act me, Usher came up with some 259 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: fairly ingenious and slightly sneaky ways to get ahead of 260 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: the competition. For example, he would ren an ambulance to 261 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: go out on a job, then have it parked and 262 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: waiting while the shots were being taken. And then when 263 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: he finished photographing and he jumped back in the vehicle, 264 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: the sirens were turned on and they could zip downtown 265 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: while Usher developed the photos in the back of the ambulance. 266 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: He knew if he got caught doing this, he was 267 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: going to get in trouble, so he would change it 268 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: up sometimes with things like taxis and trains and all 269 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: was doing this mobile developing, which is pretty impressive. On 270 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: one shoot, he said that he locked himself in an 271 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: empty subway trains motorman's booth and developed the glass plate 272 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: negative in there before he got to his stop. Also, 273 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: unbeknownst to his bosses, Usher moved into the dark room 274 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: at ACME. He kept the makings of a bed in 275 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: his locker. He would pull them out at night after 276 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: everybody left. He cooked out of cans on the engraver's stove, 277 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: and he loved that he did not have any neighbors. 278 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: After a lifetime of living in cramped rental spaces, he 279 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: was actually pretty happy with this whole arrange. S mint 280 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: he outed himself to his bosses. When the United Press 281 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: ticker machine went off at four a m. On September 282 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: three that was alerting news outlets to the crash of 283 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: the Navy dirigible the USS Shenandoah, that crashed in Ohio. 284 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: He decided the story was more important than his secret 285 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: about living there in the dark room, so he called 286 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: his bosses. So this ended his sleeping arrangements. But ACNE 287 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: got photos from the crash site before anybody else, since 288 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: all of the other news photographers got the message when 289 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: they arrived at work in the morning, hours after Usher 290 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: and his bosses had already ensured that a cameraman in 291 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: Ohio could get the shot and then send it via 292 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: train porter to New York. The other offshoot of having 293 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: his squatting in the office suddenly out in the open 294 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: was that his bosses actually realized he was pretty happy 295 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: to take photography jobs at all hours. He was clearly 296 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: a night owl, so when news broke outside of the 297 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 1: usual nine to five workday, it just started to be 298 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: Usher that they called instead of one of the regular 299 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: staff photographers. He had an ear to the ground approach 300 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: to getting shots of crime scenes, and he moved really 301 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: fast to get to the sites and take the pictures. 302 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: And that's been said as something that led to that 303 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: widely known moniker of Weiji. It's a phonetic version of 304 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:25,840 Speaker 1: the commonly mispronounced word wijia, and cops started calling Usher 305 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: that because it seemed like he was psychic. He would 306 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: show up at crime scenes even before the police got 307 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 1: there on occasion, but according to Weigi himself, it was 308 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: actually given to him by young women around the office. 309 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: Either way, this name stuck and he liked it and 310 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: he started using it. And after twelve years at ACME, 311 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 1: Weigi was starting to feel restless and like his day 312 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: to day had actually grown kind of scale. He was 313 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: ready to do more photography of the things he chose, 314 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: rather than waiting and hoping for assignments while he was 315 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,119 Speaker 1: developing the work of other photographers. So in five if 316 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 1: he gave two weeks notice and once again returned to 317 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: his freelance instincts. Because of his ears with Acme, Weigi 318 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: knew the police around Manhattan, so as a freelancer he 319 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: started hanging out at police headquarters. They didn't have press credentials, 320 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: but cops had seen so much of him that they 321 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: assumed that he did. He would actually pull the teletype 322 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 1: slips off of the machines and then hand them over 323 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: to police reporters, and so when they'd catch a story, 324 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,199 Speaker 1: he would just finagle a ride along with them. He 325 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 1: later wrote of this time quote, crime was my oyster, 326 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,919 Speaker 1: and I liked it my post graduate course in life 327 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: and photography. He also, somehow during this time, had finagled 328 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,240 Speaker 1: getting the key to the dark room at the New 329 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,479 Speaker 1: York Post, so he would develop his prints there and 330 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: then he would give that outlet first DIBs on the 331 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: shots that he had, and then he would make the 332 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: rounds at other papers to sell his photos. He also 333 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: wrote about this time why he felt his work was 334 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: taking off and why those often grizzly images of people 335 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: who had been shot or were in car accidents or 336 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: we're trying to escape tenement fires were so appealing to readers. 337 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: He wrote, quote, it was during the depression and people 338 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: could forget their own troubles by reading about others. And 339 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: Weiji was smart about hustling. And instances where there were 340 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: photos with two people, like a cop in the man 341 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: he had just arrested, Weji would cut the photo in 342 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: half and sell each half as a separate image that 343 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: would double his income. He also knew some papers wanted 344 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: not just crime photos but also things like cute animal shots, 345 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: so he cut deals with all the local fire stations 346 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,360 Speaker 1: to call him if any of their dogs ever had 347 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: any litters. He would stage cute pictures of the mother 348 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: and babies. He was basically always working as many angles 349 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: as he could to sell as many photos as he could, 350 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: and surprisingly he sold a lot of them to tabloids 351 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: whose readers Wegi described as needing quote their daily blood 352 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: bath and sex potion to go with the wreck fist. 353 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: And though he had left Acne because he had gotten 354 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: bored there he still had a really good relationship with them. 355 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 1: He left on good terms, and he specifically had a 356 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: good relationship with the photo editor there. He later said 357 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: that he always saved the best photographs for ACME and 358 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: that he knew he would always make a sale there. 359 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: He later lamented, though, that he had been so good 360 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: at providing such a steady stream of crime scene photos, 361 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: editors got choosy, readers were less and less enthralled. Just 362 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: as his cash at was dwindling, he managed to get 363 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: photos of a couple of teenagers, Gladys McKnight and her 364 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: boyfriend who had committed a grizzly murder. Through his connections 365 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: and a friends, he had been the only photographer allowed 366 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: to meet and take photos of the couple. He sold 367 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: these to every paper in town After that. His name 368 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: on a photo byline had enough cloud that photo editors 369 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: were no longer jaded with his crime scene shots. At 370 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: some point he started stamp being his photo prints with 371 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: the imprint by Weiji. The famous Life magazine even ran 372 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,919 Speaker 1: a story about Wigi and his work and his close 373 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: ties to police headquarters. Yeah, those photographs are super duper 374 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: weird um that he got of those teenagers Gladys and 375 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: her boyfriend killed Gladys's mother in a very gruesome way. 376 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: But the photos that he took of them looked like 377 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: engagement photos. It's really creepy and weird. That's very creepy, 378 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 1: it is, but it's why people all wanted to buy them. Uh. 379 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,359 Speaker 1: And that is how three years into his post Acme 380 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 1: freelance career, Wegi, who had gotten famous at this point, 381 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: got permission to install a police radio right in his 382 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: own car. This meant that he was more or less 383 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: guaranteed to always be the first photographer on site for 384 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: any emergency murder, rescue, fire, or accident. He was able 385 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: to get shots before crowds had even formed, adding to 386 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: the intimacy of his lenses point of view. He turned 387 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 1: his car, which was d H Chevy coupe, into a 388 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 1: mobile photo studio. He carried camera equipment, protective gear, food, 389 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: extra clothes, and even disguises in the trunk. In nineteen forty, 390 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: he started working regularly with the magazine PM magazine. This 391 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: was on a salary. That relationship lasted four and a 392 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: half years, and during that time he got paid every 393 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,119 Speaker 1: week whether he brought in images or not. He was 394 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: also given the freedom to make his own assignments. He 395 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: worked with the Daily News, The Herald Tribune, the Sun, 396 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: and as we mentioned the post, the decade of the 397 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: nineteen forties was the apex of his career. In addition 398 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: to those papers all pretty regularly purchasing photographs, The New 399 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,920 Speaker 1: York Photo League had also taken notice of Luigi's work, 400 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: and in nineteen forty one, the organization staged an exhibit 401 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: of that work. Two years later, his photos started to 402 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,120 Speaker 1: go on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Yeah, 403 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: that relationship with PM magazine only ended because the magazine 404 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 1: went bankrupt, not because he had any falling out with him. 405 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: He quite liked them. Not all of Wegi's photographs, we 406 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: should say, were of crimes and the people involved in them. 407 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: He also took photos, sometimes with very clear social commentary. 408 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: One of his most famous photographs during this time was 409 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: called The Critic, and it was taken in ninette. It 410 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: features two society women in fancy dress with white fur capes, 411 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: and they have these sort of benign, pleasant expressions, and 412 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,479 Speaker 1: they're walking by another woman who has dressed much more humbly. 413 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,400 Speaker 1: That third woman is in profile. She has a slumping posture, 414 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: and she appears to be sneering at the other two 415 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: women judgmentally. We're gonna talk about this image some more 416 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: in a minute, but it was widely praised as a 417 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 1: social commentary illustrating the values of the working class versus 418 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 1: the wealthy. He also took more joyous photos. He took 419 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: a photo in ninety one called Afternoon Crowd at Coney Island. 420 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,399 Speaker 1: This has literally thousands of people in it. They're all 421 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: crowded onto the beach. From his vantage point above them, 422 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: he yelled and got their attention, and when a lot 423 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,320 Speaker 1: of people turned to face him, weg snapped the picture. 424 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: He also took pictures in places like movie theaters, using 425 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,479 Speaker 1: infrared film to capture the goings on of the crowd 426 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: even in the dark. He took a lot of photographs 427 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: at a place called Sammy's Bowery Follies, which was a 428 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: club full of performers and clients held that one might 429 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 1: describe as being from the fringes of society at the time. 430 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,639 Speaker 1: They were mixing with celebrities who dropped in for a 431 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: show or a drink, and he captured the culture and 432 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: music scene of Harlem and a number of gorgeous photographs. Yeah, 433 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: those are some of my favorite pictures from him because 434 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: they're just they're always super beautiful. Um. There's one really, 435 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: really great one where he took a photo of a 436 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: family as they were leaving church on Easter Sunday, and 437 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,639 Speaker 1: when he stopped to talk to them, the man had said, oh, 438 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: I actually sell close, and he was like, well, that's 439 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: why you look so sharp, and can I take your picture? 440 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,639 Speaker 1: And it's this great picture. They're all smiling, they all 441 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: look beautiful. But the great part is there's this kid 442 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 1: who is part of the family and he's dressed super sharp, 443 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: but he's kind of leaning around from behind what I 444 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: presume as his dad, and he has this great smile 445 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,719 Speaker 1: on his face and it's just this like spectacular capture 446 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: of a moment. We are going to talk about four 447 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: a into the book world. After we first hear from 448 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: the sponsors who keep stuff you missed in history class, 449 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 1: Going published his first book, titled Naked City, and he 450 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 1: actually had a pretty hard time finding a publisher. It 451 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,159 Speaker 1: would take his collection of raw, gritty photos. Most publishers 452 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: also wanted more kitchy and predictable images of the city, 453 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: which were the kinds of photos that Wigi simply did 454 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: not take. He had murders and odd ball street characters 455 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: and buildings on fire, and it was all in black 456 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 1: and white. For example, one of the images was a 457 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: group of kids and a woman, all with a very 458 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: wide range of expressions on their faces. You would have 459 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: no idea what they were experiencing if it did not 460 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: have the title their First Murder. The caption that he 461 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,199 Speaker 1: had written for it read a woman relative cried, but 462 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: neighborhood dead end kids enjoyed the show when a small 463 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 1: time racketeer was shot and killed, and the image that 464 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: he paired this with was a photograph of the murder 465 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: victim on the ground. Finally, he wrote quote the miracle 466 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: happened the book was published. He had his book party, 467 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: not at a swank hotel, but it's Sammy's Naked City 468 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: was a huge success, and it opened the door for 469 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,879 Speaker 1: him to work for a time at Vogue, and it 470 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,199 Speaker 1: also made it a lot easier for him to publish 471 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,360 Speaker 1: the second book, which was Weigi's People, and that came 472 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: out in n Yeah it is. He doesn't seem to 473 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: have had a bad relationship at Vogue, but that was 474 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: not a good pairing. It doesn't seem like a great fit. 475 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:56,359 Speaker 1: Really no. He tells a story in his autobiography about 476 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: how his editor was like, you have to buy a 477 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: tuxedo because I keep finding out that you weren't let 478 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: into events because you didn't look nice enough, and I 479 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,640 Speaker 1: actually need you to get into events to take pictures. 480 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: Um it's he got like a secondhand tuxedo and you know, 481 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: war it all the time because he couldn't afford another suit. 482 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: He said. Uh. In ninety seven, Wigi moved to Hollywood 483 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: and he stayed there for five years. During that time, 484 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,440 Speaker 1: he worked as an advisor on films he occasionally ended 485 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: up appearing in bit parts. One of the most enduring 486 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: legacies of this time there is the work he did 487 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: creating promotional photographs from the set of Doctor Strange Love. 488 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 1: If you are a movie buff and you have seen 489 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,400 Speaker 1: photographs of the pie fight ending of Doctor Strange Love, 490 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: that has never been seen because Kubrick changed his mind 491 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: and destroyed the negative. Those photos were shot by Weigi, 492 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,880 Speaker 1: and his pictures are the only proof that that abandoned 493 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: ending ever existed. In nineteen fifty two, he returned to 494 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: New York. He published a book of photographs from his 495 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: time in California the following year that was called Naked Hollywood. 496 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: The images in this book examined celebrity and the culture 497 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: surrounding it, as well as ideas of beauty. One series 498 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: of photos shows a young woman in a crowd, first 499 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: smiling and then looking worried, and then in the third 500 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: and fourth shots breaking down into tears. It's easy to 501 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: think the photographer had managed to be there when she 502 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: got terrible news, but the caption reads quote an American tragedy, 503 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: no autograph. We G also started to play with images 504 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 1: of beauty in ways that often made them look grotesque 505 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: or absurd, and he called these elastic photos. On one 506 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: of them, he manipulated a photograph of film star Virginia May, 507 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: and he made her look really freakish by printing her 508 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,960 Speaker 1: in a distorted and mirrored way. He basically like cut 509 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 1: her off about one third of the way into her 510 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: image and then mirrored that so the middle was cut out, 511 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: and then he had like this strange double image of her. 512 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: It made her appear to have two faces and no arms. Uh, 513 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,479 Speaker 1: it's interesting, it's weird. He also took a close up 514 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: photo of Marilyn Monroe, and he squashed sections of the image, 515 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: so she, who everyone agreed with spectacularly beautiful, came to 516 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: look almost like a monster or a fun house version 517 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: of herself. But the absurdity of Hollywood was something that 518 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: we G also played with by using himself as the 519 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: subject of the pictures. In one image, he took a 520 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: photo of several shelves full of wax heads of celebrities, 521 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: and his own head is among them. He definitely always 522 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: seemed to love being part of a spectacle, and a 523 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: lot of biographers and historians have written pretty extensively about 524 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: his exhibitionist side as juxtaposed with his observer photographer side. 525 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: Back in New York, he continued to experiment with his 526 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: elastic photography, but it just wasn't all that popular. Some 527 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 1: of the photos from this period and his life are 528 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 1: quite charming, though, One titled Boy meets Girl from Mars 529 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: features a man and a woman in a passionate embrace, 530 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: but both of them are wearing future stick clothes and helmets. 531 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: Throughout the nineteen fifties, it sort of seemed like he 532 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 1: was trying to find a new voice in his work. 533 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: He went to Europe, he came back to the States, 534 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: he took sexy photos of Betty Page on a New 535 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 1: Jersey farm. He played with image manipulation, but he never 536 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: found a second wave of iconic style like those earlier 537 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: gritty New York images he had created. He also made 538 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: a nudist film of himself strikes most people as a 539 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: little odd. Yeah, it's the strange little plot, his strange 540 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 1: little foray. He he dabbled in nudism, and that film is, uh, 541 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: it's very it's like a very strange arthouse film. When 542 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,080 Speaker 1: Weigi wrote his autobiography in nineteen sixty one, he dedicated 543 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: it to the tool that has made his career writing, 544 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 1: quote to my modern Aladdin's lamp, my camera. And you 545 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: get a sense of the man immediately from the opening 546 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 1: paragraph of the book, which reads, quote, my typewriter is broken. 547 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: I own no dictionary, and I ever claimed I could spell. 548 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: And if Shakespeare, Balzac and Dostoyevski could do it the 549 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:08,160 Speaker 1: hard way in Longhand so can I. He continues on 550 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: to say that he doesn't need a ghost writer, and 551 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,239 Speaker 1: he has no creative inhibitions, and that quote what may 552 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 1: be abnormal to you is normal to me. If I 553 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: had to live my life over again, I would do 554 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,000 Speaker 1: it all the same way, only more so. It's a 555 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: very fun read, although there's a lot of talk about 556 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: his womanizing and some pretty detailed discussion of the sex 557 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: workers of New York at the time, which comes along 558 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: with a significant amount of misogyny. He talks, for example, 559 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 1: about Saturday being the day of the week that he 560 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 1: went to various addresses that were shared among the men 561 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: that he knew as being the addresses of sex workers. 562 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: Has talk about this isn't violent or scary, but it's 563 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,960 Speaker 1: detached and too humanized, and most historians encouraged taking a 564 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: lot of this autobiography with a grain of salt. He is, 565 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: as promised, pretty uninhibited in telling his story. He doesn't 566 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: make himself out as a hero or anything, but he 567 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 1: is very confident to the edge of cockiness about his work, 568 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: and he does tend to center himself in every possible way. 569 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: He's open about scenes that got to him. For example, 570 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: he describes getting two scenes where people jump to their 571 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 1: deaths and driving right by rather than stopping to take 572 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,080 Speaker 1: the picture, choosing not to stop because he knew he 573 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 1: couldn't handle it, and then going home for the night. 574 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,240 Speaker 1: He's also open about a scene where he photographed a 575 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: woman and her adult daughter as they found out that 576 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: two of her younger children had burned to death, and 577 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,520 Speaker 1: that he cried when he took the photo, writing quote, 578 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: the image of two crying women was to haunt me 579 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. I was raised in 580 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: a tenement, and I just couldn't escape them. It didn't 581 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: bother him to take pictures of murdered gangsters, but family 582 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,640 Speaker 1: tragedies really upset him. He also mentioned that after being 583 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: really shaken by photographing so many car crashes of vehicles 584 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: that had crashed onto the street under the West Side 585 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: Highway after losing control, he launched his own campaign to 586 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,000 Speaker 1: photograph the lack of safety at that site and to 587 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: sell those two newspapers to run as a story about 588 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: the problem. This got the city to finally add reflective 589 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,719 Speaker 1: markers to the abutments in the road, and of this effort, 590 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 1: he wrote, quote this work I consider my memorial. What 591 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,959 Speaker 1: he doesn't include in that autobiography is any mention of 592 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,480 Speaker 1: his wife, Wilma Wilcox, who he had married a number 593 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,720 Speaker 1: of years before writing it, whether she was chagrined to 594 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,600 Speaker 1: have been left out, we do not know. He also, 595 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,240 Speaker 1: in talking about the many many women with which he 596 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:45,280 Speaker 1: claimed to have been intimate, never mentions an earlier marriage 597 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: that didn't last very long. He seems, of course, to 598 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: have been uninhibited talking about himself only in some ways. Apparently. 599 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,719 Speaker 1: Wilma and Luigi had known each other since the nineteen 600 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: forty She was a social worker and a Quaker, and 601 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,920 Speaker 1: we she had come to depend on her after he 602 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:06,040 Speaker 1: was diagnosed with diabetes in the late nineteen fifties. Weig 603 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: died on December nine, sixty eight in New York City, 604 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: and Wilma was kind of the steward of his photograph 605 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 1: collection after that. Part of the unique appeal of Weiji, 606 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,680 Speaker 1: both when he was working and now is how much 607 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: his photos made the viewer feel like they were part 608 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,400 Speaker 1: of the scene. The way his work is composed often 609 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,839 Speaker 1: makes you feel like you're standing right in the middle 610 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: of the action as it's going on. During his career, 611 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,919 Speaker 1: this gave his images appeal for the press, it made 612 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: every story more real for the readers, and then today 613 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: it offers a unique documentary view of the New York 614 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:45,280 Speaker 1: that he lived and worked in. But there have always 615 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:50,320 Speaker 1: been questions about whether these were all caught in the moment, 616 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 1: and there have been instances where he confessed that some 617 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: of his shots were staged, at least partially. For example, 618 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 1: his photo The Critic that we talked about earlier, which 619 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 1: was so acclaimed as a commentary on class, was actually 620 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: somewhat contrived. The woman in the photo looking at the 621 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: two wealthy socialites with disdain was a heavy drinker who 622 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: was known around the Bowery, and Weiji confessed in a 623 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 1: book written several years after the photo was taken that 624 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 1: he had had his assistant at the time, Louis Leota, 625 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: by her drinks until she was very intoxicated, and then 626 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: they essentially propped her up on the street outside the 627 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:30,440 Speaker 1: met as limousines were pulling up to drop off opera goers. 628 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:32,799 Speaker 1: She is probably not looking at them with any kind 629 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,840 Speaker 1: of scorn. She's just very, very drunk and trying to 630 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: fix her eye on something. Even with those kinds of manipulations, 631 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,239 Speaker 1: Weigi is recognized as an exceptional figure in photographic art. 632 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 1: He was famous and both popular publishing and art circles 633 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,240 Speaker 1: in his lifetime. He figured out a way to exist 634 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:54,240 Speaker 1: as an artist on his own terms. In part because 635 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 1: he had basically gotten in on the ground floor of photojournalism, 636 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 1: and he remains fascinating today. His crime scene photos are 637 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 1: still jarring and evocative and intriguing, and his other work 638 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:09,640 Speaker 1: continues to be examined and interpreted as photography buffs and 639 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,600 Speaker 1: biographers try to kind of tease out where the balance 640 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 1: was between Usher Felig and Luigi. I highly encourage looking 641 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: at lots of his work because it's very interesting because 642 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 1: said some of it is obviously graphic. Yeah, there's so 643 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:28,080 Speaker 1: much of it online and I don't know if it's 644 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,719 Speaker 1: the entire collection of his artwork, but if you just 645 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 1: google Luigi, there's a whole website that's collected right there, 646 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 1: that's in tons of tense. Uh, you have a library card. 647 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,000 Speaker 1: I almost guarantee your local library has a book with 648 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 1: photographs by him. They are everywhere. Um. I am jumping 649 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,839 Speaker 1: tone so significantly to our listener mail today. This is 650 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:57,840 Speaker 1: from our listener Kate, who writes High Ladies. I'm a 651 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,320 Speaker 1: longtime listener who saves your podcast epis, so it's to 652 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,680 Speaker 1: binge listen on my many drives from Kansas to Minnesota 653 00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:06,480 Speaker 1: and back again. This has been a major sanity saver 654 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:09,640 Speaker 1: as my dog, Twilight photos attached is not the most 655 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:14,040 Speaker 1: talkative travel companion. Twilight is cute. Yesterday, toward the end 656 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 1: of my third round trip to Minnesota this summer, I 657 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: reached the episode on Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor. I was 658 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,640 Speaker 1: delightfully surprised to find that her life's journey took her 659 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,319 Speaker 1: to the exact place I was traveling to and have 660 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,960 Speaker 1: called home for four years, Lawrence, Kansas. I drove by 661 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,160 Speaker 1: her Vermont Street residence uh photos also attached on my 662 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:35,040 Speaker 1: way to work this morning. There's a lovely private orchard 663 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,360 Speaker 1: between her former home and would you believe it, a 664 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:41,239 Speaker 1: dental practice called the Dentists in Lawrence. There are many 665 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,919 Speaker 1: historical buildings in the city of Lawrence, including a few 666 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,719 Speaker 1: on the University of Kansas campus, but I didn't know 667 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,560 Speaker 1: until today that Dr Hobbs Taylor's house was one of them. 668 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:52,280 Speaker 1: Thank you for teaching me something new about my own community. 669 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,240 Speaker 1: In addition to all the other incredible things your podcast covers, 670 00:37:55,600 --> 00:38:00,160 Speaker 1: history really is all around us. Um. That seems so 671 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,800 Speaker 1: fun to me to like discover that a major prominent 672 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 1: person in history, who again we all need dental work 673 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 1: at some point in time. Um, you know, helped shape 674 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 1: a field that is so vital to everybody's health and 675 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,759 Speaker 1: well being. Uh so, I love it. I love it. 676 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:18,360 Speaker 1: Thank you so much Kate for writing us this letter. 677 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,800 Speaker 1: I hope that you had a lot of fun exploring 678 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 1: and discovering these places. I had read that there was 679 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:25,920 Speaker 1: an orchard near her house, and I have never gotten 680 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,120 Speaker 1: to see a good picture of it, so it was exciting. Um. 681 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:30,440 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 682 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,560 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at i heeart radio dot com. 683 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:35,960 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media as missed 684 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 1: in History, and if you have not subscribed yet, you 685 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:40,360 Speaker 1: can do that quick as a wink on the I 686 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,240 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 687 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,040 Speaker 1: Stop you Missed in History Class is a production of 688 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:54,280 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 689 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 690 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,040 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.