“…Most Perfect…”

May 14, 2022
1941


“Babies Crying (Continuous)”; Standard Sound Effect (036255)


“Dear Old Southland”; Duke Ellington; Creamer; Layton; Victor (27564-B); Recorded May 14, 1941


Unidentified Photographer, AP, May 14, 1941

Victors’ Chorus
Winners and runners-up in the Brooklyn Methodist hospital’s “most perfect baby” contest doesn’t seem happy about it…


“Blues in My Condition”; Cootie Williams and His Orchestra; Williams; Columbia (MZ 363); May 7, 1941


Brooklyn Eagle, May 13, 1941


“Boogie Woogie Man”; Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons; Ammons; Johnson; Victor (27505-A); May 7, 1941


Unidentified Photographer, Brooklyn Eagle, May 14, 1941


Boilermaker’s Baby Tops
Howling successes are these babies, all prize winners in Methodist Hospital’s annual perfect baby contest…


“Pete’s Mixture”; Pete Johnson; Dave Dexter; Decca (8582B); May 8, 1941


Unidentified Photographer, Buffalo, May 16, 1941

What? Sextuplets?
No, it’s just the six winners and runners-up in the Brooklyn Methodist Hospital’s “most perfect baby” contest…


“Barrel House Boogie”; Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons; Ammons; Johnson; Victor (27504-B); May 7, 1941


Unidentified Photographer, New York Sun, May 14, 1941


“Death Ray Boogie”; Pete Johnson; Dave Dexter; Decca (3830B); May 8, 1941


Weegee, PM, May 14, 1941, p. 17


“Basement Boogie”; Pete Johnson; Decca (3830A); May 8, 1941


“Baby Crying (Continuous)”; Major (5001 A); 1960


Weegee, PM, May 14, 1941, p 17

Meet Methodist Hospital’s Most Perfect Baby

One of these six babies, all of them born last year in the maternity ward of the Methodist Hospital, Sixth Street and Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, will soon be named the most perfect baby of the year. The nurses are lining them up to be judged by the pediatricians as part of the hospital’s fourth annual Perfect Baby Contest yesterday. The fist baby on the left is making a grab for the first prize, perhaps it’s an omen. The others don’t seem to be very much interested. Which of the six do you think should win?


Weegee, PM, May 14, 1941, p. 17


Weegee, PM, May 14, 1941, p. 17


“Solitude”; Duke Ellington; Victor (27564-A); Recorded May 14, 1941

“All Around the Town… Our Unofficial Victory Celebration”

May 8, 2022
1945, PM, World War II


V-E-News – Flashes (Recorded Tuesday, May 8, 1945) No. 1


“V-E Day”


V-E-News – Flashes (Recorded Tuesday, May 8, 1945); No. 2


“The Big Celebration in Times Square”


“Wartime broadcast speech by Sir Winston Churchill”; Winston Churchill; May 8, 1945


“All Around the Town… Our Unofficial Victory Celebration”

PM, Nay 8, 1945


“On A Note Of Triumph A CBS Broadcast Commemorating V-E Day (Part 1)”; Martin Gabel; Norman Corwin; Bernard Herrmann; Lud Gluskin; Columbia Masterworks (71664-D)

“…seamy-side-of-life photographer…”

May 7, 2022
1944, Naked City, PM


“Yesterdays”; Kathryn Meisle; Harry Sosnik; Jerome Kern; Otto Harbach; Decca (DA 23572 A); Publication date: May 7, 1944


PM, May 7, 1944, p.32

Weegee meets a great man.

Weegee brought in a photograph of an old man sitting on a cot, his hands in his lap. Weegee is the cigar-smoking, crime, fire, and seamy-side-of-life photographer who lives across the street from police headquarters and does his best work from midnight on.

“This is Stieglitz, Alfred Stieglitz,” said Weegee. “He’s a great photographer…”

Stieglitz invited Weegee to his gallery. But first they stopped at a druggist’s, where the aged photographer left a prescription. Then they walked up to 509 Madison Ave. and took an elevator to the 17th floor…

Stieglitz pointed to a phone near his cot. It never rings, he said. I have been deserted…

He was a failure, he told me…

…and he never used the products of Eastman Kodak because of their slogan You push a button. We’ll do the rest.

…And I left quietly and shut the the glass door with the words painted on it, AN AMERICAN PLACE.

“It doesn’t seem right that such a great artist should have such a little reward,” said Weegee.

PM, May 7, 1944


“The Touch of Your Hand”; Kitty Carlisle; Alfred Drake; Kathryn Meisle; Harry Sosnik; Jerome Kern; Otto Harbach; Decca (DA 23574 A); Publication date: May 7, 1944


Weegee, Naked City, 1945


“Lovely to Look at”; Kitty Carlisle and Alfred Drake; Harry Sosnik; Jerome Kern; Dorothy Fields; Jimmy McHugh; Decca (DA 23572 B); Publication date: May 7, 1944

$$

May 5, 2022
auction


Why Should I Spend My Money”; Big Bill Broonzy; Columbia (37461); December 2, 1941


Screenshots from eBay

Weegee was not the photographer and did not make this photograph.
Presumably Phil Burchman was the photographer…


When You Lose Your Money; La Rues Cats; Dewitt Ray; John Hinton; Bob Pearce; Edw. Young; Chas. Gordon; Jean LaRue; Universal (U. R. 701-a)