© Frank H. Jump
Chilton Automobile Directory – January 1918 – Google Books
© Frank H. Jump
Automotive
Firestone Then and Now – Bedford Avenue & Empire Blvd – Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Fay S. Lincoln – 1926 – NYPL – As featured on Brownstoner
Fay Sturtevant Lincoln, known professionally as F. S. Lincoln, was an architectural photographer active from the 1930s to the 1950s in New York City, Long Island, New York State, and with commissions in Charleston, South Carolina, and Williamsburg, Virginia. – Penn State University Libraries
© Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
Vincenzo and I have passed by this corner countless times while driving up Bedford Avenue from end to end. Today we had to stop and look at it with new eyes of wonder. We both have known about Bedford Avenue’s history with automobile dealers since Brooklyn transitioned from a horse-town to an automobile town. Other remnants like the Studebaker showroom building and the Avenue D Oldsmobile derelict neon are stunning examples of this past. In researching the building, I found a Brownstoner article from November 2011 that features the topmost image from F.S. Lincoln. Now, since I’ve posted this, the odds are this building will disappear within a year. I’m bad luck. I don’t recommend hiring me for taking pics of your new home, wedding or newborn. This has been my personal Twilight Zone saga since I’ve started documenting fading ads. Not all of the images I’ve shot are gone thankfully.
FADING ADS FROM THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD – AUTOMINDED DOT COM
New York City has led many lives. In a place that is famous for never resting, sometimes the only history that survives are the buildings that go quietly untouched and the painted signs that are slowly fading from their bricks.
Frank Jump has been documenting this unsung history for the last 20 years. His latest book, Fading Ads of New York City
He sent us an assortment of everything from carriage builders to tires. Some ads are from the book, and a few others can be found on his blog. Most of these are from the New York City area, but Jump has gone well beyond the five boroughs to find his art. For example, if the ad in the full photo gallery that simply states “Sign and Auto Painting” seems a little too small potatoes for NYC, that’s probably because it is from Evel Knievel’s hometown of Butte, Montana.
Jump’s photos are a worthwhile journey into a world of art and history that are exposed to the masses every day but are appreciated by few. Check out the full photo gallery for more auto pics, go to Jump’s blog for all types of other signs, or get the book
