Sid Latham
Photos and Text Related to an Unpublished Article on the Lost and Found Department of NYC's Hotel Pennsylvania, 1940s
Vintage silver prints (20)
Each 4 x 5 inches
Most with accompanying typed caption.
Most with accompanying typed caption.
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This charming and woefully-relatable collection of photographs documenting an annoyance suffered by travelers since time immemorial - leaving one's luggage behind. The collection is a written and photographic profile of...
This charming and woefully-relatable collection of photographs documenting an annoyance suffered by travelers since time immemorial - leaving one's luggage behind. The collection is a written and photographic profile of the Lost and Found Department of the Hotel Pennsylvania. Completed in 1919, nine years after the opening of the original Penn Station, the Hotel Pennsylvania was at one time the largest hotel in the world.
Central in many of the photographs is a woman identified as "Mrs. Worthington." She is shown examining forsaken wares, inventorying them, telephoning recent hotel guests, etc. One amusing photo shows Mrs. Worthington holding up a pair of crutches, with an accompanying caption that states, "Mrs. Worthington claims if she accumulates any more crutches and canes and drugs her office will look like the mayo clinic." Another humorous caption for a picture of a woman entering the lost and found office, reads like an old children's story:
"Here is the lady that lost the bracelet,-that was found by the maid - that told the floor housekeeper, - that notified the "Lost and Found", that called the house officer - that gave it to the girl - that put it in the safety deposit box. When this lady departed, happy at recovering her bracelet, she left her glasses in the "Lost and Found" - that notified the house officer - etc. So Mrs. Worthington sent her another card and she came back - - It sometimes is rather a tiring business."
And then of course there is the photograph of an adorable Boston Terrier called "The Captain's Sweetheart", a U.S. Navy ship's mascot, who turned up AWOL at the hotel.
The photos were taken by a photographer named Sid Latham and the captions appear on "Hotel Pennsylvania Press Service" letterhead, but we have been unable to determine if theres were ever published and if so, where.
Central in many of the photographs is a woman identified as "Mrs. Worthington." She is shown examining forsaken wares, inventorying them, telephoning recent hotel guests, etc. One amusing photo shows Mrs. Worthington holding up a pair of crutches, with an accompanying caption that states, "Mrs. Worthington claims if she accumulates any more crutches and canes and drugs her office will look like the mayo clinic." Another humorous caption for a picture of a woman entering the lost and found office, reads like an old children's story:
"Here is the lady that lost the bracelet,-that was found by the maid - that told the floor housekeeper, - that notified the "Lost and Found", that called the house officer - that gave it to the girl - that put it in the safety deposit box. When this lady departed, happy at recovering her bracelet, she left her glasses in the "Lost and Found" - that notified the house officer - etc. So Mrs. Worthington sent her another card and she came back - - It sometimes is rather a tiring business."
And then of course there is the photograph of an adorable Boston Terrier called "The Captain's Sweetheart", a U.S. Navy ship's mascot, who turned up AWOL at the hotel.
The photos were taken by a photographer named Sid Latham and the captions appear on "Hotel Pennsylvania Press Service" letterhead, but we have been unable to determine if theres were ever published and if so, where.