#murray becker

Murray Becker - The Hindenburg Explosion, May 6, 1937

Joe DiMaggio signs his name on bats belonging to youthful tenants in the building where he lives, October 19, 1941, after their persistence made a special party necessary for the occasion. Thirty-four youngsters crowded into a vacant apartment to get Joe's signature.

The Michael J. Kennedy Democratic Association, with headquarters at 728 Ninth Avenue, wants President Truman to be the Democratic presidential candidate in 1948, and displays this sign at their headquarters on September 10, 1948.

May 1 is International Workers' Day in more than 80 countries. In the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s, socialist and Communist groups celebrated it, too. Here, women march in a column with upraised fists in a parade on May 1, 1935.

Workers boarding up a large plaque over the entrance to the Italian building in Rockefeller Center, December 12, 1941. A spokesman for the Center said the work was being done for "obvious reasons," declining further comment.

Like many others, Eleanor Roosevelt came to New York to do her Christmas shopping. Here she makes a purchase at the now-departed Arnold Constable on October 19, 1943 to open the 1943 “Do Your Christmas Shopping Early” campaign. The salesgirl is Waitstill Donaghy.

Gas rationing began on the East Coast in May of 1942. In this photo, Marjoria Doyle gets her coupons and sticker on July 9 at P.S. 69. There were eight coupons per page and each coupon could be used once a week. The number of gallons allowed depended on need; those whose need was deemed non-essential were only allowed 3 gallons. Commuters got a little more, those whose work depended on driving a bit more than that, and essential service providers such as doctors and clergy got up to 8 gallons. Most cars at the time got around 15 mpg.

The program was started not so much to save gasoline, which was in plentiful supply, but tires, which were made of rubber. The Japanese had cut off the country's main source of supply and the shortage was critical. Eventually this accelerated the development of synthetic rubber, but rationing remained in effect until 1945.

Striking WPA workers and sympathizers demonstrating in Columbus Circle, July 20, 1939, protesting budget cuts to the program imposed by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act.. They are carrying dummies representing chairman Clifton A. Woodrum (D-Va.) and Rep. John E. Taber (R-N.Y.) of the House of Representatives sub-committee investigating the WPA. The demonstrators prepared to hand the two representatives in effigy when 450 police officers intervened.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) created jobs for millions of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression. While the protesters did not bring about the act’s repeal, they kept their jobs and were allowed to return to work after the strike.