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Victrola Vault: In Summertime Down By the Sea (1904)

Posted in history, Music, Music Video, tagged 1904, Dan W Quinn, Graphophone, In Summertime Down By the Sea, record, summertime, Victrolaman on January 9, 2013| 1 Comment »

Temps in the mid-50s in January coupled with the news that 2012 was the hottest ever in the US has put us in the mood for a little summertime music. “In Summertime Down by the Sea” was sung by the successful early recording artist Dan W. Quinn in 1904, when Dreamland was brand-new and Luna Park was just one year old. “The splendid new summer song. Don’t fail to get it for your act,” said an ad in The New York Dramatic Mirror.

In summertime down by the sea
The only real place boys for me
Take a ride on a trolley get there before dark
Take your sweetheart to Dreamland or to Luna Park
In summertime down by the sea
The place where we all like to be…

The Columbia black wax cylinder record is played on a 1901 Columbia Model AB Graphophone. Both are from the collection of Victrolaman, whose 1920s recording of the Mills Brothers “Coney Island Washboard Roundelay” was previously featured on ATZ. Victrolaman’s YouTube channel features recorded sound from the 1890s up to the mid-1930s played on the original gramophones & phonographs of that era.

In Summertime Down by the Sea. The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of The Johns Hopkins University

Saturday Matinee: Coney Island’s Mite Mouse Coaster (1992)

Posted in Amusement ride, history, video, tagged 1990s, Allan Herschell, Coney Island, Jumbo Jet, Mite Mouse, roller coaster on September 22, 2012| 4 Comments »

This rare footage from 1992 is all that remains of the Mite Mouse roller coaster, which was in Coney Island for just a few seasons. Nestled against the Jumbo Jet, seen in the background, the little coaster kept a low profile. When YouTube user swampfoxer posted this video clip of two friends riding the Mite Mouse, he noted that “most people I know that frequent Coney Island never knew it was even there. Guess I picked the lucky year to visit Coney Island.” His footage of the Jumbo Jet, shot the same day, was featured in “Remembering Coney Island’s Jumbo Jet Coaster 1972-2002” (ATZ, April 21, 2011).

The first Mite Mouse came out of the Allan Herschell factory in North Tonawanda, New York, in 1959 and traveled with Conklin Shows. The manufacturer described the ride as “extremely portable and ideal for smaller carnivals and such permanent installations which want a Mouse ride but do not require the larger Mad Mouse.” The Coney Island ride had previously operated at a park in Ocean City, Maryland, where it was called Miller’s Gold Mine.

Artifact of the Day: Coney Island in a Seashell

Posted in Artifacts, history, Photography, tagged Coney Island in a Seashell, ephemera, New York in a Seashell, New-York Historical Society, seashell, souvenir, The Shell View Syndicate on May 2, 2012| 2 Comments »

Souvenir: Coney Island in a Seashell. New-York Historical Society Collection. Gift of Bella C. Landauer

Back in the early 1900s, the Shell View Syndicate sold seashells by Brooklyn’s fabled seashore. These scallop shells with accordion folded booklets of miniature photos tucked inside are one of the most charming souvenirs of Coney Island that we’ve come across. Tied together with red ribbon and measuring just 1-5/8 x 1 x 7/8, the seashells are in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.

Miniature Photos Inside Souvenir Seashell. New-York Historical Society Collection. Gift of Bella C. Landauer

If you take a look at the photographs on the Society’s Collections page, you’ll see Steeplechase Park’s Ferris Wheel and Airship Ride, Luna Park’s Promenade, Circle Swing, and Elephant Ride, Stauch’s Restaurant and Dance Hall, and a Beach Scene.

A web search of “The Shell View Syndicate” turned up a few tidbits about the company. They had offices at 147 West 23rd Street in Manhattan in 1908. Their line of souvenirs included “New York in A Seashell, “Allentown in a Nutshell” and novelty postcards, but “Coney Island in a Seashell” is destined to remain our favorite.