This Chatham Square faded ad is tricky to decipher because it’s actually two ads, one painted on top of the other.
The newer ad is for Turkish Trophies, an old cigarette brand. Underneath it is the word “for” in yellow, and a long word with a fancy F.
That’s for Fletcher’s Castoria, a children’s laxative popular in the 19th century. Fletcher’s had ads all over the city; here’s one on 109th Street and Second Avenue.
Thurston & Braidich are described as “drug merchants” whose store at 130 William Street was damaged by a fire in 1901, according to a New York Times piece that year.
But in his 1902 obituary, Adolf Braidich is described as a gum importer. Whatever his game was, an ad bearing his name is still holding up in Tribeca.
Tags: Chatham Square, downtown faded ads, faded ads New York City, faded ads on New York buildings, Thurston & Braidich, Tribeca faded ads, Turkish Trophies cigarettes, vintage ads New York City
