If you look up enough while walking through the city, you see a fair number of these weathered ads, partly erased by rain and grime.
Deciphering what they say isn’t always easy. Take this ad at 23 East 20th Street. “Furs” is still legible, but the name of the company is tricky.
It looks like M. Handin & Grapkin—which is close, as sure enough a company with the name Drapkin appears to have gone into the furrier business as early as 1909.
The wonderful faded sign site 14to42.net says that M. Handin and Drapkin were located in this building around 1909, and the faded ad could be more than a century old.
This building on East 12th Street and University Place is a faded sign spotter’s dream. “Student Clothes” up top is easy enough to read.
Walter Grutchfield’s photo is better than mine, and his caption explains that the company occupied this building from 1924 to 1929.
To get this view of this faded ad at 324 West 84th Street, you have to stand inside the 15th floor apartment of the building next door.
The address is barely legible—and though 324 is an apartment house today, as early as 1918 it was the Hotel Ramsby.
The left side of the ad must have listed room rates, forever lost to the ages.
Tags: "Clam Chowder" faded ad, Apex Knitwear faded ad, faded ads NYC, Faded Garment District ads, Hotel Ramsby New York City, M. Handin & Drapkin Furs, West 84th Street NYC
Ephemeral New York 
April 11, 2016 at 2:35 pm |
Thank you.
April 11, 2016 at 6:00 pm |
[…] The Story Behind Three Faded Ads in Manhattan [Ephemeral NY] […]
April 12, 2016 at 12:51 am |
wonderful faded Bloomingdale sign 116 Street and Lex Ave south west corner
June 20, 2017 at 7:20 pm |
I shopped in the area in the 60s and 70s. Although I do not remember the sign, I am glad it is still there.
April 16, 2016 at 6:03 am |
Loved the Hotel Ramsby story of the “charming little cottage surrounded by a garden on the roof” of that hotel. What times, what a life. Loved the magazine, too. Fashions of ages past. Of stars long gone, when performers could be referred to by their one artistic name, “Namara.”
February 6, 2023 at 4:10 am |
[…] United States. These days, the remaining garment-related producers share dingy side streets with ghostly faded ads and signage from long-departed […]