April 28, 1943
“Hep Cats in a Hurry — Hurry, Hurry, Hurry — Only 6000 Seats Left.”
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
Ascher Fellig was born in what is now Ukraine in 1899 and moved with his family to New York in 1909, where he changed his name to Arthur.
He worked as a photographer’s assistant and darkroom technician for several years before striking out on his own as a freelancer on the city streets, working out of a tiny apartment near police headquarters in lower Manhattan.
With his seemingly supernatural ability to show up at accidents and crime scenes before anyone else, he was soon known by another name: Weegee.
(Having a police radio in his car probably helped.)
c. 1946
"Weegee the Noted Photographer."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
Armed with his Speed Graphic, flash, and cigar, Weegee became a darling of both the photojournalism and fine art worlds, his lurid images capturing everything from the suits and gowns of the opera to the boozy booths of Sammy’s Bowery Follies with precision, humor, and pathos.
In 2012, a forgotten trove of Weegee images was found in a Midwest storage facility. Those photos have been collected in a new book, Extra! Weegee, edited by Daniel Blau.
Arranged thematically into chapters such as Extra! Crash and Extra! Crowds, the book contains 359 photos from 1929 to 1946.
Many of the images brim with his signature brutal irony — in one, a flipped car lies next to a sign begging SLOW DOWN, and in another, a crash victim’s body is sprawled beneath a marquee advertising “JOY OF LIVING.”
Jan. 1, 1940
“Ice Sheathed Firemen at Coney Island New Year’s Eve Fire."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
March 29, 1942
"Almost a Nosedive."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
Oct. 27, 1941
"Flood Halts Bronx Subway."
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
c. 1939
"Nobody Works on Labor Day!"
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
1940
Buddy the bulldog hangs out among the milk bottles in the lobby of 850 Park Avenue.
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
c. 1939
"St. Martins Church."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
1943
“Fireman holding Torahs saved from a fire."
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
1945
Military personnel wave from the portholes of a ship.
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
July 27, 1945
"The Critic."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
April 29, 1941
A black cat found dropped in a mailbox on West 42nd Street with some pretzels and clams to snack on.
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
June 14, 1945
"Keeping Cool."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
Sept. 8, 1943
"It'll be a Pleasure."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
Dec. 15, 1939
Henrietta Torres and her daughter Ada outside a deadly tenement fire in Brooklyn.
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
Aug. 14, 1945
Sailors celebrate VJ Day.
Image: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images
April 16, 1942
"Crash Victim."
Image: Weegee/International Center of Photography, Courtesy: Daniel Blau, Munich
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