I found some beautiful photographs from the Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection in the New York Historical Society Museum & Library to share with you!
This is Anne Haviland, the parfumier, evidently hard at work:
New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940
And this is Miss Nanette Beals, age one, in her mother’s office at 71 W 23. The date was April 10, 1912, which is, I believe, five days before the Titanic went down. I’m guessing this was the photographer’s daughter?
New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940
And finally, we have men and women partaking of a spaghetti dinner at Grace Godwin’s Garret, which was located at 58 Washington Square South in Greenwich Village. Grace Godwin can be seen serving spaghetti.
New York Historical Society Museum & Library. Jessie Tarbox Beals photograph collection, circa 1905-1940
I looked into this just a little bit and found Grace Godwin’s garret was the place to be in the 1920s. From UntappedCities.com, “During the late 1880s, the home was occupied by New York Governor Lucius Robinson. In the 1910s, No. 58 was home to a popular candy and cigar shop on the ground floor and Guido Bruno’s Garret on the second floor, where local artists exhibited their work. The frame buildings were reportedly heavily damaged in a fire in 1916, in which Bruno lost many historical items of great value, including unpublished manuscripts by Bernard Shaw and Mark Twain.(!)
The buildings were apparently salvaged following the fire in 1916. By 1917, Grace Godwin had taken over the upstairs of No. 58, where she served breakfast, afternoon tea, spaghetti dinners, and after-dinner coffee.”
Since this was the bohemian area, I thought there might be something interesting on the mantle, if I could zoom in enough to see it. I think the handwritten sign says, This Place Ain’t Bohemian.
I found a few more photographs from this collection I’d like to share with you but they are of a much different type, so will be in a future post.
old spirituals 
“Garret” if not often used today. ”Attic” or “Loft” are more common lexicon of modern Americans.
It is interesting that Grace Godwin’s Garret was a place to eat spaghetti. A restaurant in “Little Italy” would have been a better choice.
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That is funny, isn’t it? Maybe it was alliterative. Grace Godwin’s Garret sounds kind of interesting… at least better than “Attic Spaghetti” right? 😉😂
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Little Nannette sure was a cutie! So happy to be at work with mom. I’ve never seen a child yet that doesn’t love playing in a box. That may have been where she took her naps, also.
The restaurant is so interesting! Did you notice the tall candle on the mantle so close to the papers on the wall? Eeeek! There’s also a faint drawing of a restaurant scene on the other wall. Is the young man dining alone going to take that huge mouthful of spaghetti?
Look at the couple standing in the doorway. The man in the spectacles and bowler hat looks like a Hollywood German spy! Or is he out with his secretary? Lol. These old pictures are such fun !
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Wow! I thought I saw everything in that photo but you noticed all kinds of things I didn’t. It does seem very daring to have a candle close to the papers… especially since Grace Godwin moved in right after a big fire! Maybe the man directly to the left of Grace (visible under her arm) is with the German spy. Looks like he’s signaling 🫳 This is a great shot… so much to see!
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I think you’ve spotted another German spy, Kimberly! Is that a cigarette in the left hand of the young man with the big fork full of spaghetti? How do you eat and smoke at the same time? This photo is loaded with interesting things!
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You know this was during World War One. Jax was saying garret isn’t a common word today. Even in 1916, I would guess “garret” would be more common in Canada or Europe while Americans were more likely to use “attic.” Maybe “garret” was a little hint to the spies that it was a safe place to meet up! 🕵️♀️
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Great idea! I knew it was within the World War One era.
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We can collaborate on a spy novel 😉
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