1920's New York City History

If you’ve read the other books in the series, you’ll see that I’m trying to use a different theme in each book. Songbirdfocused on Broadway Theaters. Framed was all about bootlegging and gangsters. Deucetook us to Laura’s small hometown in Millbury, and Two of a Kind deals with a few of the larger department stores in New York City at Christmastime. The next book, Blackjack, well, that speaks for itself, and we’re back on Broadway with a full cast, including my favorite gangster/friend, Orin Marino.

I always enjoy sharing historical tidbits and songs from the era. This book doesn’t include any songs, but since it’s about Christmas, I thought I would share a few holiday tunes. The first video isn’t really a song, but it made me laugh, and it was released in 1922. The second video took me back to my childhood at Christmastime. The music was a staple in our house during the holidays. And I couldn’t pass up sharing Bing Crosby’s infamous White Christmas.

Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph by Ernest Hare, 1922

The Nutcracker Suite– by Tchaikovsky, 1892

White Christmas – Bing Crosby, first recorded in 1942               

While looking up cookbooks in 1921, I ran across Everywoman’s CookBook which was published in 1922. Love the title and the cover! It was first published by the National League for Woman's Service and “includes menus, suggestions for pairings, and over ninety recipes that reflect a turning point in home cooking.” Helen Wells, the author, also adapted recipes for prohibition. Here is the link to the book on Amazon for anyone interested: Everywoman’s CookBook

I am not a gourmet cook, but for fun, I decided to post a few of my favorite recipes on my website, some passed down to me from my Polish grandmothers. Just a small variety of recipes if you’d like to take a look at them. gailmeath.com/recipes

Writing any historical novel takes a great deal of research, right down to using the proper words and phrases of the times with special care not to use more modern terms that weren’t in existence yet. In this book, I mentioned get-out-of-jail-free cards, so I needed to find out if the Monopoly game existed back then. 

Surprisingly, the history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903, when Lizzie Magie, an American antimonopolist, created a game that she hoped would explain the single-tax theory of Henry George.  It was intended as an educational tool to illustrate the negative aspects of private monopolies.  She took out a patent in 1904.  Her game, The Landlord's Game, was self-published in 1906, and it was played similarly to the version we’re familiar with. Here is what the original board looked like: 

Briefly, a few more interesting facts. The Woolworth Building in New York City was the world’s tallest building from 1913, the year it was built, to 1930, and it cost thirteen and a half million to build. As a nickel-and-dime store, that surprised me when you place it alongside money giants like Macy’s and Abraham & Straus (they were co-owned), Saks, Bloomingdales, Gimbels, Lord & Taylors, and Bonwit Teller. When Frank Woolworth died in 1919, there were 1,057 Woolworth stores in the United States and Canada, plus another 175 stores in England.  

Lastly, the facts about the Hope Diamond in the book were true. The diamond was owned by Edward (Ned) and Evalyn McLean. They were hesitant to purchase the notoriously cursed 45-carat blue Hope Diamond in 1911, but Evalyn was determined to own it, so Pierre Cartier reset the diamond for her. And Evalyn often let her Great Dane, Mike, wear the gem on his collar at public events. 

Evalyn never believed in the curse and owned the diamond for the rest of her life, but she suffered some bad luck over the years. Her husband ran off with another woman, her son was killed in a car accident, and her daughter died of a drug overdose.

One article I read stated that Princess Diana had owned the diamond for a time, but I couldn’t find anything to confirm that. The diamond is now in the Smithsonian Institution, and its worth is estimated at three hundred million dollars.

Thank you again for your time and support!