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William Surrey Hart (1865-1946), or “Two-Gun Bill,” was a Silent Film actor often considered as the first great Western Movie Star. Known for his unique screen presence, Hart developed a signature persona: the honest, taciturn Cowboy. He insisted on bringing authenticity to his roles, believing that earlier filmmakers had glamourized the West. This lantern slide advertises the 1920 film The Toll Gate, credited as the first of William S. Hart’s own productions. It depicts Hart in his signature two-gun cowboy role.

Green-Wood’s beautiful limestone chapel was designed in the Gothic-Revival style by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Terminal. The image above is one of a series of photographs taken of Green-Wood’s historic chapel during construction. Dated July 6, 1911, it shows the foundation completed and the side walls erected, but the decorative spires of the top four corners are unfinished and workers have not yet begun building the central dome. The chapel would not be completed in its entirety until later that year.

This white marble memorial is dedicated to Charlotte Canda (1828-1845), a young Victorian socialite who died tragically on the evening of her 17th birthday. Amazingly, Canda had been designing a monument for her recently deceased aunt. After her untimely death, her father adapted the design for Charlotte’s monument, and personalized it by adding her initials, a portrait statue, and various symbols of her interests during life. This stereoview card shows the main section of Charlotte’s grand monument.

Long before pocket-size packs and foil wrappers, chewing gum was marketed in far more ornate packages. Entrepreneur Thomas Adams (1818-1905) and his gum company Adams & Sons were great innovators of the business. Adams was the first to make gum using chicle from South America, and the product, Chiclets, is still popular today. Adams & Sons also pioneered machine production of gum, sold the first flavored gum, and were the first to install chewing gum vending machines in the New York City subways.