This collection consists of 4.3 cubic feet of manuscript, print, and photographic materials created or collected by Carl de Wendler-Funaro (1898-1985) in pursuit of his interest in Gypsy life and culture. (Carlos de Wendler-Funaro used several forms of his name; he wrote mostly as Carl de Wendler-Funaro.) The -collection was brought to the attention of the Division of Community Life, National Museum of American History, by Matt T. Salo and donated to the Smithsonian by Dr. de Wendler-Funarol's widow, Cornelia de Funaro, in May 1985, through Richard E. Ahlborn, Curator.
The number and breadth of the photographic materials, especially, the accompanying documentation and their representation of many Gypsy groups in a single time period, make this collection an important resource for research.
The print and manuscript materials in the collection are organized-into six series: (1) materials for which Carl de Wendler-Funaro is author, co-author or editor; (2) materials about de Wendler-Funaro; (3) correspondence; (4) journals, books, or extracts from them, by various authors; (5) newspaper and magazine articles; (6) photomechanical images from newspapers, magazines, and books.
The manuscript materials include drafts of portions of planned books, reading notes, and Gypsy language notes and transcriptions. De Wendler-Funaro seems to have planned two books. One was to have been a book of his photographs, with accompanying essays describing his encounters with Gypsies, the other a work on Gypsies, especially those in the United States. The major element of the second book was to have been the history of the Rom in this country as told by Steve Kaslov. The second work was to have included the manuscripts, 'The Last Caravan,' on Romnichels in the United States; 'Romanian Gypsies in Maspeth Village,' on the Ludar; 'Hungarian Gypsies,' orx these musicians in the United States; and some folk tale materials. Several outlines for the two books are in the collection.
The draft materials written with Steve Kaslov include an account of the Gypsy leader Chaiko Jura. The account, which seems to approach legend at some points, describes his immigration to the United States, adventures in this country, and death. Also among the draft materials, and intended to follow in the proposed book, is what may be termed an official biography of Steve Kaslov (c. 1888-1949). Apparently tentatively entitled "The Ways of my People,' the manuscript recounts a few incidents, told at length, in the experiences of Kaslov's family and social network from about 1900 to about 1938.
De Wendler-Funaro's notes suggest that the Kaslov biography was dictated to an unnamed lawyer in the early 1930s and given to de Wendler-Funaro in 1934. Kaslov dictated the story of Chaiko to de Wendler-Funaro. (Perhaps this is the source of a statement in the
The okaslov manuscripts' are written mostly in a variety of American English common among American Rom. Parts of the biographical section are written in the first person, others in the third. Cultural material includes descriptions of weddings, funerary ritual, business transactions, conflicts and conflict resolution. As factual sources the manuscripts are unreliable: dates, for example, are only very approximate; birth places for Steve Kaslov and his family are incorrect.
Evidence in the manuscripts indicates that de Wendler-Funaro hoped, through 1976, to publish these texts in some form. Apparently Kaslov made a first attempt to publish in 1940, when he sent a draft to Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt sent the manuscript on to George Bye, a literary agent, who returned it in 1941 as unpublishable, calling it a Oterribly disorganized manuscript .... [Kaslov] is now working with a doctor (de Wendler-Funarol who claims to be an author but the results are very unhappy' (Correspondence in FDR Library).
Correspondence in the collection (series 3) includes letters to and from de Wendler-Funaro; drafts of letters by Steve Kaslov, soliciting aid for Gypsy education; and correspondence between the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros, Mexico, and the U.S. Department of State. According to Mrs. de Funaro, Carl de Wendler-Funaro destroyed his other correspondence before his death.
Many of the books, journals, articles, and extracts in the collection (series 4)- are materials upon which de Wendler-Funarol's dissertation is based. They include typed transcriptions of published articles as well as printed matter; dates of the materials range from 1554 to 1979.
The collection includes about 2,000 photoprints, including multiple copies, and 2,000 negatives. These materials are organized into eleven series: (7) photographs by de Wendler-Funaro: Gypsies in the United States; (8)photographs by de Wendler-Funaro: Gypsies outside the United States; (9) heirloom photographs'; (10) photographs by other creators; (11) photographs ;rom commercial agencies; (12) photographs of non-Gypsies; (13) photocopies, of numbered photos, in numerical order; (14) negatives; (15) contact sheets made from negatives from by the Smithsonian Office of Printing and Photographic Services, 1986; (16) scrapbook sheets; (17) slides made from negatives and prints by the Smithsonian Office of Printing and Photographic. services, 1986.
The original photographs by Carlos de Wendlet-Funaro span the,period 1922 to 1966, but the majority were taken from about 1932 to about 1942. More than half the photographs are of the Rom group of Gypsies in the United States, and most of these were taken in New York City from about 1938 to about 1942. Other original photos by de Wendler-Funaro are of other Gypsy groups in the United States -- Ludar, Romnichels, 'Black Dutch,w and Hungarian musicians -- as well as of Gypsies in Mexico, Holland, Germany, Austria, France, England, and Hungary. Photographs by other creators include copies of portraits collected from Gypsy families, photos by other photographers, and commercial news photographs collected by de Wendler-Funaro.
De Wendler-Funaro seems to have used the photographs to gain access to Gypsy families and communities (many photos show Gypsies examining albums and sets of pictures). Some photographs were published in his 1937 article, and in two articles by Victor Weybright (1938a, 1938b). De Wendler-Funaro apparently also used lantern slides made from these photographs in lectures on the subject of Gypsies; a handbill advertising his availability on the lecture circuit is part of the collection.
Manuscript drafts for book outlines, introductions, and accompanying essays show that de Wendler-Funaro long nurtured hopes of publishing a popular tool-, 'Incorporating his photographs. To this end he numbered and captioned more than a hundred of these; a partial list of captions is part of the manuscript files. For the most part, the captions are not very helpful in understanding Gypsy cultures. Photocopies of these pictures with captions, in numerical order, are in box 8. With some exceptions, most of the photographs can be used to study costume, personal ornament, and kinesics; these will not be listed separately as subjects in the inventory. The photos of the Rom in New York City show several types of traditional costume, contemporary modish dress, and a wide range of variations on both. Taken together with the "heirloom photos' collected from the same group, they show change and variety in men's and women's dress.
In the photographs of individuals and groups one may compare, for example, sitting positions of women with relation to costume and use (or non-use) of chairs.
Most of the photographs of Rom taken in New York City show Gypsies relaxing on stoops or in the street during the summer, a common pastime in their neighborhoods. They contain little culturally specific information other than that discussed above.
Information on housing is most clearly represented in photographs of camps, in which the type of tent and, to some extent, the relationships of tents, are visible. All the tents shown appear to be commercially made. Since it was the practice to raise the tent walls in good weather, many photos also show tent interiors, with wooden platform floors used on non-grassy sites (Rom) or linoleum as a ground cloth (Romnichel). The use of featherbeds; either alone (Rom) or with bedsteads (Romnichel) is documented.
There are few photographs showing the use of interior space in urban storefront or apartment dwellings (Rom). The photographs taken in the Maspeth, Long Island, 'Gypsy village' show exteriors of the shacks built@by the Ludar.
Of cooking and heating equipment, the cast-iron or sheet-metal stoves of the Romnichels are most evident. The Rom are shown using a variety of equipment, the traditional trivet (Mexico), the Coleman-type camp stove (U.S), and the pot-bellied coal stove (New York City).
Photographs of autos and trucks, auto-drawn luggage trailers (Romnichels in the North), and horse-drawn wagons (by the horse and mule trading Romnichels in the South) reveal something of the transport of people and goods.
A few photographs show subjects at work, but most work pictures are static demonstrations or mere associations with productive enterprise. There are demonstrations of coppersmithing and fender repair work (Rom), and manufacture of rustic furniture (Romnichels), as well as posed demonstrations of palm-reading. Romnichels in the South are shown posing with horses and mules. The business that appears most frequently is fortune-telling, through photographs of roadside business tents (Romnichel); amusement, fair, and resort-area tents and stands (Rom); and canvas facades, banners and signs carrying the fortune-teller's message.
Ritual life is poorly represented in the photographs. There are some photos of a funeral procession, and one interior shot of a funeral; two photos of a saint's-day feast; one of a memorial feast; and one set taken in preparation for Christmas festivities. Curiously, there are no photographs of Rom weddings. The dearth of pictures of rituals and celebrations, which form so important a part of Rom life, may be due to difficulties with interior lighting.
Because of internal and other inconsistencies, exact dating of the photographs is often difficult. Discrepancies of as much as ten year occur in some of the dates in de Wendler-Funaro's notes.
Collection is arranged into seventeen series.
According to information supplied by Mrs. de Funaro, Carl de Wendler-Funaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 12, 1898. After attending Boys' High School and Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, he attended the University of Illinois and Cornell University, receiving a bachelor's degree in entolomology from Cornell in 1923. Subsequently he taught foreign languages at New York University, the McBurney School of the YMCA in New York City, Newark Academy and Wagner College. He began graduate work in the late 1930s, and in 1958 earned a doctorate from Columbia University with a dissertation on 'The Gitano in Spanish Literature' (a copy is in the collection, Box 1, folders 2 and 3). De Wendler-Funaro retired from teaching in 1963; he died in Tucson, Arizona on February 15, 1985.
Carl de Wendler-Funaro was an avid amateur collector of insects, especially Coleoptera, as well as shells, minerals, stamps and coins; his insect collections were donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
De Wendler-Funaro's interest in Gypsies, according to his manuscripts, began in childhood. The manuscripts and one published article indicate that this interest continued to be personal, rather than professional,,,,apd @hat,,he, did not pursue his contacts with Gypsies systematically. (it was, not, 'until' the late 1940s that anthropologists began systematic studies of GYPSY.@ cultures.) It appears that de Wendler-Funaro sought out Gypsies in fairgrounds, amusement parks and urban storefronts, collecting specimens of language and taking photographs. Irving Brown's letter to de Wendler-Funaro (1929), and de Wendler-Funarol's article in Leisure (1937) refer to his visits to amusement parks. Some of his Romnichel (English Gypsy) subjects recall him as the man who drove along the roads, stopping to take pictures wherever he saw a tent. About 1938 de Wendler-Funaro became involved with a Committee on Gypsy Problems of the Welfare Council, a social service agency of New York City. This involvement may have been an outgrowth of his association with Steve Kaslov, styled by some a Gypsy king. De Wendler-Funaro seems to have served as Kaslov's amanuensis.
Several groups, all known to outsiders as "Gypsies," live today in the United Sates. In their native languages, each of the groups refers to itself by a specific name, but all translate their self-designations as 'Gypsy' when speaking English. Each had its own cultural, linguistic, and historical tradition before coming to this country, and each maintains social distance from the others. An overview of these groups and their interethnic relations is presented in "Gypsy Ethnicity: Implications of Native Categories and Interaction for Ethnic Classification," by Matt T. Salo.
The Rom arrived in the United States from Serbia, Russia and Austria-Hungary beginning in the 1880s, part of the larger wave of immigration from southern and eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Primary immigration ' ended, for the most part, in 1914, with the beginning of the First World War and subsequent tightening of immigration restrictions (Salo and Salo 1986). Many people in this group specialized in coppersmith work, mainly the repair and retinning of industrial equipment used in bakeries, laundries, confectionaries, and other businesses. The Rom, too, developed the fortune-telling business in urban areas.
Two subgroups of the Rom, the Kalderash ('coppersmiths') and, Machwaya natives of machva,' a county in Serbia) appear in the photographs iiv, this collection. De Wendler-Funaro identified some, but not all, Kalderash as, 'Russian Gypsies.' Another group he identified as "Russian Gypsies' seem, to,, be the Rusniakuria ('Ruthenians'), who in New York are known as musicians and singers.
The Ludar, or "Romanian Gypsies,' also immigrated to the United States during the great immigration from southern and eastern Europe between 1880 and 1914. Most of the Ludar came from northwestern Bosnia. Upon their arrival in the United States they specialized as animal trainers and show people, and indeed passenger manifests show bears and monkeys as a major part of their baggage. Most of de Wendler-Funarols photographs of this group were taken in Maspeth, a section of the borough of Queens in New York City, where the Ludar created a village of home-made shacks that existed from about 1925 to 1939, when it was razed. A similar settlement stood in the Chicago suburbs during the same period. One of de Wendler-Funarols manuscripts, "Romanian Gypsies at Maspeth Village,' (box 1, folder 9), and a letter from Ammiee Ellis, a social worker (box 2, folder 2), refer to this settlement.
The Romnichels, or English Gypsies, began to come to the United States from England in 1850. Their arrival coincided with an increase in the demand for draft horses in agriculture and then in urbanization, and many Romnichels worked as horse-traders. After the rapid decline in the horse trade following the First World War, most Romnichels relied on previously secondary enterprises, 'basket-making,* including the manufacture and sale of rustic furniture, and fortune-telling. Horse and mule trading continued to some extent in southern states where poverty and terrain slowed the adoption of tractor power (Salo and Salo 1982).
Photoprints in box 6, folders 2 through 10, correspond with de Wendler-Funarols trip described in his manuscript 'In Search of the Last Caravan' (box 1, folder 10). Discrepancies between this manuscript and the photos should be noted. De Wendler-Funarols notes date this trip variously between 1931 and 1945. I have dated it about 1940. Although one man appears as a frequent subject in the largest set of photos (box 6, folders 22 and 23), in the manuscript, de Funaro mentions having missed meeting him.
Gypsies from Germany, whom de Wendler-Funaro refers to 'as Chikkeners (Pennsylvania German, from the German Zigeuner), sometimes refer to themselves as wblack Dutch.w They are few in number and claim to have largely assimilated to Romnichel culture. They are represented in de Wendler-Punarols photographs by a few portraits of one old man and briefly referred to in the manuscript mIn Search of the Last Caravan.*
The Hungarian musicians also came to this country with the eastern European immigration. In the U.S. they continued as musicians to the Hungarian and Slovak immigrant settlements.
Collection donated by Mrs. Cornelia de Funaro, June 26, 1985.
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), June 26, 1985.
Collection is open for research.
Photographs by de Wendler-Funaro are available for reproduction. Fees for commercial use. Permission to reproduce photographs by Alexander Alland must be granted by the photographer's estate; other photographs may have copyright restrictions.
Carlos de Wendler-Funaro Gypsy Research Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
I would like to thank John Fleckner, David Haberstich, and Robert S. Harding of the Archives Center for their advice and support throughout the preparation of this guide. David Haberstich deserves special thanks for his work in printing the photographs reproduced in this volume. I thank Richard E. Ahlborn, Curator, Division of Community Life, for his continuing interest in documenting American Gypsy life. I would also like to thank the Romnichel and Rom Gypsies who viewed and commented on some of the photographs in the Carlos de Wendler-Funaro Collection.
To the memory of Lazo le Georgesko.
This collection was organized and described by Sheila Salo, a 'student of Gypsy culture and history, under a grant from the Smithsonian Institution Office of Fellowships and Grants.
a) materials for general introduction. b) Notes, outlines. c) Introductory materials for Kaslov book. d) Materials for Chaikols story. e) materials for Lolya's story, apparently in Steve Kaslov's handwriting. f) Notes on an incident in American Rom history, apparently in Steve Kaslov's handwriting. g) Draft regarding de Wendler-Punarols attempt to publish book. h) Notebook c. 1935. Romani-English vocabulary. Story in English concerning Gypsies in Russia. Provenience unknown. i) Materials for photo book. j) Scraps on American Romnichels. k) Scraps on Ludar, United States. 1) Scraps on Rom in Paris. m) Scraps on Sinti in Germany. n) Partial list of captions to numbered photos.
Correspondents: James J. Amelia, Irving Brown, Ammiee Ellis, Read Lewis, Richard Wells. Drafts of letters by Steve Kaslov.
Complete issues are listed first, followed by individual articles listed by author.
Later annotations indicate 1917 and 1919 as date of photograph, but earliest labels (in German) show 1922, corresponding with license plate on car.
Wooden platforms form floor of commercially made tents with gable ends. Note children's 'soap-boxn cars'
Canvas advertising facade (banner front) seen before tent with platform floor and gable-front anteroom. Polish-language message: wpolish fortune-teller." Fortune-telling business in amusement park -- a roller coaster can be seen above and behind tent.
Fortune-telling (phrenology) stand with banner front.
De Wendler-Funaro describes his visit to this camp in the@manuscripts, an encounter during which his camera was destroyed.
Fortune-telling tent with canvas facade. Demonstration of pocket-picking (as a joke?) #101 (central figure is de Wendler-Funaro)
Fortune-telling tent with canvas sign. #82.
Mineola Fair
Wood fortune-telling stand. #86, published in de Wendler-Funaro 1937.
[Rom Gypsy woman fortune-teller in a booth at a fair, Mineola, Long Island, New York], [photoprint].
86-10481 (OPPS Neg. No.)
AC0161-0000033 (AC Scan No.)
Pencil on verso "Return to / Funaro" in center, presumably in Funaro's hand; "copied -- Clark", lower left, and "4/7-", upper right. Ink at top left verso: "86 / Mineola Fair 1932".
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Woman with braids sitting in chair before sign: "Phrenologist / Have your head read / Speak several languages / Russka - Polska - Worozka ..."
See collection record or register for information on photographer.
Loss, lower right corner of print. Many horizontal cracks on print surface. Cracks and bends of edges and corners. Glue residue strip, bottom verso.
Reproduced in register, 1986, after p. 10.
Fortune-telling stand, free-standing sign, canvas stretched on frame.
Fortune-telling stand, free-standing sign.
Open tent, no furnishings seen. Food preparation and serving. Use of Coleman-type stove.
Fortune-telling tent, free-standing sign.
free-standing signs (see negative sleeve for folder 9).
Note U.S. flag on tent.
Man is identified as Kalo ("Black) Worsho.
Free-standing phrenology advertising sign. The Yiddish-language reference is to the fortune-teller's proficiency in '7 different languages.' [Negatives only]
Car, clothing, and photoprint suggest.an earlier date, perhaps early 1930s.
Labeled 1935, but license plate reads 1938. Procession leaving church with casket, accompanied by string orchestra. Interior shot, apparently at undertaker's. Girl in procession is identified as Pantalina. #79.
#23, 68, 96, 98, 103, 105 (woman identified as Lenka Yanoshki, 'daughter of, or wife of, Yanosh'), 108 (woman identified as Rupish), 110, 112 (note regarding caption: 'bibi' means 'aunt,' not 'grandmother').
Tent set up in backyard of house, of canvas remnants (one advertising a side show, wrasputin and the Empresso) over board frame. Tent used for family gatherings, storage. A series of three pictures demonstrates vat cleaning in coppersmithing process. Set includes a few interior shots in the house. Note tobacco pipe, walking stick. #81, 125 (woman identified as Mara Jura), 129, 130, 131i
The girl is identified as Raida. #69, 71, 119, 154.
Portraits: groups. Coppersmiths. #116
[Two seated Rom Gypsy men, another one standing, with two children, New York City] : photoprint.
AC0161-0000035 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Men are identified as coppersmiths by Salo in register, p. 32. Signed "Funaro" in pencil on verso, with "116" in ink, top left of verso.
See collection register for information about the Romany Coppersmiths workshop, p. 33.
Image appears faded and yellowed, possibly from inadequate fixation. Print edges and corners slightly bent and cracked. Glue stain, strip along bottom verso.
Portraits: groups. Man is Steve K!islov. Published in Weybright 1938b
[Steve Kaslov with woman and little girl, standing on sidewalk, New York City : photoprint, ca. 1939-1942.]
AC0161-0000044 (AC Scan No.)
Stamped number 039 and light pencil notations, including "Kaslov", on verso.
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Kaslov, wearing hat and overcoat and smiling, looks at little girl while he seems to be exchanging an object, possibly a cigarette, with an old woman slightly behind him.
See collection register for information about Steve Kaslov, etc.
Romany Coppersmiths workshop
Demonstration of metal-utensil repair processes in a workshop situation. The Romany Coppersmiths workshop, 214 Bowery, grew out of an approach made by Steve Kaslov to President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937. Eleanor Roosevelt's referral to the Foreign Language Information Service, Inc., a social service agency for the foreign-born, led the way to establishment of the workshop. Read Lewis of the PLIS, Chairman of the Intersection Committee on Gypsy Problems of the Welfare Council and its Special Committee for a Gypsy Workshop organized a fund-raising campaign in February 1939. By September 1939 he reported that the workshop was proceeding slowly. Also in 1939 the Gypsies associated with the workshop made a brooch for Eleanor Roosevelt on commission. In October 1940 Steve Kaslov was still writing on letterhead stationery identifying him as manager of the Romany Coppersmiths. We do not know how long the workshop was in operation; it is unlikely it continued after Steve Kaslov was imprisoned in 1942. Letters referring to Romany Coppersmiths are in the collection (box 2, folder 2). Correspondence of Steve Kaslov with Eleanor Roosevelt is in the FDR Library at Hyde Park, N.Y.; copies are in the reference file, Division of Community Life. #99.
[Steve Kaslov working in Romany Coppersmiths workshop, 214 Bowery, New York City] : photoprint.
AC0161-0000043 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
See collection register for information about the Romany Coppersmiths workshop, p. 33.
Exhibited: "Hidden Americans: Photographs by Carlos de Wendler-Funaro," National Museum of American History, 1992-1993, David Haberstich, curator.
[Rom woman (Pupa Kaslov?), standing outside house, near doorway, New York City : photoprint.]
86-10463 (OPPS Neg. No.)
AC0161-0000036 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
See collection register for information Steve and Pupa Kaslov.
Reproduced in collection register, 1986, after p. 21, but erroneously captioned as being from folder 30.
[Six men working in Romany Coppersmiths workshop, 214 Bowery, New York City] : photoprint.
Ac0161-0000039 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
The men are giving a not very convincing "demonstration" of metalworking. Two of them hold hammers to bang on a large vessel.
See collection register for information about the Romany Coppersmiths workshop, p. 33.
Image appears faded and yellowed, possibly from inadequate fixation. Print edges and corners slightly bent and cracked.
Airing of bedding (featherbeds, pillows, and blankets) from apartment windows
[Rom woman and child leaning out apartment window, airing bedding--featherbeds, blankets, pillows], photoprint.
86-10480 (OPPS Neg. No.)
AC0161-0000038 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
See collection record or register for information on photographer.
Exhbited: "Hidden Americans: Photographs by Carlos de Wendler-Funaro," National Museum of American History, 1992-1993, David Haberstich, curator.
Reproduced backward in collection register, 1986.
Portraits: groups
Negative sleeve (2), dated 1940
[Two young Rom Gypsy fender repairmen talking, New York City, photoprint.]
AC0161-0000034 (AC Scan No.)
(two additional, smaller prints from same negative, in folder). Ink "109" at top left on verso. Pencil signature "Funaro" on verso near center.
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
"Men on work-seeking rounds, with tools in satchels." (Salo, register, p. 35.)
See collection record or register for information on photographer.
Slightly yellowing and fading. Glue stains, lower left and strip on bottom of verso. Corners cracked and chipped slightly.
(3): Steve Kaslov. #102
Portraits: men, groups. (3): man is identified as Serge, a Russian Gypsy pianist. #70. (7): Steve Kaslov. (9): #124
It is not clear whether this note is' related to subject of photo. Interior: meal at pomana. Part of the ritual of the pomana, a memorial feast, is the circumambulation of the feast table by two men, each carrying 22 lighted tapers, one moving clockwise, the other counterclockwise. At the conclusion of this ritual, the tapers are inserted into loaves or slices of bread distributed the length of the table. Such tapers are visible in the photo.
The slava is an anniversary feast celebrating a saint's day. By holding the feast, the celebrant or celebrants fulfill pledges to the saint as thanks for help given, usually in cases of illness. Each candle on the table represents the participation of a celebrant's family. The accordionist at the rear is probably Misha Tsiganoff.
Views of the 'Gypsy village.' Preparations for celebration of Orthodox Christmas, including outdoor spit-roasting of pigs and delivery of straw, customarily spread on house floors for Christmas. #30, 31, 37, 43, 44, 158.
Maspeth, c. 1937, car-polishing
["Gypsy" car polishers, black-and-white photoprint.]
AC0161-0000001.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Man sitting on the back bumper of a car, a younger man with a rag standing next to the bumper.
Stains at left.
[Group of fourteen Gypsy men and children, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000002 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Young Gypsy man smiling at the camera, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000003.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth, c. 1937. Bear and trainer. De Wendler-Funaro refers in his manuscripts to Ludar in the W. P. A. Circus; records of the Works Progress'Administration confirm the-pirtici'@ation of this Maspeth Ludar trainer and his 'sensational wire-walking, bicycle-riding -and roller skating Russian bears,' from 1937 through 1939. #156
[Chained bear sitting up for a treat from his male Ludar Gypsy trainer, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000004 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Possibly an act with the WPA Circus. Borderless print, trimmed unevenly.
[Male Ludar Gypsy trainer squating next to chained bear sitting and watching, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000005.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Possibly an act with the WPA Circus.
[Chained bear standing or walking toward male Ludar Gypsy trainer, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000006 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Possibly an act with the WPA Circus.
[Male Ludar Gypsy trainer standing in front of chained bear sitting and watching, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000007 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Possibly an act with the WPA Circus.
Maspeth, c. 1937. #36
[Four well-dressed Gypsy men next to a house with two girls and dog in the background, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000008 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Typed caption attached to the bottom of the photograph: "152. A scene in the Gypsy village on Long Island. Roumanian [sic] Gypsies / are like all others, sporty and graceful, and reminding one of / Spanish bullfighters in their bearing and manner."
Maspeth, c. 1937. Note.hand-beaten belt ornament. Number 32 is labeled 1939. #29, 32, 35, 41
Roumanian [sic] Gypsy women chat in the middle of the village [Maspeth], oblivious of Twentieth Century fashions [caption taped to print : black &white photoprint.]
AC0161-0000009.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Typed caption attached to the bottom of the photograph. Two automobiles visible in background. "1939 / Maspeth / L.I." hand-written in ink, at right of caption.
Severe creases; faded.
[Gypsy woman smoking a pipe and holdiing a baby, flanked by two young girls, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000010 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Gypsy woman smoking a pipe, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000011 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth, c. 1937. #27, 34, 39, 42, 151
Gypsytown's oldest couple... [standing at a gate, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000012.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Typed caption attached to the bottom of the photograph: "34. Gypsytown's oldest couple have settled down after travels / through three continents. They speak seven languages and / are as foreign to this land as on the day they landed, / thirty-five years ago." The man smokes a pipe.
[Older Gypsy man with a pipe and young Gypsy woman standing by a house, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000013 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Older Gypsy man in suit jacket, vest and hat, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000014 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Typed caption attached to the side of the photograph.
Maspeth, c. 1937. #28, 33
[Teenage Gypsy girl carrying a young girl with other children in the background, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000015 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth, c. 1937. #38, 40
[Three little Gypsy girls, b&w photoprint.]
[Three little Gypsy girls, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000016 (AC Scan No.)
AC0161-0000017 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Gypsy toddler in fancy skirt and wrap jacket, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000018 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Partial typed caption attached to the bottom of the photograph.
[Two young Gypsy children, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000019 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth
[Gypsy woman carrying a toddler, teenage girls on either side, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000020 (AC Scan No.)
95-1967 (OPS neg no.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth
[Gypsy woman and seven children with Dixie Construction Co. truck, black-and-white photoprint.]
95-1963 (OPPS Neg.)
AC0161-0000022 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
See collection record or register for information on photographer.
[Eight Gypsy children and a man eating a sandwich while holding a coffee cup, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000021 (AC Scan No.)
95-1965 (OPS neg no.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Maspeth
[Gypsy woman and four girls posed in the doorway and window of a house on the edge of a cemetery, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000023 (AC Scan No.)
95-1960 (OPS neg no.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Three Gypsy girls in the street, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000024 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Two Gypsy men standing in front of a white picket fence, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000025 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
[Group of Gypsy men working with a pick axe and an axel with two tires while a woman watches, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000026 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
I;Ublished in de Wendler-Funaro 1937i where it is identified as Roumanian Gypsies@Long Island, November. Due to the cool weather, tent walls are in place and stoves are indoors, with stovepipes protruding.
Canvas fortune-telling sign hung between trees, another sign near rural road. Auto-drawn luggage trailer visible. Note twigs cut to size for the manufacture of rustic furniture. A saw is visible, as well as a 'sawhorse' of twigs hammered into the ground in V-shape. Note twig fence and twig chair for camp use.
Most likely c. 1940 at latest. Commercial tents with sewn-in windows. Interior part of tent shown. Stoves shown set up i@ tent and outside. one photo shows a newer type of camp stove. Note the caged bird. Twig plant stands being manufactured. Completed stands seen behind child. Twig outdoor furniture, including bench built onto tree, used in camp. Dish-washing. #60.
Use of stove outside tent, trailer with walled awning.
Palmistry tent by roadside, signs. Twig outdoor bench. #62.
circa 1940
Palmistry tent on roadside. Twig outdoor bench. Boy with pet monkey.
[Gypsy boy with monkey on his shoulder, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000027 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Gypsy man and woman sitting in front of a tent in the background.
Horse dealers. Open tents in field. Interior visible, showing tables, bureau, bedstead, hangings or curtains. Stoves set up outdoors. Demonstration of palm-reading.
Horse-drawn flat wagon for goods. #50, 51.
West Virginia
Horse and mule traders. Horse-drawn vehicles, shown loaded in some photos. General view of camp. T-pole tents with side rooms, sewn-in windows. Interiors visible in tents with side walls partially raised. Possessions shown stacked near tents: bedsteads, stoves, featherbeds. Featherbeds and blankets shown airing. Washing clothes, washing dishes. Cooking on sheet metal stove outdoors, cooking directly on fire. Meal table. Shaving. Posing with mules, joking, children smoking. Demonstrations of palm-reading. . #45, 46, 47, 48, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 63, 64.
[Gypsy man lighting a little boy's cigarette, black & white photoprint.]
AC0161-0000028 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Tent in the background.
Horse-dealers, camp in meadow. View of roadside portion of camp, tent apparently next to gas station. Closed delivery wagon. Use of stove outdoors. Demonstration of palmistry. Guitar-playing.
Tent interior. Manufacture of twig furniture.
Probably Rom
[Gypsy woman washing clothes in a metal box., b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000029 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
House trailer with awning.
Printed by David E. Haberstich, Cuartor of Photography, Archives Center.
Rom, Russian coppersmiths. Open-sided motor truck with featherbeds and other equipment visible. Cooking using trivet (pirostea).
More probably 1930s. Tent, wagon and flat cart. Cooking using kettle hooks over open fire. #3, 13.
Working with monkey and street organ. #26.
Sinti group. Referred to in manuscript fragments. De Wendler-Funaro suggests in a note to one of his picture captions that the subjects of these photographs were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. #4, 11, 15, 19, 138, 145, 150.
Bearded man identified as Yanko Kadar. Demonstration of coppersmith work using nail anvil (dopo) and hammer. Series showing children playing tsera, 'tent.' #I, 2, 8, 9, 10.
Sunflower garden. Meal. #6, 20 24.
Row houses.
Tent. #14, 148.
Village with well.
Tinners. Work demonstration: melting tin, use of bellows. #22.
According to the manuscript materials, these photographs were collected by Steve Kaslov from American Rom families in his social and kinship network 'from the walls of flats or tents.' Mostly studio portraits, they include photographs possibly taken in Europe before the subjects emigrated, one apparently taken in Mexico about 1917, and others contemporary with de Wendler- Funarols acquaintaince with the Gypsies. The collection consists mainly of negatives that de Wendler-Funaro made from the originals.
Camp, United States, c. 1920. Rom. Metal work: object ready tobe torch-cleaned.
By Alexander Alland, Sr., New York
Rom, New York City, c. 1938. Alland photographed Steve Kaslov's family and network. A selection of Alland's photoprints of Gypsies is included in the Alexander Alland Photoprint Collection, National Museum of American History Archives Center, Collection #204. An album of his photographs is held by the New York Public Library; NKAH Library holds a microfilm copy of this album.
AC0161-0000030 (AC Scan No.)
Silver gelatin on paper.
In Series 7, Box 7A, Folder 25.
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
#149.
De Wendler-Funaro has notation "Russia,' but place of publication is Sofia. Camp, tent. Participation in patriotic parade. TSVit'.
Epsom Downs; Hampstead Heath; London. Keystone Photo.
St-Martin-de-R'e; Asni'eres; Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Keystone Photo; Associated Press; Underwood and Underwood; Authenticated News; Swift Photo.
Berlin; Altona (Hamburg); Maeschwege. Press illustrating; Paul Wolff; Keystone Photo; Underwood and Underwood; Presse-Photo.
Authenticated News; Presse Photo; postcards.
Ewing Galloway; Keystone Photo; postcards.
Moscow, May 1, 1931. Gypsies, identified as Magyars, in patriotic parade. Moscow, May 1935. Theater presentation by 'Romanian Gypsies." Kindergarten; construction workers; cradle. Sovfoto (Soyuzfoto).
United States
[Gypsy man playing an accordion with four men in the back ground playing guitars and mandolin, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000031 (AC Scan No.)
Silver gelatin on paper.
In Series 7, Box 7B, Folder 40.
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
"NBC photo by William Haussler" stamped on back of photograph.
[Gypsy man speaking or singing into an NBC microphone, b&w photoprint.]
AC0161-0000032 (AC Scan No.)
Silver gelatin on paper.
In Series 7, Box 7B, Folder 40.
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
"NBC photo by William Haussler" stamped on back of photograph.
Rom. Small carnival.
Rom. Use of sheet-metal cooking stove. Steve Kaslov, musicians, in sound studio. Keystone Photo; NBC Photo (Wm. Haussler).
Keystone; postcards.
Presse-Photo; postcard.
Photographs of_ non-Gypsies. Creator: Carl de Wendler-Funaro
Photocopies of numbered_photos, in numerical order
Negatives corresponding to photoprint boxes 4 and S.
Contact sheets made from negatives by the Smithsonian Institution Office of Printing and-Photographic Services
2' x 2' slides made from negatives and prints by the Smithsonian Institution Office of Printing and Photographic Servicesil