1896: Tige, the Newfoundland of Mount Loretto Orphanage for Boys in Staten Island, Part II

Posted: 13th May 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Tails
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48th Street and First Avenue, 1915

Tim and Tige lived and played on East 48th Street near First Avenue, pictured here in 1915. This neighborhood was razed to make way for the United Nations Plaza in 1948. NYPL Digital Collections

When we left Part I of this Old New York dog tale, little Tim Leahy had just been separated from his only friend, a Newfoundland named Tige. In Part II, we’ll travel to the southwest shore of Staten Island, to Father Drumgoole’s Mission of the Immaculate Virgin at Mount Loretto, a large, 600-acre farm for thousands of orphaned children and one very lucky homeless Newfoundland.

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1896: Tige, the Newfoundland of the Mount Loretto Orphanage for Boys in Staten Island, Part I

Posted: 8th May 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Tails
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Boy with Newfoundland dog, vintage

This is not Tim Leahy and Tige, but this vintage photo is perfect for this story.

Tim Leahy was only seven years old when his father died and his mother ran away and left him on his own. With no other living relatives in his homeland of Ireland, he was put on a ship and sent to live with a great aunt in New York City.

Great Aunt Julia Kelley was not a wealthy woman by any means; in fact, she barely made enough money selling apples and candies at a little stand in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue (the neighborhood kids called her Apple Julia). But she welcomed Tim into her modest tenement apartment at 400 East 48th Street and cared for him as best she could.

Shortly after Tim was united with his great aunt, a homeless, half-starved Newfoundland followed Tim home and won over the hearts of the little boy and his aged aunt. Though very poor, Aunt Julia could not turn the dog away, and so the three lived in poverty together.

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1906: Lions, and Tigers and Cats and Dogs, Oh My! The Menagerie at 42 Bleecker Street, Part 2

Posted: 23rd April 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories
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For 40 years, Fred Sauter stuffed every kind of animal imaginable at 42 Bleecker Street, pictured here on the right sometime around 1905.

For 40 years, Fred Sauter stuffed every kind of animal imaginable in his workshop at 42 Bleecker Street, pictured here on the right sometime around 1905. Note the entrance to the brand-new subway in the foreground, at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Elm Street (today’s Lafayette Street).

In the first part of this Old New York menagerie tale, we met taxidermist Fred Sauter Jr., a well-known New York City taxidermist who did a thriving business stuffing deer, bears, lions, birds, monkeys, and even pet dogs and cats in his large warehouse at 42 Bleecker Street. In Part 2, we’ll explore the history of the building on Bleecker Street where Fred Sauter Jr. and his son turned the skins of dead animals into fascinating if not grotesque displays for hunters, department stores, theater sets, movies, and distraught pet owners.

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1906: Fred Sauter and His Stuffed Menagerie at 42 Bleecker Street, Part 1

Posted: 15th April 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Attractions
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New York City taxidermist Fred Sauter was renowned for his realistic stuffed animal skins, like this lion that appeared at the annual Sportsmen's Exhibit.
New York City taxidermist Fred Sauter was renowned for his realistic stuffed animal skins, like this lion that appeared at the annual Sportsmen’s Exhibit at Madison Square Garden.

Part 1: Fred Sauter’s Stuffed Menagerie

Lions, and Tigers, and Cats and Dogs, Oh My!

One early spring day in March 1901, several pedestrians in lower Manhattan were startled by a 12-foot Bengal tiger which had emerged from the door of 3 North William Street. No one ever expected to see a tiger on the streets of New York, so you can imagine the surprise when a giant buffalo and mountain lion entered the sidewalk, followed by a gorilla, an elk, and some jaguars and lions.

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1895: Taffy, The Laird, and the Clowder of Town Topics Office Cats on Fifth Avenue

Posted: 1st April 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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Taffy Town Topics Office CatsIn May 1895, the first official cat show in New York City took place at Madison Square Garden. More than 200 felines ranging from humble street cats (such as Brian Hughes’ Nicodemus) to the high-society cats of Mrs. J.J. Astor and Mrs. Stanford White were all on display at the first National Cat Show.

Although they did not take home any ribbons, a trio of black cats belonging to Colonel William D’Alton Mann, publisher of the Town Topics society magazine, were the center of attraction that year.

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