(NEW YORK LONG ISLAND) Group of large photos from Central I

Sale 2505 - Lot 155

Price Realized: $ 625

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 300 - $ 400

(NEW YORK--LONG ISLAND.) Group of large photos from Central Islip Hospital for the Insane. 23 photographs including 3 duplicates, most about 7 x 9 inches and laid into original mats, a few unmounted or smaller; only a few are captioned, condition generally strong. Central Islip, NY, circa 1900-32

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Some or all of these photographs depict the Central Islip Psychiatric Center, established in 1889 and closed in 1996, which was at one point the second-largest psychiatric hospital in the country with more than 10,000 inmates. Some depict inmates, while others show the grounds. A few luxurious interior shots may perhaps come from the superintendent's quarters or personal residence. The photographs apparently come from the family of the superintendent George A. Smith; two laudatory 1932 clippings on Smith from the Islip Press are included, and the caption on one photograph identifies him as "Grandpa Smith." Among the highlights are two events held for the patients: a co-ed dance in a massive hall festooned with streamers, and the other held outdoors for the women and captioned "May-Day Exercises: Frolic of the Elves & Fairies, Central Islip State Hospital."