Author: Carl Johnson

While we’re on the subject of the trade cards of Troy merchants in the 19th century (yes, that is the subject we were on), here’s another one from the Boston Public Library collection on Flickr. This one is from Julius Saul, the clothier of Troy whom we’ve profiled before. It’s safe to assume that…

So yesterday we said we didn’t know much about Hugh McCusker, dealer in carpets, oil cloths and more. But we did run across this cabinet card photo that captures the Troy merchant and his impressive beard. The photograph was taken by Zeph Magill, a photographer who worked in the Keenan Building at Third and…

Hugh McCusker was a dealer in carpets and oil cloths late in the 19th century, with a store at 261 River Street in Troy. His trade cards are still around, as you can see here, but beyond a couple of directory listings, I haven’t learned much about Hugh McCusker. The front of this card…

Troy’s Hendrick Hudson Hotel building dates back to 1926, and has been such a central part of the Collar City’s life ever since that I’ll forgive it for the hollandization of English explorer Henry Hudson’s first name. (Yes, he sailed on a Dutch ship for a Dutch company. His name was still Henry.) With…

Last week we saw what a village post office is supposed to look like. Here we have Troy’s fine example of what a city post office is supposed to look like. It was built in the mid-1930s as a Depression-era construction project and, like other post offices of that era, has the good taste…