This Beekman Paper ad is familiar to motorists, at least those paying attention, traveling south on Varick Street on the way to the Holland Tunnel. The company was founded by Max and Ida Greenbaum on Beekman Street in 1907, moving to Varick Street in 1926. The Indispensable Walter Grutchfield has a photo of the ad in 1991, when it was considerably sharper. According to him, Beekman Paper was in business until the late 1990s.
Note that there’s still a piece of the ad that’s still quite clear at the very bottom. I wonder what happened to the rest of it. I’d imagine there was an obstruction that kept the sun from getting at it.
4/28/13