I didn't know there was a swastika on the tail until I started researching this piece. It's remarkable how little I know about photography and history.
Great article! I've always been curious which photographer took which photo of the disaster and had most of them figured out. What's harder to find is the photos moments before the fire - there is still no known photos or footage of this (except Joseph Spah's onboard footage). There are several other photos very similar to this but based on the position of the port trail rope being stretched way out to the right, Gus Pasquarella's seems to be the last known image. Even so it was about a minute between this image and the first known images of the fire. As Pasquarella's first image shows, the ship drifted quite a bit to the right during this time.
It's nice to see the Jack Snyder image in good quality - a few years ago there was next to no mention of it online. I was first made aware of it by a photo of an injured ground crewman viewing the newspaper with Snyder's image on the cover.
There is one image of the disaster I am still looking for in better quality and I'm curious if you have any insights. Harry McGonigal of the Evening Bulletin took what seems to be the earliest press photo of the fire starting, taken a split second before Murray Becker's. I do have a copy of the image on the cover but it is badly retouched. https://imgur.com/hiPOMDF
It's remarkable how many people on the Hindenburg survived. From the photos you definitely get the impression that the fire was so cataclysmic that no one could have survived.
I have seen maybe a third of these images in various places. The work you put into this post/article is incredible. Almost like being there. Thank you!
I often wonder about situations like this, where you know there is serious injury, perhaps death. Do you make the photograph, or out of respect for those suffering hold off. Thankfully, I have never had to make the choice.
Patrick, this comment doesn’t belong anywhere, but I was thinking of this space you made quite a lot while listening to Ezra Klein’s podcast on January 9, about Taste. At minute 52-ish, he and the guest, Kyle Chayka, talk about curation, its importance, and the relationship one can form with the content that someone who provides that service brings to attention. Within the attention economy, as Jenny Odell, describes it, where is the curator? Or does the curator bridge what Lewis Hyde describes as a gift economy?
Best thing on Substack by a mile
Thank you for the kind words. Appreciate your support.
Always thought-provoking, inspiring and so well put together 🙏
Outstanding piece.
Thanks so much Bill
Incredible read and photos!
Just WOW
The picture showing the swastika on the tail is really perspective-granting
I didn't know there was a swastika on the tail until I started researching this piece. It's remarkable how little I know about photography and history.
Great article! I've always been curious which photographer took which photo of the disaster and had most of them figured out. What's harder to find is the photos moments before the fire - there is still no known photos or footage of this (except Joseph Spah's onboard footage). There are several other photos very similar to this but based on the position of the port trail rope being stretched way out to the right, Gus Pasquarella's seems to be the last known image. Even so it was about a minute between this image and the first known images of the fire. As Pasquarella's first image shows, the ship drifted quite a bit to the right during this time.
https://lh5.ggpht.com/-5tbGXktk0x4/UPDRdUZbXaI/AAAAAAAACJ8/r4uZpLIdh0o/final%252520moments_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg
It's nice to see the Jack Snyder image in good quality - a few years ago there was next to no mention of it online. I was first made aware of it by a photo of an injured ground crewman viewing the newspaper with Snyder's image on the cover.
There is one image of the disaster I am still looking for in better quality and I'm curious if you have any insights. Harry McGonigal of the Evening Bulletin took what seems to be the earliest press photo of the fire starting, taken a split second before Murray Becker's. I do have a copy of the image on the cover but it is badly retouched. https://imgur.com/hiPOMDF
You can see a former eBay listing of this newspaper here - the inner pages has the image in much sharper quality: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/hindenburg-disaster-1937-newspaper-415148010
It's remarkable how many people on the Hindenburg survived. From the photos you definitely get the impression that the fire was so cataclysmic that no one could have survived.
Agree...I think if you were to ask the average person how many people died the answer would be far more than 36.
I honestly assumed until reading this that everyone on board had died.
I have seen maybe a third of these images in various places. The work you put into this post/article is incredible. Almost like being there. Thank you!
I often wonder about situations like this, where you know there is serious injury, perhaps death. Do you make the photograph, or out of respect for those suffering hold off. Thankfully, I have never had to make the choice.
Patrick, this comment doesn’t belong anywhere, but I was thinking of this space you made quite a lot while listening to Ezra Klein’s podcast on January 9, about Taste. At minute 52-ish, he and the guest, Kyle Chayka, talk about curation, its importance, and the relationship one can form with the content that someone who provides that service brings to attention. Within the attention economy, as Jenny Odell, describes it, where is the curator? Or does the curator bridge what Lewis Hyde describes as a gift economy?
What a great read! Fascinating piece of history!
Fascinating - thank you.
So good!
Fantastic Patrick, fantastic. Bravo!!