February 18, 2007
Brooklyn Bridge jumper, and other vintage posters
 Swann Galleries is holding a mini-exhibition of vintage posters this week in advance of its February 21 auction. Among them is the 1895 anonymous rendering of Steve Brodie's Brooklyn Bridge jump.
From the Swann catalog:
Steve Brodie was a Brooklyn bookmaker who was immortalized by his allegedly successful 135-feet jump off the Brooklyn Bridge on a $200 bet on July 23, 1886. His stunt was performed only months after another man, Robert Odlum, died attempting the same feat. The stunt was advertised in various newspapers, and crowds thronged the area for the spectacle. Actually, Brodie fooled the crowd by throwing a dummy in his place. Using his new-found fame, he opened the New York City Tavern and Museum in the Bowery that became a mecca for fans. ... In the years following Brodie's stunt, the term to 'pull a Brodie' was used to denote doing something dangerous. Swann is located at 104 E. 25th St., map.
February 18, 2007 03:53 PM in Cheap Stuff, Downtown, History, Out of Manhattan, Sightsology
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