Item Info

Item 1, top:  Illustration of shad fishing on the east bank of the Delaware River, c. late 1800s. The image shows both fishermen and spectators, apparently using the gillnet fishing technique (see the inset at the left).  The Delaware River was famous for its shad fishing grounds, with Gloucester County, NJ, a popular location.  Illustration for an unidentified publication, 15.5 x 7.5 cm, undated. 

Item 2, center left:  Title page taken from the 1890 annual report for the Sanitarium Association of Philadelphia's Red Bank Sanitarium, on the east bank of the Delaware River.  The association was originally founded in 1877, to provide a fresh air playground for children with tuberculosis, located on Windmill Island.  In 1886, the location moved to Red Bank, NJ, because Windmill Island had been removed by the US Navy, to make the Delaware River more suitable for the growing shipping industry. Title page for the above-mentioned annual report, 11.5 x 17.5 cm, 1891.

Item 3, center right:  Image of the Red Bank Sanitarium, at Red Bank Avenue & Front Street, in West Deptford, NJ.  By 1886, the Sanitarium Association of Philadelphia (see Item 2, above) had to move its healthcare mission to a new location, because Windmill Island was dredged and removed from the Delaware River by the US Navy in 1892.  The building in this photograph was built shortly after, as a new tuberculosis ward and playground.  During the Depression, it was repurposed as a recreational facility, as the tuberculosis crisis had lessened.  The building has since been torn down, but there is still a public playground and pool on the property.  Reproduction of a Levy-Type Co. photograph, for an unidentified publication, 12 x 11 cm, c. 1900.