The flat boomers of Gotham
A crowd of people, many with belongings in tow, wait for the rope to drop so they can dash for available apartments. In the background, apartment buildings are being constructed, all indicating that they will be finished in a very short period of time, to meet the rising demand for housing. Caption: The rush for apartments is getting very Oklahoma.
Comments and Context
This magnificent and detailed center-spread Puck cartoon by Albert Levering comes down through history as almost a complete checklist of the day’s prominent social classes, ethnic groups, professions, “types,” and representatives of life during the Roosevelt economy. Upwardly mobile people, new home construction progressing at a fevered pace, citizens and businesspeople alike depicted as extreme stereotypes — all are represented in the cartoon, from domestic servants to thieving plumbers and rental agents.
