Not only did the Comets, as the staff of the photographic agency Comet Photo AG in Zurich called themselves, travel around Switzerland; they occasionally went abroad, too. Sometimes they managed to find the ideal combination of work and holidays.
A closer look at the New York trip in December 1959 reveals diverse reports within the report. Four Saint Bernards were delivered to New York on a Swissair plane, and the street and nightlife was documented extensively; the team attended baseball games and the street carnival; the photographer took pictures of architecture or captured everyday life in private settings. The roughly 700 images stem from Comet co-founder Björn E. Lindroos. We have digitised a selection of 233 photographs and uploaded them online.
The 1964 trip was photographed by Jack Metzger, another cofounder of Comet Photo AG. He took pictures of similar subjects to Lindroos, but also visited the World’s Fair.
The photographs are currently only labelled “New York Trip” and therefore are waiting for you to help identify them in more detail!
The photo reporter is a must, of course, 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0002-0008, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000675730)
Arrival of the four Saint Bernards at a New York hotel with various photographers in tow. This event was documented in several photographs, beginning with the disembarkation from a Swissair cargo liner, 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0005-0008, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000675764)
So there was already indoor skiing back in the day! The National Winter Sports Show, 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0019-0017, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000684310)
Always very interesting, too: glimpses into everyday life. Striking by Swiss standards: the large steak and the telephone in the kitchen! 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0014-0003, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000675851)
A kinetic sculpture by the American artist Alexander Calder in a subway station? Which one? 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0018-0017, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000675908)
A nice diner in New York. Any guesses? 1959 (Com_L08-0198-0018-0020, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000675911)
Street scene near the National City Bank of New York. Where exactly? 1964 (Com_L13-0148-0019-0002, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000882085)
Or breath-taking architecture, such as a car park, for instance? 1964 (Com_L13-0148-0021-0001, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000881788)
A touch of the autumn blues on a pier in New York at the end of the 1964 trip. The architecture also striking here! (Com_L13-0148-0033-0005, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000882551)
Complete image information
Metzger, Jack: New York trip, 1964 (Com_L13-0148-0033-0005, http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000882551)
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.35016/ethz-cs-660-en
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