From 1938 to 1947, every evening after dark, this man took to the streets of Manhattan with a camera and flash, always with a cigar in the corner of his mouth. This guy is Asher Fellig, but his ability to arrive at the scene of a crime before the smartest cops has brought him fame under a completely different name: Ouija. Ouija is an imitation of the sound of a police siren.
New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography.
Weegee came to New York as a small boy from a Jewish shtetl in Austria-Hungary (now part of Ukraine). The adult Fellig began working as a photojournalist, but preferred to follow his own impulses and be guided by his own motives, so that he was essentially a freelancer. He took photographs, for which various publications fought to purchase the rights.
Weegee was the first to use police radio listening. New York in the '30s and '40s was a violent, loud, and raunchy place, and Weegee showcased all of those aspects of the city.
New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 1. “Who said that all people are equal?”, July 1945New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 2. Portrait of Weegee, author unknown, 1946New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 3. "In Fear", December 1939New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 4. “Celebrating the end of the war,” 1945New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 5. “Killed during an attempted robbery,” 1942New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 6. “Hitler gets it in the neck,” May 7, 1945New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 7. “Puppy of Victory,” August 14, 1945New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 8. “The Human Factor”, 1944New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 9. Portrait of Charles de Gaulle, July 18, 1959New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 10. "Firefighter's Assistant", 1943New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 11. "Frozen Assets", 1940New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 12. “Under Police Protection,” 1944New York in the 1940s through the lens of Weegee, the master of crime photography. 13. Ouija, July 1945