[351 East 61st Street, Manhattan, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]
Neither a horseradish and pickle company nor a wood turner would find much of a welcome on East 61st Street today, even if they agreed to share the same building.
Capt. Post advertised in the Stewards Manual (Stewards Association of New York City) as early as 1904. In 1921 the business was incorporated. The Captain is listed in Paul van Ravestein and Monique Mulder’s The Pickled City: A Biography of New York Pickles (2026), a work that lists an astonishing number of New York pickle makers.
[A 1904 advertisement.]
[The New York Times, February 22, 1921.]
[The Spice Mill, February 1921.]
[The masthead.]
Max Deutsch was working as a wood turner and twister as early as 1931, when he was listed in American Lumberman, and as late as 1953, when he was listed in the Industrial Directory of New York State.
I like the Captain’s awning: “CAPT. POST [?] & PICKLE COMPANY.” Maybe an H filled that space? Notice too the graffiti, the Deutsch sign, the MYERS who also worked in wood, the man carrying — what?, and the Italian-American grocery store.
Thanks, Brian, for noticing this building. Its neighbors stand, but it’s now gone.
See also the Home of Piccalilli and the Hungarian Pickle Works.
*
May 14: Brian figured out the mystery at the center of the Captain’s awning:
[Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office (1928).]
Get it? Horse-red-ish. I used Acorn to give this mark some color. I don’t know what to make of “Claims use since Apr. 15, 1830.”
*
May 16: Now I sort of do. Trow’s New York City Directory (1886) has a listing for a Captain Post’s horseradish:
Related posts
More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)
Sunday, May 10, 2026
The pickle turns
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comments: 8
did you see this article: https://www.bkrea.com/insights/former-industrial-building-redeveloped-into-residential-rentals-in-lenox-hill-upper-east-side. Ugh, a bunch of bros just flipping buildings for the highest price.
"The sale of 351 East 61st Street is a reminder that relying on interest from buyers alone does not necessarily lead to the highest sale price. "
kirsten
Thanks, Kirsten, I didn’t see that. I looked at the block in Google Maps and decided to just move along — nothing in my price range there. :)
well done. i like the striped awning, and the diagonal billboard lettering too
I’d like to know whether the awning is red and white or green and white. :)
just noticed what appears to be someone, inside the window
I see what I think is a lamp on the second floor, left. Is there a person in the window of Capt. Post’s place?
second pane from right, a woman (customer, or employee)
Now I see her. Funny how she suddenly came into focus for me.
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