Simply Add Boiling Water

Artist Weegee (American, born Poland, 1899 - 1968)

DateDecember 1943

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 13 1/4 × 10 3/8 inches (33.66 × 26.35 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.2820

InscribedArtist's Stamp "Weegee the Famous" Back of Print Notations (see description) Back of Print In Pencil Description: On back of print in pencil: "f/8 about 10 secs + 3 no. flashbulbs. Super Panchro (?) Press 5 1/4 in. lens on tripod. Speed Graphic. The sign in the center of the building refers to the frankfurter; not the firemen." Artist's stamp and notations in pencil on back of print. Scaled for reporduction, 9-3/4 X 6-3/8. Residue of drymount tissue on back. Cropping and technical information on verso are in the artist's hand.

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DescriptionImage of firemen putting out a fire in a tall building. Sign on top of the building reads: "Hygrade all beef Frankfurters". Sign on the side of the building reads: "Simply Add Boiling Water".Gallery Label

Gallery Label

With wry humor, Weegee took this image of firefighters dousing a fire at a hotdog factory

where a sign reads “SIMPLY ADD BOILING WATER.” To underscore the joke, the artist’s inscription on the back of this print reads: “The sign in the center of the building refers to the frankfurter; not the firemen.”

Arthur Fellig earned the nickname Weegee (after the Ouija board) for his uncanny ability to sense newsworthy events and arrive onsite before emergency personnel. In truth, his early arrival had more to do with the information he received from police radio reports than any psychic abilities.

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