The following is the caption by Elizabeth McCausland accompanying the original 1939 edition of Berenice Abbott's Changing New York publication.

Functional, to say the least, is this fascinating congeries of 'things.' Many customers are 'afraid' to come in and ask for an item unless they first see it in the window or in the sidewalk trays each night and morning. Canvas covers must be used in sudden rains, for it takes an hour to haul them in.

Excerpt from

Elizabeth McCausland, caption for “Hardware Store,” in New York in the Thirties [former titled: Changing New York], (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1973; New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc.,1939), plate 32 (np).

• The New York Public Library Digital Collections
  Explore the archive of images from Berenice Abbott's Changing New York project at the New York Public Library.

• Museum of the City of New York
  Learn more about the artist and her work.

• National Museum of Women in the Arts
  Read a brief biography of Berenice Abbott from NMWA.

• NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
  Check out the residence and studio of Berenice Abbott and her partner Elizabeth McCausland.