NYC men's group--1880s--two requests on this photo

[Alison55]

This is a photo of a men's group in New York City in the 1880s. My great-grandfather is seated on the far right. He was in his 20s. It's the earliest picture we have of him.

I have two requests. First, Could the photo be cleaned up--remove scratches etc?  Second, I also attached close-ups of the badge they are wearing.  Can anyone tell at all what it says or what it is?  I have been staring at it for years.

Some ideas--My great-grandfather was a labor leader at the time but it was secret for fear of getting fired so don't know if they'd have their photo taken.  He was a conductor on a horse trolley at this time so may be a company outing.  He was a Catholic and may have belonged to a church-related group.  He was born in NYC but his parents were from Ireland so may be related to that, not political but ethnic.

Very grateful for any help.

[DrDude45]

Here's a touch up of the photo. Hope you enjoy!

As to the badges, I have sent an email to a friend who is into collecting such things and will  let you know if he gets back to me on it.

[Alison55]

Thank you so much for the restoration--much appreciated.  And also for sending the badge question to your friend.

[McGroger]

A couple of versions from me.
Just a guess regarding the badges: the centre looks like a horseshoe so perhaps could relate to your great-grandfather's work as you mentioned, or was he involved in any horsesports that you know of (e.g. polo was popular in New York at the time)?
Peter

[Trishanne]

Here's one from me. As Peter says the badge they are all wearing has a horseshoe on it, so could be something to do with his job. Could they be a team? I notice two or three are holding sticks, could it be a snooker club (are the sticks long enough)? Quite a mystery!!
Pat.

[DrDude45]

Here's one from me. As Peter says the badge they are all wearing has a horseshoe on it, so could be something to do with his job. Could they be a team? I notice two or three are holding sticks, could it be a snooker club (are the sticks long enough)? Quite a mystery!!
Pat.

Unless it's snooker in a rough neighborhood, I'd say it's not that as the gentleman on the far right is holding a sabre, not a cue. I'd initially thought it might be a sabre fighting club (similar to fencing), perhaps a championship team, but it's most likely a walking stick in the gentleman on the far left's hand. So the gentleman on the right could be "sergeant at arms" for the group. Still no word back from my friend as to the origin of the badges, but I will keep you up to date if and when they respond.

[Alison55]

Thank you so much for sharing your skills with these excellent fix-ups.  They look great.

I can't believe I never noticed those sticks, whatever they are.  Not polo--my great-grandfather was not moving in polo-playing circles.     The man standing on the far left seems to have one too but it may just be a walking stick.

I also never noticed a horseshoe on the badges and still really can't see the badges in any detail.  Horseshoes could be occupational if all the men worked on the trolley cars or they could just be the traditional sign of good luck.

There also seems to be some kind of square badge or booklet hanging next to my great-grandfather's hat which he's holding next to his knee.  I never noticed that before either.

The men are different ages, also perhaps a clue. They would not be classmates at a reunion.

Thank you so much again and looking forward to more thoughts etc.

[DrDude45]

Thank you so much for sharing your skills with these excellent fix-ups.  They look great.

I can't believe I never noticed those sticks, whatever they are.  Not polo--my great-grandfather was not moving in polo-playing circles.     The man standing on the far left seems to have one too but it may just be a walking stick.

I also never noticed a horseshoe on the badges and still really can't see the badges in any detail.  Horseshoes could be occupational if all the men worked on the trolley cars or they could just be the traditional sign of good luck.

There also seems to be some kind of square badge or booklet hanging next to my great-grandfather's hat which he's holding next to his knee.  I never noticed that before either.

The men are different ages, also perhaps a clue. They would not be classmates at a reunion.

Thank you so much again and looking forward to more thoughts etc.

I'm pretty sure that's not a stick but a sword in the man on the rights hand. From the shadow on his coat, it can been seen as very thin, and he seems to be palming the hilt by the guard in his hand with the rest of the hilt proceeding down between his fingers.

It looks like a sabre for fencing, but has a T type handle instead of a full shielding for the hand, so it could be either ceremonial (i.e. for a lodge or brotherhood type group) or an older (1700s era) dueling type sword.

I've enclosed some closeups and an example of the type of weapon in question.

My two cents.

Dr. Dude

[DrDude45]

My friend got back to me and pointed out something to me I hadn't noticed. The photo was reversed.

The medal he says is a Saint Christopher medal in the center of the ribbons, so he feels this is a reunion of soldiers.

Enclosed is a mirrored copy of the photo and an example of a similar charm. The medallions were often manufactured regionally so there's many variants of it. He says the text over the horseshoe probably reads either "Saint Christopher" or "Saints Protect Us"