In 1872, a 13 year old Irish girl, Jane Mullaney, immigrated to New York City from Ireland with her mother, Mary. As was common at the time, they settled in a predominantly Irish section of Manhattan. It was a working class neighborhood, and as such, the men would dress accordingly as they left for work in the morning. When she would return home from school in the afternoon, Jane would often run into the "rich man" who lived down the hall from their apartment as he was taking his small white dog for a walk. Unlike most of the men of the area, he was always dressed in a tuxedo and was home when others were at their jobs. He always tipped his hat and smiled as he passed her in the hall.

One day, when her mother was speaking with some of the other tenants, she asked about the nice man with the little dog. Their faces blanked, and the shocked tenants asked her to describe the man in greater detail. The man, as it turns out, was a waiter who worked the night shift in an exclusive restaurant (hence the tuxedo). He would walk his dog every afternoon before going to work and was a quiet and cordial neighbor. One night a year earlier, he had quietly committed suicide in his bedroom.

This photo was taken of a tenant on the porch of this apartment. In the window you can see the face of a man peering out. If you look closely, you can see a noose around his neck. Most people can see a figure to the right, which appears to be a second face. Also, to the left of the man at eye level is what appears to be the head of a small dog.

 

 

 

 

Pink = dog
Yellow= man and noose
Lime = second face, 3/4th profile