Tavernier’s “The Picnic Season,” a cover for The Daily Graphic, depicts a picnic excursion up the Hudson River. The narrative begins as picnickers board a steamer from Jones Wood, a famous commercial picnic ground in northern Manhattan (an area on the east side between 66 and 75th Streets, or to Fort Lee, New Jersey. According to the Graphic editors, “Persons familiar with the grounds around New York will recognize the fidelity of the scenery and the reality of the incidents.”
It’s a full day of eating, courting, dancing, singing, games, sports, and getting drunk. When it rains, the tired, soggy picnickers return via the 3rd Avenue cars under umbrellas.
* Jones’ Wood was an early candidate for the site of Central Park.
Featured Image: Notice how the picnickers become increasingly rowdy.
See Claude Tavernier. “The Picnic Season.” The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper (June 30, 1873); New Historical Society’s answer to the question “What Was Jones” Wood?”; http://www.nyhistory.org/community/jones-wood.
*Jones’ Wood was an early candidate for the site of Central Park.