{"id":120329,"date":"2018-01-17T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T18:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=120329"},"modified":"2018-01-17T13:22:22","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T18:22:22","slug":"two-thousand-pieces-subway-ephemera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2018\/01\/17\/two-thousand-pieces-subway-ephemera\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Thousand Pieces of Subway Ephemera"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

A bag of bullseye\u00a0subway tokens. All photographs by Brian Kelley.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2011, the Brooklyn-based photographer Brian Kelley\u00a0began collecting old MetroCards, a project\u00a0that soon transformed into a zealous obsession.\u00a0After scouring\u00a0all\u00a0of the city\u2019s\u00a0472 stations, he widened his scope to include maps, pins, tokens, buttons, uniforms, promotional papers, and other historical artifacts.\u00a0With the help of fellow enthusiasts, MTA workers, and eBay sellers, he has amassed, over the years, some\u00a0two thousand pieces of ephemera. A selection appears below.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In his\u00a0new book,\u00a0<\/span><\/em>New York City Transit Authority: Objects<\/span><\/a>, Kelley tells the story of the subway\u2019s evolution. In a moment when the subway\u2019s future has been put into question and\u00a0dissected\u00a0by frequent expos\u00e9s of\u00a0the system\u2019s degradation, this project offers a uniquely intimate view\u00a0into its history. The transit passes and MetroCards, in particular, read like familiar texts, each inscribed with traces of their respective time and place. A pink omnibus pass from 1956, for example, contains a name field for the passenger\u2019s husband. A test MetroCard from 1992 heralds\u00a0the end of tokens. Two years later, in\u00a01994, the MetroCards already resemble\u00a0those New Yorkers use today. Later specimens from the aughts\u00a0feature public-safety warnings as well as advertisements, most recently for the fashion brand Supreme. Some things never change: a flyer from 1985, when the 7 line\u00a0was overhauled for repairs, shows a commuter frustration that wouldn\u2019t be out of place today. Taken together, the objects constitute both a public record and a palimpsest, suggestive of the countless ways the city has grown, faltered, and reinvented itself over the decades, even as the structures undergirding it have remained\u00a0for the most part unchanged.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A two-year accident-free certificate for the Third Avenue\u00a0Transit System.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A New York City\u00a0bus pass from 1956.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A time table from 1968 for Harlem Division trains.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A pin commemorating the transit strike of 1980.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A subway flyer from 1985.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A test MetroCard from 1992.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

MetroCards from 1994 and 1996.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A\u00a02012 MetroCard discouraging truancy.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A 2016 MetroCard\u00a0celebrating\u00a0the opening of the Second Avenue subway line.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A MetroCard featuring the logo of the fashion brand Supreme.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Published\u00a0with permission of Standards Manual<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In 2011, the Brooklyn-based photographer Brian Kelley\u00a0began collecting old MetroCards, a project\u00a0that soon transformed into a zealous obsession.\u00a0After scouring\u00a0all\u00a0of the city\u2019s\u00a0472 stations, he widened his scope to include maps, pins, tokens, buttons, uniforms, promotional papers, and other historical artifacts.\u00a0With the help of fellow enthusiasts, MTA workers, and eBay sellers, he has amassed, over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2384],"tags":[32537,12627,32572,32541,32539,12567,125,32538,32571,607,32540,1296],"class_list":["post-120329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-look","tag-brian-kelley","tag-buses","tag-infrastructure","tag-metrocard","tag-metropolitan-transportation-authority","tag-mta","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-transit-authority-project","tag-public-transportation","tag-subway","tag-supreme","tag-trains"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Thousand Pieces of Subway Ephemera<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2011, Brian Kelley began collecting old MetroCards, a project which soon transformed into a zealous obsession.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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