Photography & Ephemera

[LAW ENFORCEMENT]. La Guardia-Pyke Bomb Carrier. New York: 1940. Five black and white photographs of the La Guardia-Pyke Bomb Carrier in various stages of construction. 8 x 10”. Four linen-backed, each stamped “Department of Public Works Reproduction Section” on verso with four dated 1940 and one 1943. Includes a group of newspaper clippings, bill statements, invoices, and New York City Police Department internal memos detailing the device’s construction and planned uses. A fascinating archive. On July 4, 1940 an explosive device was discovered at the New York City World’s Fair’s British Pavilion. The bomb exploded while two New York City police officers were attempting to defuse it, killing both instantly and injuring dozens of others. In response Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and James Pyke of the New York City Fire Department collaborated on a device which would be able to safely remove explosives from public spaces to be defused in less populated areas.