This photograph is from the Fritz Leddy Photo Collection, which contains over 2,000 negatives the East Hampton Library was able to scan this summer. Francis David (Fritz) Leddy (1906-1987) joined the East Hampton Village Police Department in 1932, and during his 36 years on the force he served as chief of the department from 1937 to 1968. Leddy’s photographs capture daily life in East Hampton, primarily between 1945 and 1960, showing what the community looked like in the mid-20th century.
If you zoom in on this particular photo, you can see the Long Island Collection’s founder, Morton Pennypacker (1872-1956), entering through the library’s front door. Next door is the “Purple House,” which was moved to the East Hampton Town Hall Annex after spending years at the property of Adelaide de Menil and Edmund Carpenter. Continuing to the right, one can see the East Hampton Star building, Clinton Academy, and the 1770 House. While the photo is undated, the others with it date to 1948.
Previously, the photographer Doug Kuntz had worked with the Leddy family to print some of the photos and curate an exhibition for Guild Hall in 2006 and another in 2012, part of which remains on display in the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street.
As part of the celebration for America’s 250th Anniversary, Village of East Hampton officials began to look for historical photographs of the community, and Leddy’s immediately came to mind. With support from the village, Doug Kuntz, the Leddy family, and Hugh King, the town and village historian, library staff moved quickly to help make sure the photos could be used for a 250th celebration this summer.
On Monday at 7 p.m. in Herrick Park, the village will show 100 selected photographs from the Leddy collection, which Hugh King will present under a huge tent. This is a wonderful opportunity to see images that haven’t been seen before.
In the coming months, the full collection will be uploaded to Digital Long Island, allowing the public to enjoy these memories and help us identify the many people and places Leddy documented.
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Andrea Meyer, a librarian and archivist, is head of collection for the Long Island Collection.
