Da-Fence

The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: Rise and Fall of An American Organized-Crime Boss by Margalit Fox, is an improbable, but absolutely true story of a rather large German Jewish woman who came to the United States—and specifically New York City's Lower East Side Kleindeutschland neighborhood in the 19th century—and established herself as the go-to person for receiving stolen goods and turning the items into large amounts of cash that allowed her and her family and her stable of thieves to live quite well in the ever growing metropolis.

Ms. Fox is a former senior obituary writer for The New York Times and knows a good subject when he sees one. She of course didn't get to write Frederika Mandelbaum's obituary, since Marm passed away in Canada in 1894, after fleeing from the law in New York and a trial that would have likely landed her in prison for the rest of her life.

Frederika's death was big, world--wide news. The NYT couldn't ignore her death. For the past several years the NYT has embarked on a bit of obituary reparations, publishing the overlooked deaths that didn't get a tribute piece in the paper at the time. Those overlooked were generally women, but Frederika's notoriousness couldn't be overlooked in 1894. 

Ms. Fox in her book described Frederika as being as physically large as her reputation. Marm Mandelbaum  is described as: 

An imposing figure who in her own time fairly loomed over New York. About six feet tall and of Falstaffian girth (she was said to have weighed between 250 and 300 pounds), pouchy-faced, apple-cheeked and beetle-browed, she resembled the product of a congenial liaison between a dumpling and a mountain.  

She dressed in expensive clothes and wore enough jewelry—earrings, necklaces, brooches, rings and bracelets—that it was estimated that she was wearing $40,000 worth  of gems on her body at any one time.

The book is heavily footnoted, with sometimes three entries on a page. But they are informative, and Ms. Fox never fails to tells us what the value of things in the 19th century is in today's dollars. In Marm's case, the conversion to today's dollars is staggering.

Her $40,000 worth of jewelry accessories is pegged at $1.3 million dollars. She was a walking mark who was never mugged. It had to take her a long time to get dressed.

The book is perfect for New York City history junkies like myself. There are extensive pages of references on the sources and endnotes that take up tens of pages. There is a full index.

As already mentioned, the footnotes are informative. I like to think that through my flower delivery days growing up, I knew nearly every named street in the City. Not so.

I came across a footnote that informs that "...Cross Street is now Mosco Street." I surely never heard of Cross Street, and didn't know there is a Mosco Street on which mail is currently delivered six days a week.

Google Maps shows me Mosco Street sits between Mott and Mulberry Streets in Chinatown, just north of Worth Street. No one who ever came into The Royal Flower Shop ever sent flowers to anyone living on Mosco Street.

Better than Google Maps, Google Earth shows me Mosco Street is a narrow, one way, somewhat surprising hilly street, with Chinese and American lettering on the few storefronts. Blink and you miss it. One shop stands out with Chinese and English lettering that tells us you've reached Fook On Sing Funeral Supplies Inc. emporium.  There isn't anything in New York that you can't find a place to buy something from.

There is one delightfully described piece on how to steal a piece of jewelry from Tiffany's. It involves chewing gum and two people working in concert with each other. I'd love to know when was the last time Tiffany's fell prey to that one.

So take up the story of Frederika "Marm" Mandelbaum and journey to a Jack Finney and Caleb Carr New York City that no longer exists, but once held Marm and all her corrupt associates.

http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com