The Jokers, 1959

“Bruce Davidson’s 1959 project Brooklyn Gang is an intimate photographic study of a rebellious Brooklyn teenage gang, who called themselves The Jokers. Not only is Davidson’s work a sincere portrayal of troubled teenagers coming of age, but it also acts as a documentation of teenage life during 1950s, exposing the emotional climate of that time period and exposing the dark side of a supposedly innocent time period”

- Wikipedia


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Thank you to Vonalina and to Michael McKean

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12 comments to The Jokers, 1959

  • Nicole Verity

    This is NOT your Mother’s ‘Laverne & Shirley’!

  • Jenny Jacoby

    I adore these. What wonderful moments, presumably all taken in between singing about Summer Nights and being Stranded at the Drive-In.

  • Jemima

    I really want this book - but it’s going for the rather out of my league price of £657.77 on amazon. Maybe not then. Thanks for posting such wonderful pictures though!

  • Jez Kay

    Love the main shot. V much time traveller. Same as the comics!

  • Die 1950er Jugend aus Brooklyn

    [...] Auf Wikipedia gibt’s umfassendere Infos über Davidson und seinen Werdegang, die restlichen Bilder findet ihr beim Retronauten. [...]

  • We like that » Blog Archiv » Brooklyn Gang

    [...] Jokers” aus Brooklyn fotografisch dokumentiert hat. Mehr Bilder aus dem Projekt gibt es bei hier. Bei all den Fotos mit Schmierschädeln muss ich natürlich sofort an The Wanderers denken. [...]

  • Katie Honey

    Interesting there seem to be girls in the gang. And it was around this period that the word teenager was coined

  • Photo Essay Concept « Hesiona's Kingdom

    [...] is really inspiring to me. I love the angles he’s shooting from and his abstract perspective. Bruce Davidson I really like his “Brooklyn Gang” series because he made his subject-being a group of [...]

  • snorpheus

    Speaking of the retro-ness of these images, I love the graininess. It’s one of those things that I’ve forgotten about with digital images where it’s “noise” and not “grain”. Davidson’s angle of the shot really accentuates the energy of the people he’s shooting. Love this old stuff!

  • Lesestoff von 25. Juni 2024 bis 22. Juli 2024 | jorni.de

    [...] 1950s calling earth… « How to be a Retronaut: Das gefällt mir: Schöne Bilder, die Bruce Davidson 1959 von einer Teenager-Gang aus Brooklyn geschossen hat (Nerdcore hatte es vor mir) [...]

  • looks like the jokers i knew,hung out on the parkside,tough guys,Michel john,tony vivelo,etc.beat the shit out of me on Bartel prichard square one summer night,hit me with a 2×4

  • Tweets that mention The Jokers, 1959 « How to be a Retronaut -- Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by JoxMcRox, Yannick Schall. Yannick Schall said: RT @JoxMcRox: Damn! Great pics of the 50's Brooklyn gang The Jokers, 1959 http://t.co/i02G6Rb [...]

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