- Following 1.4K
- Followers 9.7K
- Engagement 8.67%
- Avg likes 938
- Avg comments 37
About Letters of New York
Letters of New York (@lettersofnewyork) is a Photographer creator on Instagram, also filed under Photography & Video. The account has 9,672 followers and 123 published posts. Recent posts average 938 likes and 37 comments, an engagement rate of 8.67%.
Letters of New York belongs to the nano tier, the band usually drawn between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. Letters of New York follows 1,373 accounts, so the audience is roughly 7 times the size of the list followed. Letters of New York uses an Instagram professional account. Flinque files Letters of New York under Photographer, with Photography & Video as a secondary category.
The Instagram bio for Letters of New York runs to 17 words across 2 lines. The bio mentions @abstractaccidents. The latest activity Flinque has on record for Letters of New York dates from March 2026.
Story Highlights
Unlocking shows the title and cover image of every story highlight this creator keeps pinned to the profile.
123 Posts
Of the 10 most recent posts shown for Letters of New York, 7 are carousels and 3 are single images. That mix leans toward carousels. 123 published posts give Letters of New York a moderate archive on Instagram. Against the audience, that is roughly 79 followers for each post published. Letters of New York also keeps 26 story highlights on the profile. All 10 carry captions, averaging 157 words each. The captions are written mainly in English. Words that recur across them include street, been, truck, last and city. The captions tag #handpaintedsigns, #designhistory, #letteringdesign, #newyorkhistory and #brushlettering.
With a little help from my daughter (who was at first bemused but then really got into my impromptu project), we purchased some kitchen rolls from the hardware store around the corner, used our drinking water, borrowed a mop and brush from the women at Vivienne’s Hair Salon (who also very kindly let us use their bathroom to clean up afterwards), and so, we brought this spectacular 19th century gem back from the dead.
As we finished cleaning, about 20 minutes later – somewhat cinematically – the sun broke through the clouds and illuminated our work, then a local passerby named Greg stopped to thank us, admire our work, tell us a little local history, and lament the decline of the mosaic.
Bridge Street is slated for demolition and regeneration, so who knows if this mosaic will ever be cleaned or even photographed again.
After about 140 years its existence now feels fleeting.
Martin McDonnell left Roscommon in 1838 to settle in Dunmore and became a titan of the mid 19th century in the west of Ireland, owning over 12,000 acres across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The book ‘The Life and Times of Martin McDonnell, Merchant, Landlord and Poor Law Guardian’ by William Keaveney details his story. He died in the 1880s, and I suspect this mosaic postdates him, perhaps installed after the shop had already been in business for some time, or could the store have been owned by his son or daughter?
ps. I wonder if the red tulips have any significance!
#UrbanArchaeology #designhistory #RestorationProject #artnouveaustyle #doorwaymosaic
What’s rare now is how unchanged it feels. Same address. No rebrand. No storytelling wall. Just people who actually know their inventory and help without hovering.
Canal Street has always been a working street, this shop is part of that history: serving contractors, artists, set builders, designers, and anyone trying to fix something themselves instead of ordering a replacement online.
#CanalRubber #nycphotography #OldNewYork #ShopLocalNYC #storefrontsignage
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Founded in 1927 by current owner, Lucy Spata’s grandmother, Lucy Giabone, after immigrating to the US from Avellino near Napoli.
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Lucy junior took over in 1971, but had been helping out peeling onions since she was 6!
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Since then she’s fed Chrissy Teigen, Mayor Bloomberg, a guy whose name rhymes with rump, and in 1990 they featured prominently in ‘The Godfather 3’ – moments before Joey Zasa (portrayed by Joe Mantegna) is assassinated by Vincent Corleone (Andy Garcia) he takes what turns out to be his last meal.. one bite of a hot dog from Lucy’s, and declares “this sandwich is wonderful”. You can see some gorgeous hand painted lettering on that food stall behind him, and the word LUCY’s, perhaps added last minute, running vertically along a steel pole.
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They also appeared in Copland 1997, and on the cover of the queer cult classic photography book: ‘New York Sex. 1979 – 1985’ by Gary Lee Boas.
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In an interview with the New York Post they described her as “the Sausage Queen of New York” and she spoke of her hope that granddaughter, also Lucy, would eventually take over. Though she went on to say. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ll fight to the end. As long as I’m alive, my trailer’s gonna be here”
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Her Dyker Heights home is known as one of the most ostentatiously decorated houses every Christmas, no mean feat, her street has been dubbed the “most Christmassy street in the world”.
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#signpainting #logotypedesign #letteringdesign #handpaintedsigns #designgrafico
“It’s long been the traditional way of lighting the interior of ships. While kerosene lamps were sometimes used, the smoke could make interior spaces uncomfortable. And candles could become a fire hazard on wooden ships,” Diane Cooper, museum technician at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park.
“In 1845, inventor Thaddeus Hyatt developed a vault cover with a series of glass lenses in big cast-iron panels. The panels were modular so you could use them over large areas.
Hyatt produced glass pieces that were both flat on the bottom, and “refracting” lenses that were prism shaped.
Hyatt’s innovation in subterranean lighting made him rich as his vault covers were used all over the country. With his newly acquired wealth he spent much of the rest of his time and money fighting for the abolition of slavery.”
#newyorkhistory #logodesinger #designhistory #typographie
Gorgeous swishy strokes. The guy sitting in the drivers seat of this truck looked at me with the most extreme expression of bemused confusion I’ve seen in quite some time. I decided not to quiz him on who the sign painter was for fear I might cause him to vomit down on top of me.
#signpainter #letteringdesign #vehiclelettering #typografia
I couldn’t find anything online for the acronym ELSW. Then I found a great article on titled ‘10 Puzzling Ghost Signs of NYC’, where I learned that only half the original building still stands, the other half was knocked in 2008 to allow for construction of the Avalon Clinton apartments. The full sign had originally read “ELSWORTH” at the top of the facade. There was also an inset apex above it with the date of construction: 1888. Check out the later slides for this.
I checked out the building on 1940s.nyc (big credit to Julian Boilen for this amazing project, which he explains as such: “Between 1939 and 1941, the Works Progress Administration collaborated with the New York City Tax Department to collect photographs of most buildings in the five boroughs of New York City. In 2018, the NYC Municipal Archives completed the digitization and tagging of these photos. This website places them on a map.”)
I’ve included 1940s images from this website – surprisingly not terrible images of how the full building name in stone carved lettering would have looked.
I can’t find anything about the original purpose of the building, most likely retail at street level and rental apartments above. There’s a mechanics or auto parts shop there in the 1940s pic and it’s now a Housing Conservation Coordinators.
#newyorkhistory #designhistory #letteringdesign #architectural_ornamentation
Wikipedia: “The Smith–Ninth Streets station is a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway. It is located over the Gowanus Canal near the intersection of Smith and Ninth Streets in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and is served by the F and G trains at all times. The station is 87.5 feet (26.7 m) above ground level and was the highest rapid transit station in the world when it was built.”
#subwaytiles #subwayart #letteringinspiration #newyorkdesign
#handpaintedsigns #brushlettering #signwriters
#handpaintedsigns #brushlettering #letteringaddict #macktruck
#handpaintedsigns #letteringdaily #signpaign
Letters of New York's engagement
Letters of New York's engagement rate on Instagram is 8.67%, over 6%, more than 6 likes and comments per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 12 followers. An average post collects 938 likes and 37 comments, close to 25 likes for each comment.
Engagement rate
8.67%
- Avg likes
- 938
- Avg comments
- 37
- Interactions : followers
- 1 : 12
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Frequently asked questions
These answers about Letters of New York are generated from the Instagram profile data Flinque holds for the account.
Who is Letters of New York?
Letters of New York (@lettersofnewyork) is a Photographer creator on Instagram, also filed under Photography & Video. Letters of New York uses an Instagram professional account. The Instagram bio for Letters of New York runs to 17 words across 2 lines.
How many followers does Letters of New York have?
Letters of New York has 9,672 followers on Instagram (9.7K). Letters of New York follows 1,373 accounts, so the audience is roughly 7 times the size of the list followed. 123 published posts give Letters of New York a moderate archive on Instagram.
What is Letters of New York's engagement rate?
Letters of New York's engagement rate on Instagram is 8.67%, over 6%, more than 6 likes and comments per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 12 followers. An average post collects 938 likes and 37 comments, close to 25 likes for each comment.
What does Letters of New York post about on Instagram?
Flinque files Letters of New York under Photographer, with Photography & Video as a secondary category. Of the 10 most recent posts shown for Letters of New York, 7 are carousels and 3 are single images. The 10 recent Instagram captions Flinque holds for Letters of New York repeatedly use the words street, been, truck, last and city. Letters of New York's captions carry hashtags such as #handpaintedsigns, #designhistory and #letteringdesign. Letters of New York writes those captions mainly in English. Letters of New York keeps 26 story highlights, which open with a free Flinque account.
How do I contact Letters of New York for a collaboration?
Letters of New York's contact details are not published on Flinque's public profile. The Instagram bio links to 1 external site, and a free Flinque account opens that link. Brands with a free Flinque account can shortlist Letters of New York and use Flinque's outreach tools wherever a contact route is on file.
Links
Letters of New York's own Instagram profile is the one outbound link Flinque publishes for the account, and the bio link opens after signing up.
Public profile data sourced from Instagram. Flinque is not affiliated with Letters of New York.