Lost and Found in the Subway: Dentures Galore

In the 1940s, a man lost his dentures on the New York City subway and visited the lost-and-found office in College Point, Queens, to try to recover them. He attempted to fit various false teeth, partial plates, and bridgework that had been turned in, but none fit. The lost-and-found office was a repository of unusual items, including a rowing machine, a stethoscope, birdcages, a folding bed, and a snake pickled in alcohol. Photographs of these items were taken by Hans Reinhart, a commercial photographer, on assignment for International News Photos. The photographs are part of a collection to be displayed at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Other lost-and-found offices, including the Police Department's and the Hotel Pennsylvania's, were also photographed during this era. The Hotel Pennsylvania's lost-and-found center was described as being 'jam-packed with everything under the sun', with left-behind luggage, coats, robes, and medications.