06/03/2006 - A Month And A Half Later

“At four, to his relief, Dean rose and announced that he was going over to Rivers Brothers to buy some collars and ties” (page 72).

After a month and a half sabbatical I have returned to continue my what seems to be a never-ending quest for information regarding “May Day”. I found out a couple of things my last day in New York having to do with the story. There was always this issue of what was Rivers Brothers and where did it come from. Fitzgerald could have made it up, however it appears that most of the places that these characters go and see are based in reality. The reason being is that these locations tend to lend themselves to the idea of realism that Fitzgerald was striving to write. Hopefully, someone will be able to understand my poor prose but I digress. So, back to the Rivers Brothers issue. Where did this store come from? The answer had been staring me in the face since my first day of research in the city. The store that Fitzgerald is referring to has to be Brooks Brothers (most definitely). Get it? A river, like a brook, is just another synonym among the many that describes a body of water. Mystery solved. The similarity in name isn’t the only evidence that has led me to believe that these two stores are one in the same; the location too solidified my beliefs. When I first got to the city I photographed the easiest things I could, the locations that Fitzgerald gave specific addresses for (Delmonico’s and Columbus Circle). Either on my way back from, or to the Yale Club I noticed the Brooks Brothers building had been in the same spot in New York for some time, I didn’t make the connection until later that being in such close proximity to the Yale Club that this was probably the clothing store that Dean, Sterrett, and the unnamed man visited after lunch (page 72). Logically, too this seems like the place that these men would buy clothes because when I think Brooks Brothers I think one of two things, old men, or privileged young men and what I mean by privileged men are young urban professionals.
I know that was rather jumbled so I’ll make it easier for you to understand,

1. A river is just a bigger version of a brook. Essentially mean the same thing, the only difference between the two is the volume of water each contains.

2. The location of the Brooks Brothers building is within walking distance from the Yale Club.

3. The business itself was at the same location during the period that May Day takes place (I need to double check the phone book on that one but I am ninety-nine percent sure).

Lastly, I know damn well that I spent way too long and got way too excited about such a insignificant plot point but in my defense this project is to be as thorough as possible.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “May Day”. Tales of the Jazz Age. First Pine Street Books: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003.