Fish Bargain, NYC

Bill Aron

1978

Photograph of interior of store with fish behind a glass counter and foodstuffs on shelves, with a man in a butcher's apron in center talking to a bearded man in a suit next to several barrels of fish and another man behind them. — Aron’s photographs of Jewish communities portray their vibrancy but also document aspects of Jewish cultural, religious, and economic life that are changing and/or in danger of vanishing altogether. In the 1970s, Aron photographed this scene in a fish store of the sort that was becoming increasingly rare in New York City. Several elements in the picture mark it as Jewish, including the customer with the traditional beard and black hat, the body language of the fishmonger, and some of the fish on display, longtime favorites of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.

Aron’s photographs of Jewish communities portray their vibrancy but also document aspects of Jewish cultural, religious, and economic life that are changing and/or in danger of vanishing altogether. In the 1970s, Aron photographed this scene in a fish store of the sort that was becoming increasingly rare in New York City. Several elements in the picture mark it as Jewish, including the customer with the traditional beard and black hat, the body language of the fishmonger, and some of the fish on display, longtime favorites of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.