Man Smoking on a Train

Object NamePhotograph

Historic Owner Pierce Y. Matthews Jr.

Association USS Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11)

DateDecember 25, 1961

PeriodCold War

Mediumphotographic paper

ClassificationsCommunication Artifacts

Credit LineCollection of the Intrepid Museum. Museum purchase. P2017.05.13

Object numberP2017.05.13

DescriptionPhotograph, Black and white; Horizontal image of a light-skinned man in a suit smoking a cigarette while seated. There is an interior door to a train compartment on the right. A fingerprint is just over the man’s left shoulder. There is a white border around the image and the right and left edges are scalloped. The back has “Dr. Kovac Mladen // 2Agreb // Ilica 17/II // Yugoslavia” and “Christmas Day 1961 // on train in Switzerland” written in black ink and “H176211 Polaroid”, “47”, and “8” stamped in blue and black.

Description from accompanying letter dated January 6, 1962 reads “The Yugoslav was one of the 100% Catholics (i.e. Yug is cath.) and one of the 90% who are not communists. He is a physician, works in a hospital (no private practice in Yugo.), makes $25 a month, had $500 in $100 American bills and some goat cheese, and was enroute to Zagreb & Zurich (where turned left for Munich), to Munich to buy a used Opel to drive back. He has the goat cheese for chow, however, not for trading, I found out it was goat cheese by pointing to it and moo-oo-ing. He shook his head and said baa-aa. It tasted OK. Come to think of it baa-aa sounds more sheepish than goatlike. Oh well. He said that the Yugoslavians like Americans. He was No. 2 chess player in 'the university' and beat me twice fairly easily. He was a surgeon by the way.”

For full text of letters, see A2017.05 or ArchivesSpace record https://intrepidmuseum.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/113

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