Collections Item Detail

DescriptionBlack-and-white group photo with Frank Sinatra, Dolly Sinatra, Franciscan friars and others, in a room that was probably at Saint Francis Church, Hoboken, no date, circa 1936-1939. 8" x 10" contemporary satin print. Photographer not indicated. Reverse is blank. Church is at 300 Jefferson St., northwest corner Jefferson & Third Streets. Address can also include 308 Jefferson St. Sinatra and his family attended Saint Francis (he was baptized there in 1916), but the the event or reason for this photo is unknown. Although at the back, he is the focus of the image. A man to his right is playfully pointing a finger at him. He was already a celebrity. A young Sinatra is seen at the rear center and his youthful appearance would make him about 21 to 24 years old in the probable date range of this photo. Except for him and his mother, Dolly, at the front, one of only three women present, none of the other people seen have been identified Besides the two monks and a priest (collar), all the other men wear suits and are of varying ages; a small boy is being held by his father. This image was not a snapshot, but a flash photograph by a professional (or at least an advanced amateur) photographer and the print quality suggests that of a professional studio, and not that of a typical publicity still print. The source has stated it was among the papers of her mother, who would have been a contemporary of Sinatra in Hoboken, but not otherwise connected. Her family did not attend St. Francis (members of Saint Ann's). She did not know how this print came to belong to her mother.