I was recently commissioned by filmmaker and actor Franklin Abrams, who is also a Monk Eastman aficionado and scholar, to illustrate and design a logo for his upcoming Our Gotham project. Abrams is behind the Monk 1903 website of which I posted about on September 16. Our Gotham will be an ongoing series of webisodes focusing on Eastman and his pals Lollie Meyers and Joseph Brown in a modern setting as well as of times past, and the first episode should be up online in November.
I will have more details as they become available to me.
With very little photo reference of Monk Eastman out there, I had to imagine a three quarter view of the old gangster boss and believe I've managed to capture his essence.

*************************************************************************************
Some blog sides notes:

I just recently added a counter to the blog as my curiosity was peaked as to how many visits it actually gets. I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors in the short time so I thank all of you who have, and keep dropping by.

Future posts may be a little sporadic as I am gearing up for something for which I will announce soon, and in turn will keep me quite (happily) busy.

I also should note that it seems this blog, for some reason, is best viewed through a Firefox browser as when looked at in Safari, certain elements are actually missing !?

*************************************************************************************

Sunday, October 5 will mark the 96th anniversary of the death of Big Jack Zelig, so I thought it would be rather appropriate to plug Rose Keefe's The Starker, Big Jack Zelig, The Becker - Rosethal Case, And The Advent Of The Jewish Gangster, which has finally been released, and I must say it has been worth the wait.
I'm currently only halfway through but felt the urge to spread the word in the meantime...

Keefe's book expands on what has really been in essence a supporting subplot of the entire Herman Rosenthal / Charles Becker affair. The Starker now brings Zelig to the forefront, with great new insights and information on his early days leading up to his guiding the scattered Eastman gang back on track after a life changing and violent incident in Chicago; his utter disdain for gamblers and drugs; his actual involvement in the Rosenthal case; and to that fateful trolley ride in October of 1912.

Zelig Lefkowitz’s legacy remains a rare one. Not only had he the outmost respect from his gang, but also was considered as a patriarchal figure by the Jewish community of the Lower East Side at the time, the only leading Jewish mobster to do so.
Zelig vowed to protect his neighborhood from menacing Italians who preyed on weak willed business owners, tauntingly pulled on old men’s beards hovering outside of Shuls, solicited young women into the snares of prostitution, and generally bullied the Jewish immigrant populace.
Zelig kept his promise with vigor and affirmative force. Under Zelig’s command, his gang single-handedly extinguished outside oppression experienced by Jews on the streets from the roving band of Italian hoodlums, petty thieves, and pimps. Zelig was hero to most of the people whose old world distrusts of law enforcement and authority had carried over with them to the new land. They had Big Jack as their own protector instead. Even legitimate businessmen who knew of Zelig’s illegal interests couldn’t help but be impressed.
They had created their own East Side Golem in a way.

Anyone with an interest in not just pre-World War I, but overall Jewish Gangster history, and to get a better understanding of the seeds from which it all grew, should seek this book out.