Photos of the Jewish Lower East Side were selected from Sid Kaplan's series and gracefully meshed with Steve Marcus' ghostly and humorous drawings of the East Side's vibrant Jewish community to create The Golden Medina.

Utilizing Kaplan's photos as backdrops, Marcus' playful sentimental drawings, along with his fun and frum Yiddish verse create a stunning and intriguing story that simulates time travel with a Rabbi and Dr. Seuss. The marrying of Kaplan's historic images and Marcus' underground comic inspired style brings the past to life in hunting beautiful works of art that promise to spark fond memories of the good old days in a vanishing New York.

Sid Kaplan and Steve Marcus crossed paths in fall of 2009 at the Mezeritch Shul on East 6th Street in Manhattan's East Village. Kaplan, who has been using his camera to chronicle the continual urban cycle of destruction and creation in New York City for the last 65 years, calls his life's work, The Vanishing New York.

Written and Illustrated Steve Marcus

Photos by Sid Kaplan