On Donner, On Sputnik. . .

The article about the inaugural Russian satellite in our October 1997 issue brought back some memories for Dr. Joseph N. Fisher. “I was a medical officer serving in the United States Army in Japan when Sputnik was launched,” he writes. “It was obviously big news there, as it was everywhere. Nevertheless, I was amazed to witness this scene, which I photographed in the Matsuya Department Store in Tokyo two months later. Santa had a new sleigh!”

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We continue to ask our readers to send unusual and unpublished old photographs to Carla Davidson at American Heritage, P’orbes Building, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. Please send a copy of any irreplaceable materials, include return postage, and do not mail glass negatives. We will pay one hundred dollars for each one that is run.