The Bottom of the Harbor

A classic of literary reporting from one of The New Yorker’s most iconic writers reveals the vibrant world of old New York and the ordinary people who made it great, now with illustrations by renowned artist Joana Avillez and an introduction by filmmaker and writer Josh Safdie.

“Joana Avillez’s illustrations bring to life the work of a man who had unparalleled ability to see the unseen, to believe the unbelievable, and to gently pry into the lives of New York’s greatest eccentrics.”—Lena Dunham

There have been few writers as distinctly tied to New York City throughout its long literary history as Joseph Mitchell. As an acclaimed essayist for The New Yorker, Mitchell wandered the alleyways, graveyards, saloons, and storefronts of midcentury New York, immortalizing city dwellers with his indelible pen portraits. In “The Bottom of the Harbor,” first published sixty years ago, Mitchell transports us to the fabled vanishing terrain he was most magnetically drawn to: New York’s waterfront. In “Up in the Old Hotel,” Mitchell and the eponymous proprietor of Sloppy Louie’s seafood restaurant explore the upper reaches of the harbor’s storied, abandoned old hotel. “The Rats on the Waterfront” examines the habits of New York’s greasiest residents. And widely considered one of the greatest works of nonfiction ever printed in The New Yorker, “Mr. Hunter’s Grave” draws the reader into the eddies of time surrounding a particular graveyard on the South Shore of Staten Island.

This new edition features stunning original black-and-white illustrations by another inveterate New Yorker, Joana Avillez. Raised near the Fulton Fish Market, the place that Mitchell credited with first making him feel truly at home in the city, Avillez has long turned her keen eye and nimble pen on the everyday comings and goings of city denizens. Her ebullient style adds another dimension to Joseph Mitchell’s vivid character studies.

The Bottom of the Harbor is a timeless love letter to New York, an elegy to what it once was, and an expression of hope for its future. Working decades apart, Mitchell and Avillez craft a loving tribute to their shared home.

Joseph Mitchell (1908-1996) came to New York City on October 25, 1929, from the swamp country of southeastern North Carolina. He worked as a reporter and feature writer for The World, The Herald Tribune, and The World-Telegram for eight years, and then went to The New Yorker, where he remained until his death. Mitchell's interests included the waterfront and architecture of New York City, commercial fishing, Southern agriculture, and Irish literature.

Joana Avillez is an illustrator from and still living in New York. Her drawings and illustrated stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York magazine, Zeit Magazin, Apartamento, and many other places. She illustrated D C-T, written with Molly Young, and Lena Dunham's memoir, Not That Kind of Girl.