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Here's How New York Handled Snowstorms in the Gilded Age

February 9, 2017 11:58am | Updated February 9, 2017 11:58am

Even if you're not lucky enough to be working from home during Thursday's snowstorm, at least you aren't battling the snowdrifts in long skirts and giant hats.

Women in 19th-Century New York had to bring their own shovels to get around, while streetcar or bus riders had to jump out and push whenever they got stuck, according to archival engravings and photos from the New York Public Library.

In addition, city dwellers didn't have the luxury of using machines like snowplows to dig themselves out storms like Thursday's, which dumped as much as a foot of snow on some parts the city.

Check out this look back at how the city got through snowstorms of yore and raise a glass to modern technology:

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