Meet Princeton graduate and 29-year-old bachelor Ebersole Gaines. In 1956, LIFE photographer Yale Joel followed him around New York City for an article in the magazine titled "Memo To The Girls" (you can read it here). He was part of the "surplus of bachelors" around at the time, either dodging or falling into the traps of "husband hunters." Gaines was one of the "highly eligible specimens" featured in the piece; he was a plastics salesman living in New York, and preferred college girls (because, of course he did). MEN.
The article maps out where women could find single men, and even back then NYC fell short compared to the rest of the country (supposedly they were all out West, because men are "outdoorsy critters"). So there you have it, this city's shortage of single men dates back to at least 1956.
