The Yeni Cami by moonlight. These rare color views of the capital (then known as Constantinople ) of the Ottoman Empire at the close of the 19th century were produced using the Photochrom process. The technique applies layers of artificial color to a black and white image with surprisingly realistic results. In a way, these are the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, in color. The views feature the Bayezit Mosque, Yeni Cami, the fountain of Sultan Ahmet III, the Galata Bridge, Eyüp cemetery, the gate to the Ministry of War, the Golden Horn, and the people who lived in the city....

Egyptian mummy seller, 1875. During the Victorian era of the 1800s, Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt threw open the Gates of Egypt’s history for the Europeans. At that time, mummies were not accorded the respect that they deserved from the European elites and in fact, mummies could be purchased from street vendors (as shown in the picture) to be used as the main event for parties and social gatherings that took place in the 18th century....

Born on September 30, 1968, Bellucci grew up in the small Italian village of Citta di Castello, where her father owned a trucking company. At 18, she enrolled at the University of Perugia with plans to study law. To pay her tuition, Bellucci started modeling. Two years later, she dropped out of school to relocate to Milan, where she signed with Elite Model Management. Besides strutting the cat walk in fashion shows, Bellucci appeared in international advertising campaigns for designers such as Dolce & Gabbana....

During the Cold War, espionage became a high-stakes chess game played in the shadows, where every move had the potential to shift the balance of power. The world’s greatest intelligence agencies, from the CIA to the KGB, developed an arsenal of ingenious tools to outwit their adversaries. Hidden cameras, poison-laced umbrellas, and coded messages concealed in the most unassuming objects became weapons of choice in a covert struggle that unfolded across continents....

The German zeppelin Hindenburg flies over Manhattan on May 6, 1937. The Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937 brought an end to the age of the rigid airship. The disaster killed 35 persons on the airship, and one member of the ground crew, but miraculously 62 of the 97 passengers and crew survived. After more than 30 years of passenger travel on commercial zeppelins — in which tens of thousands of passengers flew over a million miles, on more than 2,000 flights, without a single injury — the era of the passenger airship came to an end in a few fiery minutes....

It began with a simple boycott of Jewish shops and ended in the gas chambers at Auschwitz as Nazi Germany attempted to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe. In January 1933, after a bitter ten-year political struggle, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. During his rise to power, Hitler had repeatedly blamed the Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I and subsequent economic hardships. Jews at this time composed only about one percent of Germany’s population of 55 million persons....

Arguably one of the best-known and most recognizable bridges in the world, Tower Bridge was built in the late nineteenth century and immediately acclaimed as a feat of Victorian engineering. Designed to ease road traffic while maintaining river access, it was constructed with giant moveable roadways that lift up for passing ships. Opened on 30 June 1894, the bridge quickly became known as the ‘Wonder Bridge’. A special committee was formed in 1876 to come up with ways to address the problem of traffic which was getting bogged down....

Cityscapes don’t stay still. Over the past century, the world’s most famous cities have undergone dramatic transformations—some so extensive they’re almost unrecognizable. What were once quiet boulevards or modest town centers are now surrounded by soaring buildings, dense traffic, and modern infrastructure. This article looks closely at how much these places have changed by placing historical photographs side by side with recent views from the same spots. These visual comparisons make it clear just how quickly cities adapt, expand, and rebuild—often erasing traces of what came before....

At the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union (left) and Confederate (right) veterans shake hands at a reunion, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 1913. The 1.5 million Union and perhaps 600,000 Confederate veterans were very visible members of post-war society. For one thing, they dominated political offices in both the North and the South. Most U. S. presidents during this period had fought for the Union, and scores of veterans from both sides served as governors, senators, and congressmen, while countless thousands served in state and local offices....

German submarine U-118 washed ashore on the beach at Hastings, 1919 When the people of the town of Hastings awoke one morning to see one of the Kaiser’s U-boats on their beach, it caused some shock. Thousands of visitors flocked to see the beached submarine. The Admiralty allowed the town clerk to charge a fee for people to climb on the deck. Two members of the coastguard were tasked with showing important visitors around inside the submarine....

Two Ukrainian askaris peer into a doorway past the bodies of Jews killed during the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943. Two Ukrainian askaris peer into a doorway past the bodies of Jews killed during the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The original German caption reads: “Ukrainian askaris used during the operation”. During WWII, the Germans used the term “askaris” for Red Army deserters who formed units fighting against the Red Army and in other actions on the Eastern Front....

Unpacking of the head of the Statue of Liberty, which was delivered on June 17, 1885. The Statue of Liberty was completed in Paris in June 1884, presented to America by the people of France on July 4, 1884. The copper statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776....

Deauville is regarded as the “queen of the Norman beaches” and one of the most prestigious seaside resorts in all of France. As the closest seaside resort to Paris, the city and its region of the Côte Fleurie (Flowery Coast) has long been home to French high society’s seaside houses and is often referred to as the Parisian riviera. In addition to villas and mansions, the town of Deauville boasted casinos, horse races, luxury boutiques, a beachside boardwalk, and therapeutic baths....

These vintage photos capture the teenage girls’ fashion and style of the 1950s. During this time, the fashion was more conservative and gender-specific than it is today. Teenage girls were expected to wear skirts and dresses in all but the most casual circumstances. In 1944, Americans started to use the word ‘teenager’ to describe the place of youth in their society. From the very beginning, it was a marketing term that recognized the spending power of adolescents....

A fork in the Yonkers pressure tunnel. 1913. These incredible vintage photos show how one of the world’s greatest engineering feats was created in 1906-1915 to bring water to New York City. In 1905, the city’s newly established Board of Water Supply launched the Catskill Aqueduct project, which would play an additional role in supplying the city’s ever-growing population of residents and visitors. These projects rank as the greatest municipal water-supply enterprise ever undertaken, and as an engineering work is probably second only to the Panama Canal....

Capturing the perfect selfie in a crowded setting has long been a challenge for many. However, the introduction of the selfie stick revolutionized group photography, making it easier than ever to snap the ideal shot. While the selfie stick may seem like a modern invention, its roots trace back further than one might think. The origins of homemade selfie sticks can be traced back to as early as 1925. An image from that year depicts a man using a long stick, extending beyond the frame, to capture a self-portrait with his wife....

The notion that sex sells tech was exploited to grotesque ends during the era of the early gigantic computer systems. These vintage pictures scanned from old magazines and newspapers of those bygone decades, depict attractive women wearing as little clothing as the decency of the day allowed promoting and advertising computers. Technological innovations such as the diminishing cost of hardware and increasing computer miniaturization created new markets for computers during the 1970s....

On the last two days in April 1975, Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Vietnam, ended a twenty-year agony for the United States. A trial for America was done. The last 45 days of her presence in South Vietnam may seem almost insignificant compared to the previous decades of pain. But, in continuous effort under ever-increasing pressure, the US Embassy in Saigon, and its Defense Attache Office (DAO) there, helped plan, prepare for, and ultimately conduct, the final evacuation from South Vietnam....

Sunglasses aid in the “ticket writing” process. The name for the bikini design was coined in 1946 by French engineer Louis Réard, the designer of the bikini. He named the swimsuit after Bikini Atoll, where testing on the atomic bomb was taking place. Fashion designer Jacques Heim, also from France, re-released a similar design earlier that same year, the Atome. Despite the garment’s initial success in France, worldwide women still stuck to traditional one-piece swimsuits, and, his sales stalling, Réard went back to designing and selling orthodox knickers....

Aleksandra Samusenko, Battle of Kursk, 1943. Aleksandra Samusenko, born in 1922, was a member of the Soviet armed forces who fought during the Winter War in Finland and during the Great Patriotic War. After successfully finishing the tank academy, Samusenko received her Order of the Red Star when her tank crew defeated three German Tiger I tanks. Her true fame came in the last years of World War II. As the only female tank officer in the 1st Guards Tank Army, Samusenko performed heroically during the Battle of Kursk, earning the Order of the Red Star....