Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, affectionately known as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” holds a remarkable place in American entertainment history. These fascinating Kodachrome photographs were taken by Charles Weever Cushman in the 1940s. The foundations of the circus can be found in the pioneering efforts of several key individuals. Phineas Taylor Barnum, an entertainment visionary, established “P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome” in 1871....

The 1970s was a decade marked by vibrant cultural shifts, and weddings during this time were no exception. This era saw an eclectic mix of styles and influences, reflecting the broader societal changes of the time. Weddings in the 1970s were influenced by various trends, including the hippie movement, rock-and-roll culture, and even the occasional appearance of pantsuits, rather than adhering to a single dominant style. This diversity in wedding aesthetics mirrored the spirit of individuality and experimentation that defined the decade....

This collection presents the most interesting advertising posters which were shown not only in the Soviet Union but also in other parts of the world. These types of advertising posters and cards were hung in offices, shops, hotels, and published in various local and international magazines and newspapers. The ads were supposed to be focused on foreign consumers. Overall, behind carefully barred borders, the automotive industry developed differently from the free market....

American troops are depicted as a bunch of savages. These propaganda paintings show how North Korea views America and by association the West. They depict the alleged mass murder of Sinchon civilians between October and December 1950. The regime claims that around 35,000 people were brutally tortured and killed by US forces during that time. Nightmarish pictures show troops pulling out teeth, carving open skulls, and burning people alive....

At the far edges of the nineteenth-century world, the Arctic stood as both a lived homeland and a testing ground for human ambition. Long before explorers and photographers arrived with cameras and scientific instruments, Indigenous peoples such as the Inuit, Sámi, and Chukchi had built strong societies across the polar regions. Their lives were shaped by seasonal movement, hunting and fishing, and an intimate understanding of ice, weather, and animal behavior....

A German soldier with a badge on his chest, Stalingrad, November 1942. Looks like this man has seen some horror, a little bit like one thousand-yard stare. Note silver badge on his chest, that badge represents Infantry Assault Badge which was awarded in Silver and Bronze. This decoration was instituted on 20 December 1939 by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch. It could be awarded to members of non-motorized Infantry units and units of the Gebirgsjäger that had participated in Infantry assaults, with light Infantry weapons, on at least three days of battle in the front line on or after 1 January 1940....

This sign was posted at the 363rd Station Hospital during World War II, in Papua, New Guinea. It effectively (if morbidly) promoted the use of Atabrine, an anti-malaria drug. Also, it’s an example of persuasive advertising where the skulls and the language are used to cause fear and to motivate. Atabrine was the tradename for Mepacrine (also called quinacrine). Mepacrine was initially approved in the 1930s as an antimalarial drug....

Annelies “Anne” Marie Frank (12 June 1929 – early March 1945) . Annelies “Anne” Marie Frank (12 June 1929 – early March 1945) was just an ordinary Dutch girl from an ordinary family. The family happened to be Jewish, which is why terrible things happened to them. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, Netherlands, having moved there with her family at the age of four and a half when the Nazis gained control over Germany....

A chest X-ray in progress at Dr. Maxime Menard’s radiology department at the Cochin hospital in Paris, circa 1914. Mendard would later lose his finger to side effects from operating the X-ray machine. The history of medicine is filled with wild stories of bizarre treatments methods and medical procedures that aimed to make people feel better. Some of the stranger treatments of old-time medicine would turn out to be useful; while cautery—heating an iron stick on hot coals and then pressing it onto a person’s body—didn’t end up curing broken hearts when the rod was pressed against the patient’s chest, the practice was a forerunner to electric surgical instruments....

The currency became worthless with kids using it like Lego bricks. Post First World War Germany was hit by one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in recent history. The German mark fell from 4.2 marks to the dollar to 8.91 marks per dollar during the First World War but paying war reparations caused an economic collapse with the exchange rate rising to 4,200,000,000,000 marks per dollar by the end of 1923....

During the tumultuous years of the Cold War, when political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union reached their zenith, one man found himself at the center of this ideological battle in the heart of Moscow. Martin Manhoff, an American diplomat, was stationed in the Soviet capital during the 1950s, serving as the Assistant Army Attaché at the United States Embassy. His remarkable story has come to light through the discovery and publication of his personal diary and photographs, invaluable historical documents that provide a candid and intimate account of his experiences during that era....

Section of the gunners: four soldiers in the ruins, shooting. France, 1917. (Photo by Fernand Cuville). These color photos document life in the French army during World War One, and the destruction of towns and villages caused by German shelling. The pictures were taken by Paul Castelnau and Fernand Cuville using the photochrom technique and brought home the horrific realities of war. The Western Front saw action throughout the length of the war and it was there that the conflict was finally decided....

“Come on over, come on over!” (Komm’ rüber!) the West Berlin crowd on Bernauer Strasse chanted. Conrad Schumann was immortalized in this photograph as he leapt across the barricade that would become the Berlin Wall. The photo was called “The Leap into Freedom”. It became an iconic image of the Cold War. Born in Zschochau, Saxony during the middle of World War II, he enlisted in the East German state police following his 18th birthday....

Castro maneuvers around a defender during a game of state officials versus newsmen. Castro’s team won 32 to 14. 1971. Fidel Castro was an accomplished high-school athlete who was named Havana’s outstanding schoolboy sportsman in 1943–44. He excelled in track and field (in the high jump and middle-distance running), baseball, basketball (playing for the University of Havana’s freshman team), and table tennis. By many accounts, his primary sport as a schoolboy was basketball....

Believe it or not, even gas stations in the Soviet Union could be architectural marvels. In the 1970s, Kyiv saw the construction of at least two such stations, boasting a truly unique design. This concept, borrowed from Japan, resulted in locally nicknamed “Japonka” stations. These stations stood out for their striking, almost futuristic appearance, resembling “UFO” flying saucers perched atop support structures. One of the coolest features of these gas stations was how easy they made refueling....

On a lazy Sunday afternoon in September 1942, photographer Marjory Collins wandered around New York City’s Central Park capturing a series of incredible images. The amazing and quasi-candid shots show families, friends, kids, lovers, and sailors enjoying a sunny day. Other pictures show kids at the fountain, sweethearts waiting for the boats, people sitting on benches and enjoying the sun, sailors from the US Navy enjoying their shore leave, a cop playing with a child....

These glass-plate photographs depicting life in Japan were collected in Yokohama during the years 1908–1918 by Herbert Geddes, a manager for a Canadian import-export company. Originally, these types of photographs were sold as postcards or souvenirs to foreign tourists that had an interest in Japan. The subjects of these photos include civil structures such as temples, bridges, and streets; images of labor such as silk factories, rice cultivation, farming, and portraits of regular people providing an intimate view into Japan’s bygone era....

Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda is the most famous of the so-called Japanese holdouts, a collection of Imperial Army stragglers who continued to hide out in the South Pacific for several years after World War II had ended. An intelligence officer, Onoda had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans invaded and retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island – which was small and in truth of minimal importance – and harass the Allied occupying forces until the Imperial Japanese Army eventually returned....

Unable to find another job locally, many unemployed people hit the road, traveling from place to place, hoping to find some work. During the Great Depression, millions of people were out of work across the United States. Unable to find another job locally, many unemployed people hit the road, traveling from place to place, hoping to find some work. A few of these people had cars, but most hitchhiked or “rode the rails”....

Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces with gas masks and rubber gloves during a chemical attack, Battle of Shanghai, 1937 Japanese marines landed north and south of Shanghai. This picture may have been taken on the Jiangsu coast, which is north of the city. Despite the fact that chemical weapons were prohibited by international laws, the Imperial Japanese Army frequently used chemical weapons during the war against China. In terms of the imagery, this photo is a perfect blend of WWI and WWII....