Helmets have been an important part of military history for thousands of years, with ancient civilizations around the world developing their own unique designs to protect their warriors in battle. From the earliest known examples in the Bronze Age to the intricate helmets of the Classical world, the history of ancient helmets is a fascinating and complex story. The earliest helmets were made of leather or cloth, but the development of metalworking allowed for the creation of more effective and durable helmets....

Mug shot photography revolutionized crime investigations and enabled the police to keep visual records of the arrested criminals. Beginning in the mid-1800s, police photographed the faces of known criminals. Called “mug shots” (after the British slang word “mug” meaning “face”) these images replaced drawings and descriptions on wanted posters. Scientists even studied mug shots to see if physical traits could predict criminal behavior. If convicted, men had another set of images taken after their hair and beards were shaved off to limit the spread of lice....

Picture the early days of cars—a time of wild experimentation and bold ideas. From then till the mid-20th century, some truly outlandish vehicles hit the roads, breaking all the rules and grabbing attention like nothing else. At that time, technology in the automotive industry was in its infancy. This encouraged enthusiasts and designers to think outside the box, seeking unique solutions to transportation challenges. Customization wasn’t merely about aesthetics; it was a way to tackle problems in innovative ways....

Umbrella Rock on top of Lookout Mountain was one of the more iconic tourist spots from the 1880s through the 1940s. These images, assembled by Chattanooga’s local historical organization Picnooga, capture almost 60 years of photo opportunities on Umbrella Rock. It appears perilously balanced, but more than thirty people can stand on its top at one time. During the Civil War, the Confederate army held Lookout Mountain until 1863. In November, following the Union’s defeat at Chickamauga, General Joseph Hooker’s army stormed up the mountainside....

These old photographs of the American frontier capture life and struggle in the Wild West. The completion of the railroads to the West following the American Civil War opened up vast areas of the region to settlement and economic development. The archetypical Old West period is generally accepted by historians to have occurred between the end of the American Civil War in 1865 until the closing of the frontier by the Census Bureau in 1890....

Pets bring out the fun side in people, and guess what? It’s not a new thing. Think about that buddy who dressed up their dog in matching sweaters for the family Christmas card – or the neighbor who treats their cat like royalty. Well, these charming quirks aren’t recent; they’ve been happening for a long time. Step into the past with these cool vintage photos, and you’ll see the timeless love and sometimes hilarious craziness between people and their pets....

In October 1937, Farm Security Administration photographer Arthur Rothstein visited the small city of Hagerstown in Maryland. He spent a whole afternoon, strolling the streets of the town, taking pictures of residents, documenting their everyday life. In a way, Hagerstown could be called the “Everytown” of the 1930s in the US. Hagerstown was founded in 1762 by Jonathan Hager, a gunsmith, fur trader, farmer, and politician. After settling he quickly increased his wealth and expanded his land holdings acquiring over 10,000 acres which he used to layout plans for the town....

Street musicians, 1898. These photos, taken by Eugène Atget, document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to modernization. Atget took up photography in the late 1880s and supplied studies for painters, architects, and stage designers. Atget began shooting Paris in 1898 using a large format view camera to capture the city in detail. His photographs, many of which were taken at dawn, are notable for their diffuse light and wide views that give a sense of space and ambience....

Before the they walked on the moon on July 20, 1969, the Apollo program astronauts trained in Flagstaff, a small city nestled in a forest of ponderosa pines at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona’s tallest mountains. In fact, all 24 astronauts who have ever flown to the moon trained in various locations of northern Arizona. NASA needed a geologically diverse landscape, one rugged and raw, torn and pummeled, and still bearing distinctive scars from a rowdy past....

In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. Victory for the Luftwaffe in the air battle would have exposed Great Britain to invasion by the German army, which was then in control of the ports of France only a few miles away across the English Channel. In the event, the battle was won by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command, whose victory not only blocked the possibility of invasion but also created the conditions for Great Britain’s survival, for the extension of the war, and for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany....

The early 1990s marked a shift in fashion that was a refreshing contrast to the extravagant styles of the previous decade. As the world adapted to a more subdued economic environment, the everyday fashion of young women became more relaxed, casual, and, most importantly, approachable. The days of loud neon colors and exaggerated shapes gave way to a softer, more laid-back vibe that defined the everyday looks of the era....

“Happy New Year”. Freetown. By the 1890s postcards were widely available throughout continental Europe. The postcards appealed to tourists looking for a souvenir of their travels abroad. Although travel was still largely limited to elites, it was becoming more accessible to the middle classes. Postcards gave these new travelers a means to share their journeys with their friends and family at home. Postcards became such a popular commodity that the period from 1895 to the end of the Great War is now considered the golden age of the postcard....

Stereographs were a very popular form of photography in the 19th century. Photographers would take two nearly identical images which, when printed side by side, would appear as a three-dimensional image when viewed through a set of special lenses called a stereoscope. The earliest stereoscopes, “both with reflecting mirrors and with refracting prisms”, were invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone and constructed for him by optician R. Murray in 1832....

Kungsgatan, Stockholm, on Dagen H. Dagen H (H day) was the day, 3 September 1967, on which traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. The “H” stands for “Högertrafik”, the Swedish word for “right traffic”. After all, Sweden’s Scandinavian neighbors were on the right side of the road, most of Europe was on the right side of the road, and Swedish cars had left-hand steering....

In the post-war years, Los Angeles experienced a flourishing car culture, accompanied by a surge in innovations tailored to an automobile-centered way of life. Southern California particularly became synonymous with drive-thru restaurants, drive-in eateries , and drive-in theaters, embodying the spirit of convenience and modernity. Among these innovative concepts, the “Motormat” drive-in holds a distinct place. It aligns with the unique trends of its era, where the car was not merely a mode of transportation, but a lifestyle symbol....

Soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment stand at attention. The Hellfighters, the infantry regiment of the New York Army National Guard, was the most celebrated African American regiment in World War I. The regiment was nicknamed the Black Rattlers . The nickname Men of Bronze (French: Hommes de Bronze) was given to the regiment by the French and Hell-fighters (German: Höllenkämpfer) by the Germans. Like their predecessors in the Civil War and successors in the wars that followed, these African American troops fought a war for a country that refused them basic rights – and their bravery stood as a rebuke to racism....

The final photographs taken aboard Japan Airlines Flight 123 remain haunting reminders of the moments before tragedy struck. On August 12, 1985, the Boeing 747 crashed into a remote mountain ridge in Japan, killing 520 of the 524 people on board. To this day, it stands as the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in aviation history. Among the images recovered, two were taken during an ordinary climb over Tokyo, and one was captured less than a minute before impact, preserving a chilling glimpse of life inside the doomed aircraft....

Television once held a special place in Soviet society, becoming a symbol of status and technological progress. Photographs from the post-World War II era through Perestroika capture people proudly posing with their first TV sets, reflecting the excitement and significance of this once-coveted possession. These images offer a glimpse into a time when bringing a television home was a milestone for many families. While television technology first emerged in the United States in the late 1920s, the Soviet Union introduced its own version in 1932, a mechanical model that required connection to a radio for sound....

Malcolm X kidding around with Muhammad Ali, New York, 1963. Muhammad Ali became a close associate to Malcolm X and he looked to Malcolm much as a mentor. They knew each other as active members of the Nation of Islam until Malcolm X left the group in 1964 and was killed in 1965. Ali didn’t leave the group until 1975. Ali and Malcolm were really good friends, however, they did become estranged once Malcolm X had his falling out with Elijah Muhammad, and Ali was still associated with Elijah....

A worker on a pineapple plantation near Manati. In response to the Great Depression during which unemployment, poverty and the effects of the Dust Bowl ravaged the States in the 1930s, Farm Security Administration (FSA) was established by government to provide loans to farmers, facilitate the removal of families from economically challenged cities for resettlement in rural communities, and formed camps for migrant workers. The FSA are well known for the influence of their photography program....