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The original caption: “Adolf Hitler, the German patriot in the middle of the crowd stands with blazing eyes”. The photo was taken by Munich photographer Heinrich Hoffmann at a rally in support of the war against Russia in Munich’s Odeonsplatz on August 2, 1914. On the day before the election of the Reich President, the Illustrierter Beobachter published the August 1914 picture with Hitler for the first time, with a magnifying-glass-like enlargement of his face....

Religious music has long been created to inspire faith, uplift spirits, and carry meaningful messages. But somewhere along the way, a number of Christian albums managed to miss the mark with cover art and titles that now seem unintentionally suggestive, awkward, or simply bizarre. While the music may have been sincere, the presentation sometimes leaves modern audiences wondering how anyone thought these combinations were a good idea. Among the more unusual examples is The Afternoon Tea-Baggers , a name that already sounds less like a gospel group and more like a parody sketch Then there’s Don’t Pity Me , which on its own isn’t entirely strange, but when paired with dated cover photography, the mood shifts from serious to unintentionally comical....

Spanning from 1888 to 1993, the Sears catalog featured an extensive array of products, ranging from sewing machines, apparel, and sporting equipment to automobiles, residences, and even livestock. Serving as an invaluable historical archive, the Sears catalog vividly captures the essence of our nation’s narrative by presenting the very commodities that were made available to the average individual. However, upon retrospection, it becomes evident that a considerable portion of its pages ventured far beyond the realm of the commonplace....

During the era of silent film, recommendations for behavior were displayed on title cards before a screening, offering advice including “Ladies, kindly remove your hats”, “Loud talking or whistling not allowed”, “Please applaud with hands only”, etc. The Library of Congress writes: “As middle-class mass entertainments gained increasing popularity in the late nineteenth century, so did the impetus to instruct this new audience in the ways of appropriate public behavior....

A group of tourists on a glacier. This collection of hand-tinted lantern slides depicts popular tourist destinations in Norway around the turn of the 19th century. The collection consists of slides produced by at least two British photographers – professional photographer Samuel J. Beckett and amateur photographer P. Heywood Hadfield. Hadfield, a ship surgeon, was employed by the Orient Steam Navigation Company, both servicing their Orient-Royal Mail Line to Australia and their various Orient Line pleasure cruises to Norway and other destinations....

Charlie Chaplin is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin’s childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially — he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine....

German soldier dives for cover as shell explodes. Western Front, 1917. Many wartime photos of dramatic explosions, especially those with action like this one, are in fact staged after the fact. Maybe this one was as well. It may also be from a postwar film. Cameras were not light and handy like today, typically had slow exposure times, and needed to be set up beforehand on tripods. Anyway, this photo is probably not faked....

Seattle’s history is a fascinating journey that takes us back to the 1870s, a pivotal period in the city’s development. In this article, we’ll explore what Seattle was like during this decade through the lens of historical photographs. These images offer an authentic and unvarnished view of Seattle’s past, showing the city’s evolution in various aspects. During the 1870s, Seattle’s economy was intricately tied to its geographical location. Situated on the Puget Sound, the city emerged as a hub for trade and commerce....

During World War II, major powers across the globe utilized propaganda posters as a means of communication and persuasion. In the context of this conflict, Japanese propaganda posters stand out for their remarkable artistic quality and distinctive messaging approach. Unlike many of their counterparts, Japanese propaganda posters did not seek to prescribe specific behaviors or emotions. General Tojo. They refrained from urging men to enlist or imploring people to “Keep Calm” and “Carry On....

Picture was taken by Major Clarence L. Benjamin at the instant a few of the train people saw the tanks and first realized they had been liberated. It’s Friday, the 13th of April, 1945. A few miles northwest of Magdeburg there was a railroad siding in a wooded ravine not far from the Elbe River. Major Clarence L. Benjamin in a jeep was leading a small task force of two light tanks on a routine job of patrolling....

Urban areas are dynamic landscapes, characterized by densely packed buildings and bustling activity. However, one city stands out among the rest – Kowloon Walled City. Nestled in the British Hong Kong territory, this unique enclave, covering a mere 6.4 acres (2.6 hectares), was home to tens of thousands of residents and workers for decades. By the 1980s, Kowloon Walled City housed up to 35,000 people, creating an extraordinarily compact community within its confines....

Even if you were born after this picture was taken, the materials you’re made from are still on the frame of this picture. Collins took this picture of the Lunar Module, containing Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong with Earth in the background, during the Apollo 11 mission. This makes him the only person ever to have lived who was not inside the frame of the photo. Matter cannot be created or destroyed....

James Brock, the manager of the motel, was photographed pouring muriatic acid into the pool to get the protesters out. This famous photograph by Horace Cort shows a group of white and black integrationists in the former Monson Motor Lodge swimming pool on June 18, 1964. The photo was connected to the St. Augustine Movement, named for the town in Florida where it took place. Lots of peaceful protests and demonstrations were responded to with violence, which led to more and more complicated protests....

Mary hanging from a 100-ton derrick in Erwin, Tennessee. Mary was a five-ton Asian elephant, also known as Murderous Mary , who performed in the Sparks World Famous Shows circus. After killing a trainer in Kingsport, Tennessee, she was hanged in 1916. Her death is sometimes interpreted as a cautionary tale of circus animal abuse during the early 20th century. On September 12, 1916, a hobo named Walter Eldridge, nicknamed Red because of his rusty-colored hair, was hired as an assistant elephant trainer by the Sparks World Famous Shows circus....

A carpenter saws a plank. In the mid 19 century, a variety of men had staged pictures of themselves taken at work, from artisans and clowns to engineers and preachers; they chose to have their lives represented by the day-to-day activities of their occupations. Subjects indicated their occupation or trade through the items in hand and the clothes they wore. The tintype, one of the earliest photographic processes, was often used for portrait photography....

A rare photo of one of history’s wealthiest drug lords posing in front of the White House. 1981. In this infamous photograph, we see the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar standing in front of the White House in Washington, DC. The boy standing beside Escobar is his only son. He also took his family on a first-class trip to Disneyland at about the same time. That’s the White House’s North Portico, and that means that Escobar and his son are standing on the sidewalk adjacent to Pennsylvania Ave which at the time was open to vehicular traffic....

Parade of 57,000 German prisoners of war in the streets of Moscow. Under escort 1944. In the summer of 1944 the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration, a large-scale, complex offensive against the Nazi invaders in Belarus, Poland and the Baltic republics. This vital Soviet offensive was launched just after Allied troops had landed in Normandy, and it is symptomatic of the lack of public knowledge about the war in the East that whilst almost everyone has heard of D-Day, few people other than specialist historians know much about Operation Bagration....

Man-lifting kites are specially designed kites that can lift humans. Back in the day, when airplanes and helicopters were pure fantasy, these man-lifting kites were the closest that humans could get to their dream of flying. Originally, the kites were used for pleasure and entertainment, and later on for aerial reconnaissance on the battlefield. Interest in their development declined with the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20th century....

Portrait of an Eskimo woman. These photographs, taken by the Lomen family, capture the indigenous Yupik Eskimo and the prospectors of the Gold Rush in Alaska during the early decades of the 20th century. The term “Eskimo” is used in Alaska to refer to arctic Alaskans including Inupiaq, Yupik, and Alutiiq people. Linguists now believe that “Eskimo” is derived from an Ojibwa word meaning “to net snowshoes.” In Canada the term “Inuit” is used rather than “Eskimo,” but most Alaskans use the name “Eskimo,” particularly because “Inuit” refers only to the Inupiat of northern Alaska, the Inuit of Canada, and the Kalaallit of Greenland, and it is not a word in the Yupik languages of Alaska and Siberia....

A French girl wearing a German uniform. It’s 1942 and the Germans occupy and dominate the vast majority of Europe. They were there, on the scene, and the local men either were not (dead, in prison camps, in hiding) or were greatly diminished in status. Like soldiers of every army of every period of history, as soon as the Germans got comfortable, they started scouting around for women. And, as always in times of military occupation, there were willing women to be found....