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Transport yourself to the captivating world of food shopping in the 1960s, a time when supermarkets were evolving at an astounding pace in the United States. This collection shows captivating photographs that capture the essence of grocery stores from days gone by: Kroger, Winn-Dixie, A&P, Safeway, Big Bear, Lucky, Food Giant, Fazio’s, Gamble-Skogmo, Food Fair, etc. From the moment you stepped through the store entrances to the final checkout experience, these images offer a delightful journey into the past....

Balloonfest ’86 was a 1986 event in which the United Way of Cleveland in Ohio set a world record by releasing almost one-and-a-half million balloons. In 1986, charity organization United Way of Cleveland thought they had the perfect idea to generate a little publicity and create a beautiful spectacle in the process: an attempt to set a new world record for simultaneously released balloons. With a huge crowd of volunteers working frantically for days, 1....

In an era when a family of four is considered average, photographs of households with ten, twelve, or even twenty children seem almost unfathomable. Yet for most of American history, sprawling families weren’t just common—they were the expected pattern of life. From the late 1800s through the early 1970s, homes echoed with the constant footsteps of siblings, and dinner tables stretched to accommodate what today would fill an entire classroom....

A German soldier shares his ration with a Russian mother, 1941 Germany deliberately starved occupied Soviet territories by plundering their food for German use. This was the “Hunger Plan”, which starved to death millions of people. It was in part a practical decision to have German forces live off the land, but it also fit nicely into German plans to exterminate the population of the Soviet Union. And this makes this photo particularly poignant....

American tank crew listen as Bernard Herzog (US citizen) who was liberated from the camp of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines. An American tank crew stands beside Bernard Herzog – an American citizen who lived in the Philippines – after his liberation from the Santo Tomas internment camp run by the Japanese in the old University of Santo Tomas campus, Manila. As you can see, he is severely malnourished as Herzog most likely exclusively ate refined white rice, as was the case with many other camps....

Helen Chan pins Sun Lum with lapel badge identifying him as “Chinese,” to avoid being rounded up with Japanese Americans who were being interred following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. World War II brought momentous change to America’s Chinese community. For decades, the Chinese were vilified in America, especially in California, the center of the U.S.’s anti-Chinese feelings. The Chinese had initially come to California for the Gold Rush and later the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, but public sentiment quickly turned against them....

Duelling with wax bullets, New York, 1909. In the early 1900s, the age-old custom of pistol dueling was briefly resurrected as a non-lethal sport by using wax bullets. While it still involved men shooting firearms at one another, the difference here was that defeated parties could be “theoretically pronounced dead… and the supposedly fatal results created general merriment”. These pictures show the first public exhibition of wax bullet dueling in America....

Back in the 1970s, the custom van was the king of the road. As the muscle car era began to fade, these personalized vans took center stage as the ultimate form of self-expression. A custom van was more than just a mode of transportation—it was a statement, a reflection of individuality and style. These vehicles were fully decked out to suit their owners’ personalities, transforming into mobile hangout spots that catered to every whim, whether for practical use or more adventurous pursuits....

On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender, prepared by the War Department and approved by President Harry S. Truman. It set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan. The opening words, “We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan,” signified the importance attached to the Emperor’s role by the Americans who drafted the document. The short second paragraph went straight to the heart of the matter: “We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated....

This soldier, on the way to hospital after being bandaged at Field Dressing Station, shows the helmet which saved his life. A British soldier with a bandaged head smiles as he shows the cameraman his helmet and the large hole blown straight through it. His smile says it all. Back then the main reason for wearing a helmet wasn’t protection from gunfire, but from shrapnel from exploding artillery shells....

MiG-21 crashed on “Plattenbau” building, Cottbus, East Germany, 1975. On January 14th, 1975, Major Peter Makowicka, aged 33, was on a training mission with his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 21 plane. During approach on the military airbase Cottbus, German Democratic Republic (Eastern Germany), the plane experienced an open cover latch on the engine compressor section, which had been insufficiently secured by a maintenance technician. The engine switched off. Immediately after the distress, the military control center ordered the pilot to deploy the ejection seat to save himself and to let the plane go down....

Hitler rehearsing his public speech in front of the mirror. Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, strikes a pose for photographer Heinrich Hoffmann whilst rehearsing and listening to his recorded speech. The album, features black and white images of the Nazi leader in a series of poses, using expressive face and hand gestures, which he would practice and review before addressing the German public. They capture the meticulous training Hitler undertook to perfect his famous speeches and give a rare insight into his vanity and controlling personality....

Viktoria Luise Adelheid Mathilde Charlotte was born in Potsdam on September 13, 1892, as the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Her arrival brought joy to her parents, who had already welcomed six sons. The family cherished her deeply from birth, naming her after her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and her great-great-grandmother, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. However, Wilhelm II would later claim the name choice had no connection to Queen Victoria, reflecting the strained relations between their families....

The Warsaw Uprising of 1944 was a heroic and tragic 63-day struggle to liberate World War 2 Warsaw from German occupation. The Uprising began on 1 August 1944 as part of a nationwide Operation Tempest, launched at the time of the Soviet Lublin–Brest Offensive. The main Polish objectives were to drive the Germans out of Warsaw while helping the Allies defeat Germany. An additional, political goal of the Polish Underground State was to liberate Poland’s capital and assert Polish sovereignty before the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation could assume control....

They called him “Fast Heinz.” Pictured: Heinz Guderian. Let’s imagine that World War II wasn’t about invading countries, killing people, and achieving world domination. Instead, it was a fashion contest to create the most stylish military pictures. In other words – let’s think that the objective was for ordinary soldiers or leaders or whoever, in some way connected to the war, trying to create a “look” that would pass muster on Madison Avenue....

The 1980s, often referred to as the “Decade of Excess,” witnessed a plethora of fashion trends that can only be described as boldly unconventional and, to put it bluntly, ugly. Shoulder pads, acid-washed denim, leg warmers, and neon colors all contributed to an era that can only be described as a fashion fiasco. While these trends may have been deemed ugly by some, they serve as a testament to the decade’s unique and unabashed self-expression....

Rescued East African slaves taken from a dhow aboard HMS Daphne, a British naval ship used to prevent the transportation of enslaved people. They were freed from Arab slave traders between November 1st and 4th of 1868. The HMS Daphne was sailing along the coast of Zanzibar to enforce a treaty with the Sultan of Zanzibar that said he was supposed to control the slave traders. Instead, he was profiting from it....

Motorcycles have a fascinating origin story rooted in the technological advancements of the 19th century. Their lineage can be traced back to the “safety bicycle,” which featured equally sized front and rear wheels and a pedal-crank mechanism to propel the rear wheel. Rather than stemming from a singular invention, the motorcycle’s development was shaped by the parallel efforts of engineers and inventors across Europe during the same period, reflecting a shared vision of mechanized transportation....

Splatter mask for tank crews, October 12, 1918. A British splatter mask worn by a French tank gunner. It was designed to help protect the crewmember’s face from shrapnel when looking through the view ports. The eye covers were metal, the mask was leather and there was a chainmail skirt to cover the mouth and chin. Various styles were worn by all sides. The helmet is a French Adrian helmet with an artillery badge on the front....

Brigitte Bardot was born in September 1934 in Paris and is a French actress, singer, and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated personae with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the best-known sex symbols of the late 1950s and 1960s. Bardot was born to wealthy bourgeois parents, and at the age of 15, she posed for the cover of Elle (May 8, 1950), France’s leading women’s magazine. Roger Vadim, an aspiring director, was impressed and shrewdly fashioned her public and screen image as an erotic child of nature—blond, sensuous, and amoral....