Posts

Abraham Lincoln, widely revered as one of the greatest leaders in American history, left an indelible mark on the nation during his tenure as the 16th President of the United States. Serving as the first president to be extensively photographed, Lincoln’s images have become powerful visual documents that chronicle his remarkable journey and the turbulent era in which he lived. Recognizing the medium’s potential, Lincoln embraced photography as a means to connect with the American people, allowing them to visualize their leader in an unprecedented manner....

Sportsmen’s Parade in Moscow, 1956. The best-looking ones were put in the front for obvious reasons. The Russian word used in the original title, “ физкультурники “, is now usually translated as “gym teachers”, but at the moment of the parades meant “sportsmen/bodybuilders or athletes”. This is a legacy of Stalin era propaganda parades to promote physical fitness, mainly to make the people ready for heavy labor, possible wars, and improve the health of the nation....

Bugatti was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars were known for their design beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugatti automobiles include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 “Royale”, the Type 57 “Atlantic” and the Type 55 sports car. The company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic manner in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettore’s family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), was an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer)....

By 1930, Texas was already the nation’s leading oil producing state, yet East Texas remained the only area of the state that had not obtained high-volume oil production in spite of having the state’s first oil discovery. This changed when on October 3, 1930 when Columbus Marion Joiner, nicknamed Dad Joiner, discovered the East Texas field, the largest petroleum deposit yet found at that time. The economical boom was on and, at least in this area, the Great Depression was all but forgotten....

A cotton sharecropper with his family at their home in Hale County, Alabama, 1935. Nobody could tell exactly when it began and nobody could predict when it would end. At the outset, they didn’t even call it a depression. At worst it was a recession, a brief slump, a “correction” in the market, a glitch in the rising curve of prosperity. Only when the full import of those heartbreaking years sank in did it become the Great Depression – Great because there had been no other remotely like it....

On January 15th, 1919, in what was probably the most bizarre disaster in United States’ history, a storage tank burst on Boston’s waterfront releasing two million gallons of molasses in a 15 ft-high, 160 ft-wide waves that raced through the city’s north end at 35mph destroying everything it touched. The wave killed young Pasquale Iantosca, smashing a railroad car into the ten-year-old. It pinned Walter Merrithew, a railroad clerk on the Commercial Street wharf, against the wall of a freight shed, his feet 3 ft off the floor....

A Russian adjustable mobile shield captured by the Germans, 1914. The immobility of the trench warfare characterizing the First World War led to a need for a device that would protect soldiers from enemy fire and could help them move on the extremely irregular terrain of battlefields. Apart from a few exceptional cases, these mobile personnel shields proved too cumbersome and heavy for the strength of an individual under fire, and would only work on short distances and on favorable ground....

Tourists take tea atop the Great Pyramid. 1938. By the late eighteenth century, Egypt had been reduced to nothing more than an impoverished and neglected corner of the Ottoman Empire, crippled by endless power struggles among its Mamluk leadership. Then in 1798, Napoleon arrived at the head of a French army, closely followed by the British, who had hitherto shown little interest in Egypt. After the French retreat, Egypt became gradually Westernised under the Albanian Ottoman Muhammad Ali Pasha, so that by the time the English novelist Thackeray visited Alexandria in 1845, the Nile ‘was lined with steel mills’ and looked ‘scarcely Eastern at all’....

Liberated British prisoners of war in the Far East, 1945. Five emaciated former prisoners of war sitting on the steps of an ambulance in Singapore following their release from captivity in Sumatra. Holding the newspaper is Sergeant Jack King RM, formerly of HMS Prince of Wales, while standing next to him, with the distinctive chest tattoo, is Private Tom Wardrope of 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The brutal treatment inflicted upon these men by their Japanese captors is clearly illustrated by their poor physical condition....

Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo Jo) was an American sprinter whose record-breaking performances cemented her status as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history. In 1988, she set world records in both the 100 meters (10.49 seconds) and 200 meters (21.34 seconds), achievements that remain unbeaten to this day. Her passion for running emerged early and by the age of seven, she was chasing jackrabbits to improve her speed....

Germans helping a French wounded soldier, 1916. The picture was taken during the Battle of Verdun, one of the deadliest battles of the Great War. The concentration of so much fighting in such a small area devastated the land, resulting in miserable conditions for troops on both sides. The shells turned up the earth and left gigantic craters that would then fill with water in the unbelievably heavy rains....

Mugshot of Joseph Stalin held by Okhrana, 1911. He was 33 years old. The information card attached to the mugshot says “looks around 32-34 years old″, it also says his ear shape is “6″. It has a separate paragraph for “race (if colored)”, for Stalin it’s vacant. The mugshot was taken in 1911 when he was arrested for the second time. In 1908 he was arrested for the first time by the Okhranka for revolutionary activities....

Messerschmitt KR200. The Messerschmitt KR200 microcar was, and remains, the most evocative example of the bubble car genre; a tiny, instantly recognizable, three-wheeled tandem-two-seater, bearing of the aviation’s most potent brand names. Targeting solid German citizens too posh for a scooter but not wealthy enough for a car, the Messerschmitt bubble car eventually achieved iconic status. At the end of the Second World War, survivors of a ruined Germany were picking around the rubble....

As the world advances and technology changes the way we spend our leisure time, it’s easy to forget the simple pleasures of the past. One such pleasure is picnicking, a timeless activity that has been enjoyed for generations. In the early and mid-20th century, picnics were a popular way for families and friends to come together, share food, and create memories in the great outdoors. Fortunately, we have a glimpse of what those moments were like through the vintage photographs that were captured....

Armored vehicles sit in storage at a U.S. facility. 1946. When World War II ended in 1945, the industrial war machine did not stop overnight. Estimates of the value of the probable surpluses have ranged from a low of $25 billion to a high of $150 billion. The surpluses included almost every conceivable article and commodity—some of little utility in a peaceful world; others in great demand by the civilian populations of the United States and other countries....

Members of the Maori Battalion who had fought in Greece perform a Haka for the King of Greece at Helwan, Egypt, in June 1941. Maoris of ‘C’ Company, 28th Maori Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division perform the ‘Haka’ (ancestral war dance) for the visit of King George II of Greece, his wife the Queen, his cousin Prince Peter and Major General Freyberg. The location was at an army training camp at Helwan in Egypt....

Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim, 1897. The close relationship between Queen Victoria and her young Indian attendant Abdul Karim was deemed controversial and scandalous by the royal court. A fter the Queen passed away, the family evicted Karim from the home the queen had given him and deported him back to India. The unusual friendship between the Queen and her Indian servant began in 1887 and spanned for 14 years....

A sexist vintage ad from the 1970s, promoting some fancy two-tone men’s shoes. Advertising has become an integral part of our socio-economic lives and it’s carefully designed to speak to the hearts and minds of consumers. It taps into our psyche, hopes, dreams, goals, and fears. In this article, we will flip through the pages of history and look at some of the offensive or misogynistic print ads, from brands that tried to sell their products by promoting male chauvinism, sexism, and breeding the feeling of insecurity among women....

The history of the Soviet Union’s automotive industry traces its origins back to the late 1920s and persisted until the nation’s dissolution in 1991. It commenced with the establishment of significant car manufacturing plants and the restructuring of the AMO Factory in Moscow during the initial five-year plan in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Throughout this period, the Soviet automotive landscape flourished with innovations, culminating in the creation of some of the most noteworthy racing and concept cars....

A display showing the varying stages of the helmet-making process for Stahlhelms for the Imperial German Army, 1916-1918. In both World Wars, the most distinctive feature of the German army uniform was the item that has come to symbolize German militarism in even the remotest corners of the world – the helmet, the Stahlhelm. Here, on a table set up outside a steel helmet factory in Lubeck, Germany, a display is set up, showing the varying stages of the helmet-making process for Stahlhelms for the Imperial German Army....