These photos are from collection of the very famous French documentation photo-agency Roger-Viollet and show some extraordinary sights.
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July 29, 2011
July 27, 2011
19 Cool Inventions From the 1920s and 1930s
The fast pace of technology change in the 1920s brought us the lie detector, traffic signal, bubble gum and Penicillin. An all-electronic moving-image television system somewhat similar to that used today was invented and demonstrated in 1929. The 1930s were not less invention-intensive bringing us the jet engine, helicopter, tea bags, sticky tape, ballpoint pen and the first photocopier.
However, somewhere between these great world-changing inventions there were some fun and sometimes even hilarious inventions the world has forgotten.
However, somewhere between these great world-changing inventions there were some fun and sometimes even hilarious inventions the world has forgotten.
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| All terrain car able to descend slopes up to 65 degrees (England, 1936) |
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| The Cyclomer, a bicycle on land and water can ride with a load of 120 pounds (Paris 1932) |
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| Hamblin glasses. A pair of spectacles especially designed for reading in bed (England 1936) |
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| Bulletproof glass, demonstration by the best rifle man of the New York police, 1931 |
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| Kind of shovel on a car. Purpose: reducing the number of casualties among pedestrians (Paris 1924) |
July 26, 2011
Rare Color Photographs of 19-Year-Old Norma Jeane (aka Marilyn Monroe) in 1946
Brunette, nineteen-year-old, newly-signed model Norma Jeane poses for Hollywood photographer Richard C. Miller in 1946.
She is fresh-faced and… not exactly shy, but as she splashes in the California surf adorned with only a slather of ruby lipstick, the sultry, dazzling image associated with the tragic starlet seems far in the future.
The photographer nicknames her Nonnie. Later, in 1958, they meet again on the set of Some Like It Hot. He doesn’t know how to address her.
She is fresh-faced and… not exactly shy, but as she splashes in the California surf adorned with only a slather of ruby lipstick, the sultry, dazzling image associated with the tragic starlet seems far in the future.
The photographer nicknames her Nonnie. Later, in 1958, they meet again on the set of Some Like It Hot. He doesn’t know how to address her.
Drive-By Shooting: Candid Portraits of L.A Drivers in the 1980s and ’90s
Andrew Bush concentrated on the theme of identity as defined by possessions from his very first works such as Bonnettstown Hall, in 1984 that recorded an 18th century Irish manor occupied by the same family for many generations.
After settling in Los Angeles in 1985, the American photographer took on a project called Vector Portraits that were photographs of cars and their passengers taken while he was driving in the city’s streets and freeways. With the help of an equipment installed on his passenger seat, Bush captured drivers framed by their car windows and the surrounding landscapes, either stopped in traffic or traveling, lost in their thoughts or interacting with other passengers.
“Initially, I was just floundering around in the world with a camera. Living in Los Angeles, I was captivated by how people interacted as a result of driving, so I began experimenting with taking pictures while driving. It seemed strange that we exist in this very private interior, almost a living room, while circulating in such a public way.”
His spontaneous images reveal the ambiguity between private and public spaces while they unveil amusing details such as bullet holes or a disguised airport car. Yet the most fascinating is how connected drivers and cars are; just as we tend to say how much dogs and their owners look alike, it seems as though cars and drivers also share a close identity.
After settling in Los Angeles in 1985, the American photographer took on a project called Vector Portraits that were photographs of cars and their passengers taken while he was driving in the city’s streets and freeways. With the help of an equipment installed on his passenger seat, Bush captured drivers framed by their car windows and the surrounding landscapes, either stopped in traffic or traveling, lost in their thoughts or interacting with other passengers.
“Initially, I was just floundering around in the world with a camera. Living in Los Angeles, I was captivated by how people interacted as a result of driving, so I began experimenting with taking pictures while driving. It seemed strange that we exist in this very private interior, almost a living room, while circulating in such a public way.”
His spontaneous images reveal the ambiguity between private and public spaces while they unveil amusing details such as bullet holes or a disguised airport car. Yet the most fascinating is how connected drivers and cars are; just as we tend to say how much dogs and their owners look alike, it seems as though cars and drivers also share a close identity.
July 23, 2011
Old Photos of Ernest Hemingway Partying
Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway is seen as one of the great American 20th century novelists, and is known for works like A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea. These photographs below captured everyday life of Hemingway in the past...
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| When Ernest Hemingway wasn't drinking wine, gin, whiskey, vodka or absinthe, he was usually playing with guns |
July 22, 2011
Old Photos of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory within physics.
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| A childhood portrait of Albert Einstein and his sister Maja |
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| Albert Einstein on his 75th birthday, March 15, 1954, in Princeton, New Jersey |
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| Einstein visiting the observatory of Mount Wilson, which at that time operated the largest telescope |
July 18, 2011
Historical Photos of Nazi Gustav Gun, the Largest Gun Ever Built
No, this isn't a modern weapon as may have guessed from these images, but rather one from 1941, the year after France fell. It was at this time German steelmaker and arms manufacturer Friedrich Krupp A.G. company began construction on Hitler's Gustav Gun, which was four-stories tall, 155-feet-long, and weighed in at a massive 1,350 tons, while being able to shoot 10,000-pound shells from its mammoth 98-foot bore.
Gustav was later employed in the Soviet Union at the siege of Sevastopol during Operation Barbarossa, where among other things, it destroyed a munitions depot buried in the bedrock under a bay.
On 14 April 1945, one day before the arrival of US troops, the Gustav gun was destroyed to prevent its capture. On 22 April 1945, its ruins were discovered in a forest 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Auerbach and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Chemnitz. In summer 1945 Schwerer Gustav was studied by Soviet specialists and in autumn of the same year was transferred to Merseburg, where the Soviets were gathering German military material. Thereafter, the trail of the gun was lost.
Gustav was later employed in the Soviet Union at the siege of Sevastopol during Operation Barbarossa, where among other things, it destroyed a munitions depot buried in the bedrock under a bay.
On 14 April 1945, one day before the arrival of US troops, the Gustav gun was destroyed to prevent its capture. On 22 April 1945, its ruins were discovered in a forest 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Auerbach and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Chemnitz. In summer 1945 Schwerer Gustav was studied by Soviet specialists and in autumn of the same year was transferred to Merseburg, where the Soviets were gathering German military material. Thereafter, the trail of the gun was lost.
July 16, 2011
Wonderful Vintage Photos of Costumes and Dresses in the Last Decades
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| Mr & Mrs Lawrence Tibbett arrive in Sydney, 1938 |
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| Helen Twelvetrees during the making of Thoroughbred, Sydney, 1936 |
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| Arrival of Fuller-Gonsalez Opera Company with hands raised in fascist salute, Sydney, March 1928 |
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| Marcelle Boivin, Balmain, Sydney, ca. 1929 |
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| Wedding of Donald Bradman to Jessie Menzies, Burwood, Sydney, 1932 |
July 10, 2011
35 Extraordinary Vintage Color Photographs Capture American Life in Years Before World War II
After the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. was thrust into World War II (1939-45), and everyday life across the country was dramatically altered.
Food, gas and clothing were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives. To help build the armaments necessary to win the war, women found employment as electricians, welders and riveters in defense plants.
Japanese Americans had their rights as citizens stripped from them. People in the U.S. grew increasingly dependent on radio reports for news of the fighting overseas. And, while popular entertainment served to demonize the nation’s enemies, it also was viewed as an escapist outlet that allowed Americans brief respites from war worries.
Food, gas and clothing were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives. To help build the armaments necessary to win the war, women found employment as electricians, welders and riveters in defense plants.
Japanese Americans had their rights as citizens stripped from them. People in the U.S. grew increasingly dependent on radio reports for news of the fighting overseas. And, while popular entertainment served to demonize the nation’s enemies, it also was viewed as an escapist outlet that allowed Americans brief respites from war worries.
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| Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress |
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| Connecticut town on the sea. Stonington, Connecticut, November 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress |
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| Farm auction. Derby, Connecticut, September 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress |
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| Children gathering potatoes on a large farm. Vicinity of Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress |
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| Trucks outside of a starch factory. Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress |
