A Yearbook Portrait of Tom Hanks in 1974

A 1974 yearbook grad portrait of Tom Hanks at Skyline High School in Oakland, California, who later claimed he was a “geek” and a “spaz” during his teen years.

“I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy,” he once told Rolling Stone. “Still, I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible.”

(Image credit: ClassMates.Com Yearbook Archives)

Rare Pictures From the American Civil War Era

A Houston housewife who has quietly collected rare Civil War images for 50 years has sold more than 500 early photographs to the Library of Congress. Many of them are stereo pictures, or two of the same frame that are printed on one card and meant to be seen in 3-D via a stereo viewer—since the 1970s.

The library announced the acquisition Sunday and is placing the first 77 images online. Some scenes offer a rare glimpse of slave life in the South. Another set depicts President Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession in 1865... Here are some of sample images from the collection.

The promenade along the Battery in Charleston Harbor, 1861.

A view of Charleston harbor from the battery with a ship at anchor in the distance. One man leans against the fence post while another is seated on a bench., 1861

Members of the Marion Light Artillery cleaning a gun in one of the batteries on Coles Island, South Carolina, 1861.

Artillery and fortifications on Coles Island, South Carolina, 1861.

The exterior walls of Fort Sumter damaged by Confederate bombardment. Four men stand near a boat in the foreground, 1861.

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Some Candid Photographs of John and Sean Lennon in Hong Kong, 1977

Here’s a small collection of rare and interesting photographs of John Lennon traveling in Hong Kong in May 1977 with Sean, who was about two years old, and was on his way to meet Yoko in Japan.

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From Ethel Barrymore to Viscountess Nancy Astor, Here Are 40 Stunning Portraits of Beautiful Women From the Belle Époque

Literally "Beautiful Age". Name given in France to the period from roughly the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1871) to the start of World War 1 (1914), in which standards of living and security for the upper and middle classes increased, leading to it retrospectively being labelled as a golden age by them.

In the United Kingdom, the Belle Époque overlapped with the late Victorian era and the Edwardian era. In Germany, the Belle Époque coincided with the reigns of Kaiser Wilhelm I & II and in Russia with the reigns of Alexander III and Nicholas II.

1. Ethel Barrymore

2. Jennie Jerome, Lady Randolph Churchill

3. Lady Edwina, the Duchess of Westminster

4. Maude Fealy

5. Mabelle Corey

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A Day in the Life with Las Vegas Chorus Girl Kim Smith in 1954

For chorus girls the best place in the country is Las Vegas, where no gambling club feels competitively safe without a full-scale floor show to pull customers in. The work is steady, the pay good and the recreation plentiful. Kim Smith, who gets $128 a week at the time for dancing in two shows nightly, works hard indoors and plays harder outdoors, lavishing on the Nevada town an athletic affection no crapshooter could comprehend.

Free from boredom ("There are so many things to do it's hard to choose"), she has no fear of too little or too much masculine attention ("You have all these interesting people here and there are guards"). Unless movie studios or matrimony intervenes, 21-year-old Kim wants to keep capering. "I am having more fun," Kim said, "than anyone else in the whole world."

Kim Smith (R) learning to ride like a cowboy.

Kim Smith, at the swimming pool in the Sands Hotel.

Kim Smith (fore) and her roomate at lake Mead.

Kim Smith (R) playing in the snow with a friend.

Kim Smith while at a ski lodge.

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25 Captivating Color Photographs of Jackie Kennedy in India in March 1962

First lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrived in New Delhi on March 12 for a nine-day visit. Mrs. Kennedy’s first engagement was a visit to the Central Secretariat, where she watched Indian President Rajendra Prasad ride by in state after opening a new session of Parliament. The first lady spent two days at Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s house with him and his daughter, Indira Gandhi. Mrs. Kennedy conveyed President John F. Kennedy’s greetings and his pleasure that Mrs. Kennedy could return the visits of Nehru and Mrs. Gandhi to the United States the previous year.

Accompanied by her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill, and escorted by Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith, Mrs. Kennedy saw the Taj Mahal by daylight and moonlight, Mughal monuments in Fatehpur Sikri, and the Amber Palace in Jaipur. She attended receptions and formal dinners, had an elephant ride in Jaipur, a horse ride at the president’s estate polo grounds, and went on boat trips on the Ganga in Varanasi and Pichola Lake in Udaipur. She also met a cross section of people from officials and ministers to children in hospitals, fed bamboo shoots to Himalayan pandas in Prime Minister Nehru’s garden, and purchased some of the handicrafts of India.

First Lady Jackie Kennedy holding a silver encased coconut to her forehead in the Rajasthani mark of luck and respect as she is welcomed at the Jaipur Airport during her tour of India.

Jackie Kennedy with sister Lee Radziwill on goodwill tour to India.

Jackie Kennedy in white coat and hat with Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith (R) and unident. Indians on a visit to India.

Jackie Kennedy standing by the reflecting pool in front of the Taj Mahal during visit to India.

Jackie Kennedy wearing pink dress and three-stranded pearls during visit with Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru (L) & Ambassador to US B.K. Nehru.

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Stunning Pictures Show the Changing Face of New York in the 1940s-50s and Now

These stunning images show the changing face of New York in the middle of the 20th century and now. Old pictures taken in the 1940s and 1950s by legendary crime photographer Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee, are shown alongside shots of the same areas captured this month, via Daily Mail Online.

A man is pictured lying drunk on the ground on Center Street in a 1945 picture called 'Derelict sleeping on the sidewalk outside police headquarters' (left). A woman walks past the same engraved sign for the former Police Department on March 18 this year (rigft)

A lightning bolt strikes above Lower Manhattan on July 27, 1940 (top) in a picture taken by legendary crime photographer Arthur Fellig. A picture taken from the same vantage point (bottom) shows how the skyline has changed over the last 75 years.

Weegee's photograph 'Neon billboards on Times Square' (top), taken in September 1957, and an image taken from the same spot earlier this month (bottom) shows how the area has changed over the years.

Shops and businesses have sprung up along Doyers Street in the heart of New York's Chinatown (bottom). Weegee photographed a fire on the same street (top) on January 17, 1941.

Weegee photographed The Empire State Building in 1943 (left) from behind a 'loans sign'. A picture taken this month (right) shows how the view from the same spot has changed in the last 70 years.

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30 Beautiful Portraits of Maude Fealy From the Early 1900s

These are women who were more than just beautiful, they were talented and were able to have successful careers for themselves during a period when men dominated the entertainment industry. With the passage of time, many of these stars have dimmed and are now only distant memories, but one name continues to sparkle... Maude Fealy.

Known for her great beauty and talent, the actress was probably photographed more than any other actress of the early 1900s. Her popular photographs were collected all over the world. Her youthful beauty made her a popular subject for postcards; and here are some of our favorites...

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These Inventions From the 1940s Are Weirder Than Anything You’ll Find

Facing a decrease in demand during the war years, the Los Angeles Brush Manufacturing Corporation created a catalog full of facetious inventions, simply “to take their minds off the ugly fact that they had no brushes to sell.”

In a photo shoot by Allan Grant published in LIFE in 1947, actress Olga San Juan and comedian Billy de Wolfe took those inventions—a series of brushes of questionable utility—for a test drive.

New back brush lets bather see just what she is up to.

Brushes on feet allow housewife to read while scrubbing floor.

Useful brush lifts rug so dirt can be swept under it.

Comedian Billy de Wolfe with actress Olga San Juan demonstrating nail brush.

Actress Olga San Juan demonstrating nail brush.

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18 Pictures of the Early Los Angeles Street Lights

Los Angeles City is famed not only for its climate and for its oranges, but its electric light comes in as its crowning glory... This glowing eulogy depicts the enthusiasm more than 130 years ago when on December 30, 1882 the first streetlights were turned on in Los Angeles, illuminating the way to a pioneering age of growth and development for the expanding metropolis.

1869 - View of Calle Principal (now Main Street) looking northwest with the Old Plaza Church seen on the left. To the right is the Los Angeles Plaza (square at the time) with two gas lamps, one on each of its corners. These were the first gas lamps installed in the City of Los Angeles.

Early 1870s - San Pedro Street, a muddy dirt street, near 2nd Street in the early 1870s. A gas lamp post can be seen standing in a pool of water.

ca. 1882 - One of the first of seven electric street lights installed in the City of Los Angeles at Main Street and Commercial Street in 1882. It stood 150 feet tall.

ca. 1882 - Another look at one of LA's first electric light poles. View is of the buildings on the east side of North Main Street at Commercial Street at near right, looking toward the Baker Block. A man can be seen standing on a platform half way up the street light mast.

1880s - Main Street looking north from atop the Temple Block. Baker Block is just right of center. This vantage point is now occupied by City Hall. This gives a good view of where one of the first 150-ft. tall street light poles stood.

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Times Square in the Rain, New York, March 1943

Photo by John Vachon (via)

Amazing Vintage Photos of Loie Fuller Dancing from the Late 19th Century

Loie Fuller (1862 – 1928) was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. She began her theatrical career as a professional child actress and later choreographed and performed dances in burlesque (as a skirt dancer), vaudeville, and circus shows. An early free dance practitioner, Fuller developed her own natural movement and improvisation techniques. Fuller combined her choreography with silk costumes illuminated by multi-coloured lighting of her own design.

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