Women Shopping for Perfumes and Jewelry at Illum Department Store in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1904

The Illum department store opened in 1891, initially selling sewing supplies. It was founded by a young man named Carl Illum, and its target audience was the wealthy women of Copenhagen, Denmark. Thanks to excellent customer service and a wide product selection, the store did exceptionally well. Seven years later, it was able to move to a much larger location, transforming the small shop into a full-fledged department store. Carl Illum was soon able to purchase a neighboring property, an old Renaissance building. There was a significant amount of protest when Illum demolished the historic building to expand his store.

Carl Illum died in 1938, and his family took over the department store. The company continued to expand throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, becoming an even larger department store. In 1972, the family sold the business. Today, Illum department store still exists in central Copenhagen.

60 Amazing Vintage Photographs Capture Street Scenes of Bologna, Italy at the Turn of the 20th Century

Bologna is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, with 390,734 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan province is home to more than 1 million people as of 2025. Bologna is most famous for being the home to the oldest university in continuous operation, the University of Bologna, established in AD 1088.

At the turn of the 20th century, Bologna retained much of its medieval charm, with its arcaded streets, red-brick buildings, and narrow alleyways. The city’s skyline was still dominated by its famous towers (though many had collapsed by then), and daily life often revolved around the piazzas, especially Piazza Maggiore and Via Rizzoli.

Horse-drawn carriages were still common in the early 1900s, but by the 1910s, Bologna had developed an efficient electric tram system — one of the first in Italy. The Bologna tram network, inaugurated in 1904, connected key areas like Porta San Felice, Porta Santo Stefano, and Piazza Maggiore, making the streets livelier with the sound of clanging bells and the hum of electric lines. Bicycles also became increasingly popular, reflecting the city’s flat landscape and student population.

Many streets preserved their Renaissance and medieval porticoes, providing shade and shelter — Bologna still holds over 38 kilometers of porticoes today. By the 1920s–1930s, under Fascist influence, parts of the city center saw urban renewal projects, widening streets and adding more modern facades — yet the heart of Bologna remained deeply historic.

See more»

Archibald Thorburn: Master of British Wildlife Art

Archibald Thorburn (1860–1935) was a highly celebrated Scottish artist and illustrator, widely regarded as one of Britain's finest wildlife painters, specializing particularly in birds.

Thorburn was a master of watercolor painting, blending remarkable scientific accuracy in depicting fauna with atmospheric and often dramatic background settings, typically featuring the Scottish Highlands. His career was defined by a monumental commission to produce 268 watercolors for Lord Lilford’s seven-volume work, Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Isles.

Beyond his artistry, Thorburn was favored by royalty, served as the Vice-President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and designed their annual Christmas card for decades, reflecting his deep commitment to both art and conservation.

Archibald Thorburn’s legacy endures as that of a master who transformed the study of birds into an art of quiet majesty and timeless grace.

The Hedgehog

Home Territory

Stoat (Winter)

A Barn Owl

A Black Woodpecker in Woodland

See more»

Hardy Amies: The Designer Who Defined Royal Style

Sir Edwin Hardy Amies (1909–2003) was a prominent British fashion designer, best known as the official dressmaker and a Royal Warrant holder for Queen Elizabeth II. His association with the Queen began in 1950 and lasted for nearly 50 years.

Amies founded his own fashion house, Hardy Amies Ltd, on London's famous Savile Row in 1945. Although he initially focused on womenswear, he was also a pioneer in menswear, notably by staging the first men’s ready-to-wear catwalk shows in London in 1961, making well-tailored clothing more accessible.

Known for his classic, refined, and practical approach to style, Amies’ influence extended beyond couture, as he also designed uniforms for groups like the British Olympic squad and the 1966 World Cup team. Hardy Amies remains a symbol of British refinement — a designer who shaped the image of modern elegance from the royal court to the city streets.

Della Oake in bloused, belted jacket in black-and-white rayon basket weave pattern with huge sleeves that look like balloon cuffs over black wool dress by Hardy Amies, photo by Richard Dormer, Harper's Bazaar UK, March 1950

Kathy Dennis in a worsted suit by Hardy Amies, felt hat by Mr. John, handbag by Coblentz, photo by Serge Balkin, Vogue, October 15, 1950

Model in cocktail dress featuring draped skirt tied in large bow in the back with lace bodice by Hardy Amies, Vogue UK, March 1950

Model in oatmeal linen suit garnished with black patent leather by Hardy Amies, shady straw hat tied with chiffon by Erik, photo by Richard Dormer, Harper's Bazaar UK, May 1950

Pat O'Reilly in a fairy's dress of foaming pink tulle, the skirt falling in hadkerchief points and over one shoulder a plait of tulle by Hardy Amies, photo by Henry Clarke, Harper's Bazaar UK, March 1950

See more»

Historical Photographs of American Breaker Boys From the Early 20th Century

A breaker boy was a coal-mining worker whose job was to separate impurities from coal by hand in a coal breaker. Until about 1900, nearly all coal breaking facilities in the United States were labor-intensive. The removal of impurities was done by hand, usually by breaker boys between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.

The use of breaker boys began around 1866. For 10 hours a day, six days a week, breaker boys would sit on wooden seats, perched over the chutes and conveyor belts, picking slate and other impurities out of the coal. Breaker boys working on top of chutes or conveyor belts would stop the coal by pushing their boots into the stream of fuel flowing beneath them, briefly pick out the impurities, and then let the coal pass on to the next breaker boy for further processing. Others would divert coal into a horizontal chute at which they sat, then pick the coal clean before allowing the fuel to flow into clean coal bins.

The work performed by breaker boys was hazardous. Breaker boys were forced to work without gloves so that they could better handle the slick coal. The slate was sharp, and breaker boys would often leave work with their fingers cut and bleeding. Breaker boys sometimes had their fingers amputated by the rapidly moving conveyor belts. Others lost feet, hands, arms, and legs as they moved among the machinery and became caught under conveyor belts or in gears. Many were crushed to death, their bodies retrieved from the gears of the machinery by supervisors only at the end of the working day. Others were caught in the rush of coal, and crushed to death or smothered. Dry coal would kick up so much dust that breaker boys sometimes wore lamps on their heads to see. Asthma and black lung disease were common. Coal was often washed to remove impurities, which created sulfuric acid. The acid burned the hands of the breaker boys.

Public condemnation of the use of breaker boys was so widespread, that in 1885 Pennsylvania enacted a law forbidding the employment of anyone under the age of 12 from working in a coal breaker. The law was poorly enforced. Many employers forged proof-of-age documentation, and many families forged birth certificates or other documents so their children could support the family. Estimates of the number of breaker boys at work in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania vary widely, and official statistics are generally considered by historians to undercount the numbers significantly.

One estimate had 20,000 breaker boys working in the state in 1880, 18,000 working in 1900, 13,133 working in 1902, and 24,000 working in 1907. Technological innovations in the 1890s and 1900s, such as mechanical and water separators designed to remove impurities from coal, dramatically lowered the need for breaker boys, but adoption of the new technology was slow.

By the 1910s, the use of breaker boys was dropping because of improvements in technology, stricter child labor laws, and the enactment of compulsory education laws. The practice of employing children in coal breakers largely ended by 1920 because of the efforts of the National Child Labor Committee, sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine, and the National Consumers League, all of whom educated the public about the practice and succeeded in obtaining passage of national child labor laws.

See more»

Fascinating Publicity Photos of Dana Plato and Gary Coleman From the TV Series “Diff'rent Strokes” in 1981

Dana Plato and Gary Coleman were two of the most recognizable faces from the hit American sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, which aired from 1978 to 1986.

Gary Coleman played Arnold Jackson, the witty and lovable younger brother known for his famous catchphrase, “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” His comedic timing and charm made him one of television’s most popular child actors of the era. Coleman, who suffered from a congenital kidney condition that stunted his growth, brought both humor and heart to the role, and became the show’s breakout star.

Dana Plato played Kimberly Drummond, the kind-hearted and stylish daughter of wealthy widower Philip Drummond (played by Conrad Bain). Her character was the sisterly figure to Arnold and Willis (Todd Bridges), as the three kids navigated life together in their Manhattan penthouse after Mr. Drummond adopted the two boys from Harlem.

Behind the scenes, Plato and Coleman shared a close working relationship, though their lives took very different turns after the show ended. Plato struggled with personal and financial troubles in the years following her fame, and tragically died in 1999 at age 34. Coleman also faced hardships in adulthood, including health and financial problems, and passed away in 2010 at age 42.

See more»

Madeline Smith: The Timeless Beauty of 1970s British Cinema

Madeline Smith is a British actress and model best known for her distinctive charm and playful elegance that lit up British cinema in the late 1960s and ’70s. Born in 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex, she began her career as a fashion model, appearing in magazines and advertisements before making a smooth transition to film and television.

Her wide-eyed beauty and natural wit made her a favorite in both comedies and thrillers. Smith appeared in several classic Hammer horror films, including The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), where she became one of the studio’s most beloved leading ladies. She later gained international recognition for her role as Miss Caruso in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), opposite Roger Moore.

Beyond her film work, Smith’s presence on British television — in series such as The Two Ronnies and Doctor at Large — showcased her talent for both humor and grace. With her radiant beauty and effortless charm, Madeline Smith remains a quintessential icon of 1970s British cinema — timeless, elegant, and unforgettable.

See more»