Vladimir Salnikov: The 15 Minute Man
In Olympic sport there have been several events which have had a time, distance or points barrier which seem impenetrable until that one unique Olympian achieves that breakthrough. In gymnastics…
Teenage Boys of the 1940s
A series of photographs of teenage boys in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945, by LIFE photographer Nina Leen. Is it just me or were they much cuter in the 40s than…
Teenage Girls of the 1940s
We had a glimpse of teenage boys in the 1940s; don’t worry, there were girls too! St. Louis, Missouri, 1944. By Nina Leen. Teenage girls in blue jeans drink Coke…
Passover in Berlin, 1946
Sometimes context makes all the difference. These photographs show Passover at home and at the synagogue– in Berlin, 1946. (note: the captions incorrectly say 1945; this of course can’t be…
Flying, 1920s Style
A terrific set of cigarette cards depicting a flight from London to Amsterdam in the early days of commercial air travel. The images (each “from an official photograph supplied by…
Scotland by Photochrom
Another set of photochroms! (for a couple more details on photochroms, see this post; basically they are photographs crossed with lithograms). Today, a tour of Scotland, 1890s. Library of Congress…
1950s Banff, in Colour
About this time last year I posted photographs of Banff, in the Canadian Rockies, from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Now, Banff is one of my favourite places in…
Farewells
Beautiful and sad. (you may want to get the tissues if you’re anything like me). A series of photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt (see Kissing the War Away) portraying the kisses…
Tea, the Soldier's Drink
Sometimes even– or especially– in the midst of war, you just need a cup of tea. (Especially when you’re British…. so much so, in fact, that this will be a…
Fireside Talks with Stanley Baldwin
In the 1920’s with the advent of the radio, diiferent styles of broadcasting could be the difference between an election victory or defeat, as Vivian Ogilvie expressed in 1953 in…