Vintage

Behind the Scenes: The Birds (1963)

Behind the Scenes: The Birds (1963)

The Birds is a 1963 suspense/horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the 1952 story “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California, which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few days.
Vintage: King Kong (1933)

Vintage: King Kong (1933)

Merian C Cooper, the visionary behind the chest-thumping giant gorilla atop the Empire State, was a remarkable man. An old school adventurer, he could list World War I flying ace, POW, journalist, explorer, airline owner and Oscar-nominated documentary-maker on his resume before he came to make King Kong, and he continued his adventuresome ways until his death in 1973. He…
Vintage: The Civil War

Vintage: The Civil War

Here is a collection of photographs covering the places of the Civil War: the battleships, prisons, hospitals, urban centers, and rural pastures where history was made. via The Atlantic
Vintage: Police archives in Sydney (1930s and 40s)

Vintage: Police archives in Sydney (1930s and 40s)

The Historic Houses Trust in Australia has a forensic photography archive at the Justice & Police Museum which contains an estimated 130,000 images created by the New South Wales Police between 1910 and 1960. Images uncovered in Justice & Police Museum’s Forensic Photography Archive, capture the spaces left behind: a moody catalogue of vacant lots, empty roads, desolate interiors, crime…
Vintage: Swedish churches from 1100-1900 AD

Vintage: Swedish churches from 1100-1900 AD

This set shows photos of Swedish churches from 1100-1900 AD – a mix of stone and wooden churches, cathedrals and chapels – country churches as well as city churches. We think that these pictures well describe the wide range of churches to be found all over the country in the 1800s. They also show the surrounding landscape or environment, often…
Vintage: The Eastland disaster (1915)

Vintage: The Eastland disaster (1915)

A large crowd of horrified spectators watched as the S.S. Eastland – only a few feet from the shore of the Chicago River downtown — turned on its side. It was in just 20 feet of water, but that was deep enough to drown 844 people who were trapped or trampled below decks. via Chicago Tribune
Vintage: Open-air bazaar in Chicago

Vintage: Open-air bazaar in Chicago

Maxwell Street first appears on a Chicago map in 1847. It was named for Dr. Philip Maxwell. It was originally a wooden plank road that ran from the south branch of the Chicago River west to Blue Island Avenue. The earliest housing was built by and for Irish immigrants who were brought to Chicago to construct the first railroads. It…
The Wright Brothers – First Flight in 1903

The Wright Brothers – First Flight in 1903

On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville’s brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. The brothers began their experimentation in flight…
Vintage: Russian air force of 1915

Vintage: Russian air force of 1915

The Imperial Russian Air Service was founded in 1912. At the beginning of World War I, Russia’s air service was second only to that of France (263 aeroplanes and 14 airships), although the bulk of its aircraft were too outdated to be of much use. via English Russia
Vintage: Wall Street bombing in 1920

Vintage: Wall Street bombing in 1920

At 12:01pm on Thursday, September 16th, 1920, a blast shook the Financial District of New York City immediately killing 30 people, with another 8 to die later of wounds sustained in the blast. On top of the dead, there were 143 people seriously injured with the total number injured measuring in the hundreds. This event was the deadliest act of…
Historic B&W photos of Zurich, Switzerland (19th century)

Historic B&W photos of Zurich, Switzerland (19th century)

Extensive developments took place during the 19th century. From 1847, the Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn, the first railway on Swiss territory, connected Zürich with Baden, putting the Zürich Hauptbahnhof at the origin of the Swiss rail network. The present building of the Hauptbahnhof (the main railway station) dates to 1871. Zürich’s Bahnhofstrasse (Station Street) was laid out in 1867, and the Zürich Stock…
Vintage: The American West in the 19th Century

Vintage: The American West in the 19th Century

Timothy O’Sullivan (1840 – 1882) was official photographer on the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel under Clarence King. The expedition began at Virginia City, Nevada, where he photographed the mines, and worked eastward. His job was to photograph the West to attract settlers. In so doing, he became one of the pioneers in the field of geophotography.…
Vintage: Imperial Russian Submarines (1910s)

Vintage: Imperial Russian Submarines (1910s)

Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) had purchased German constructed submersibles built by the Germaniawerft shipyards out of Kiel. In 1903 Germany successfully completed its first fully functional engine-powered submarine, Forelle (Trout), and it was sold to Russia in 1904 and shipped via the Trans-Siberian Railway to the combat zone during the Russo-Japanese War. Due to the naval blockade of Port Arthur,…
Historic B&W photos of Dublin, Ireland (19th century)

Historic B&W photos of Dublin, Ireland (19th century)

Dublin suffered a period of political and economic decline during the 19th century following the Act of Union of 1800, under which the seat of government was transferred to the Westminster Parliament in London. The city played no major role in the Industrial Revolution, but remained the centre of administration and a transport hub for most of the island. Ireland…
Vintage: Poland during Interwar period (1918-1939)

Vintage: Poland during Interwar period (1918-1939)

The History of interwar Poland comprises the period from the re-recreation of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the joint Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 at the onset of World War II. The two decades of Poland’s sovereignty between the world wars are known as the Interbellum.
Vintage: Moscow Subway Construction (1930s)

Vintage: Moscow Subway Construction (1930s)

In 1932 the plan for the first line was approved, and on March 21, 1933 the Soviet government approved a plan for 10 lines with a total route length of 80 km. They were working 40 meters deep under the ground to make a huge palace with big and spacious halls, wide corridors. New methods and equipment, previously unknown, were applied…
Behind the Scenes: Jaws (1975)

Behind the Scenes: Jaws (1975)

Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name. The prototypical summer blockbuster, its release is regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history. In the story, a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, prompting the local police…