Vintage

Vintage: Montparnasse Train Derailment in Paris (1895)

Vintage: Montparnasse Train Derailment in Paris (1895)

At first glance, the photos look like stills from an old disaster movie or a spectacular example of theme park scenery welcoming visitors to some wild new ride. However, these extraordinary images are actually testament to a real-life tragedy, the derailment of the Granville-Paris Express that on October 22, 1895 tore through the façade of the Gare Montparnasse, injuring a…
Vintage: First Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)

Vintage: First Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)

In 1911 a group of scientists and adventurers left Hobart under the leadership of Dr Douglas Mawson. They were bound for Macquarie Island and the then unknown parts of Antarctica. The scientists of the expedition produced information that later made an major contribution to knowledge of the region. The exploration of new lands established precedence to claims, formalised in 1936…
Vintage: London by Rex Hazlewood (1918-1919)

Vintage: London by Rex Hazlewood (1918-1919)

David ‘Rex’ Hazlewood (1886 – 1968) was born in Dulwich Hill in Sydney’s Inner West and grew up in the suburban areas around Homebush, Chatswood and Epping. He first trained as a tailor in a city clothing warehouse but it was Rex’s father, David, who was himself a keen amateur photographer who fostered the same passion in his son. Some…
Vintage: Russian Beauties in Traditional Costumes (late 19th Century)

Vintage: Russian Beauties in Traditional Costumes (late 19th Century)

These photos were taken in the end of 19th century and now are kept in the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography. The women in the photos are wearing traditional costumes of different regions of Russia. And though you can see many regional differences in the outfits there are two similar basic elements – sarafan and kokoshnik. Sarafan is…
Vintage: Hamburg, Germany (1910s)

Vintage: Hamburg, Germany (1910s)

When Jan van Valckenborgh introduced a second layer to the fortifications to protect against the Thirty Years War in the seventeenth century, he extended Hamburg and created a “New Town” (Neustadt) whose street names still date from the grid system of roads he introduced. In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the “Great Fire”. The…
Vintage: Native Americans Dressed in European Attire (early 20th Century)

Vintage: Native Americans Dressed in European Attire (early 20th Century)

Forced assimilation is a process of forced cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups, into an established and generally larger community. This presumes a loss of many characteristics which make the minority different. The Native Americans suffered both ethnic and religious assimilation. The assimilation process took place between the years 1790 and 1920. George Washington and Henry Knox were…
Vintage: Glass negatives by Frederick Danvers Power (1898 – 1926)

Vintage: Glass negatives by Frederick Danvers Power (1898 – 1926)

Frederick Danvers Power (1861-1955 ) was born in England and educated at Malvern College, the Royal School of Mines, London, and the Mining Academy, Clausthal in Germany. In 1884 he migrated to Australia where he settled, initially in Melbourne, pursuing his mining engineering career. He worked as an analyst at Bethanga and was General Manager of Great Cobar Mines. Interested…
Vintage: Mugshots of Prisoners (1900s)

Vintage: Mugshots of Prisoners (1900s)

“Some years ago I discovered a cache of glass negative mug shots taken in the early 20th century; each negative was inscribed with the man’s name and alleged crime. In order to research the life of each man pictured in the 500 negatives, I spent the next three years traveling back and forth from New York to the small Northern…
Vintage: Sydney during the 1900 Bubonic Plague

Vintage: Sydney during the 1900 Bubonic Plague

When bubonic plague struck Sydney in 1900, George McCredie was appointed by the Government to take charge of all quarantine activities in the Sydney area, beginning work on March 23, 1900. At the time of his appointment, McCredie was an architect and consulting engineer with offices in the Mutual Life of New York Building in Martin Place. McCredie’s appointment was…
Vintage: Portraits of American Ladies by Mathew Brady (1863)

Vintage: Portraits of American Ladies by Mathew Brady (1863)

During the Civil War, Mathew Brady and his associates traveled throughout the eastern part of the country, capturing the effects of the War through photographs of people, towns, and battlefields. Additionally, Brady kept studios in Washington, DC and New York City, where many influential politicians and war heroes sat for portraits. Brady photographed many subjects in the time of the…
Vintage: Everyday Life of Ontario, Canada by Reuben R. Sallows (late 19th Century)

Vintage: Everyday Life of Ontario, Canada by Reuben R. Sallows (late 19th Century)

At the turn of the 20th century, when most cameras and photographers operated out of a studio, Ontario-based photographer Reuben R. Sallows (1855-1937) took his heavy, cumbersome equipment outside. He photographed people at work and play in the small towns, farmlands and in the expansive Canadian wilderness of Ontario, the western rovinces and northern Quebec. A rogue photographer, Sallows did…
Vintage: Everyday Life of France by Amélie Galup (late 19th Century)

Vintage: Everyday Life of France by Amélie Galup (late 19th Century)

Amélie Galup (1856-1943) taught herself photography in 1895 at the family home in Saint-Antonin-Nobleval, where she spent her vacations, turning the basement into a darkroom. She developed and printed the pictures she took of her husband, their two children and her family. Galup constructed a set in one room of the house, recreating the conditions of a portrait studio, backdrop…
Vintage: Chinese People from Qing Dynasty (1860s)

Vintage: Chinese People from Qing Dynasty (1860s)

When the Tongzhi Emperor came to the throne at the age of five in 1861, these officials rallied around him in what was called the Tongzhi Restoration. Their aim was to adopt Western military technology in order to preserve Confucian values. Zeng Guofan, in alliance with Prince Gong, sponsored the rise of younger officials such as Li Hongzhang, who put…
Vintage: 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin

Vintage: 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin

On the morning of Monday 24 April, about 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army mustered at several locations in central Dublin. Among them were members of the all-female Cumann na mBan. Some wore Irish Volunteer and Citizen Army uniforms, while others wore civilian clothes with a yellow Irish Volunteer armband, military hats, and bandoliers. They were…
Vintage: Everyday Life of New York by Wallace G. Levison (19th Century)

Vintage: Everyday Life of New York by Wallace G. Levison (19th Century)

Wallace G. Levison was a chemist, inventor, and lecturer who founded the Departments of Mineralogy and Astronomy at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in the latter half of the 19th century. As the dawn of the 20th century approached, newer, more sensitive film emulsions were developed that allowed pictures to be taken with faster and faster shutter speeds.…
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: Victorian Fashion (19th Century)

Vintage: Victorian Fashion (19th Century)

During the Victorian Era, a woman’s place was at home. Unlike in the earlier centuries when women could help their husbands and brothers in family businesses, in the nineteenth century, the gender roles became more defined than ever. Their dress styles reflected their lifestyle. Victorian fashion was not intended to be utilitarian. Clothes were seen as an expression of women’s…
Vintage: American Indian Girls (1900s)

Vintage: American Indian Girls (1900s)

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States. A vast variety of peoples, societies and cultures subsequently developed. Native Americans were greatly affected by the European colonization of the Americas, which began in 1492, and their population declined precipitously due to introduced diseases, warfare, and slavery. After…