Vintage

Vintage: The Ovitz Family – Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz (1940s)

Vintage: The Ovitz Family – Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz (1940s)

The Ovitz family originated from Maramureş County, Romania. They were descended from Shimson Eizik Ovitz (1868–1923), a badchen entertainer, itinerant rabbi and himself a dwarf. He fathered ten children in total, seven of them dwarfs (afflicted with pseudoachondroplasia), from two marriages. The children founded their own ensemble, the Lilliput Troupe. They sang and played music using small instruments and performed…
Vintage: Portraits of Auschwitz Guards During World War II (1940s)

Vintage: Portraits of Auschwitz Guards During World War II (1940s)

In January 2017, Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance published a massive online record of the Auschwitz staff. The searchable database of the 8,502 overwhelmingly German personnel was created in part to dispel claims that the camp was staffed by many Polish guards. The list shows that most names are predominantly German. Guards and SS Commanders’ pre-conflict occupations are also listed,…
Vintage: 19th Century Sexual Revolution by Sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing

Vintage: 19th Century Sexual Revolution by Sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing

Richard von Krafft-Ebing’s (1840 – 1902) principal work is Psychopathia Sexualis: eine Klinisch-Forensische Studie (Sexual Psychopathy: A Clinical-Forensic Study), which was first published in 1886 and expanded in subsequent editions. The last edition from the hand of the author (the twelfth) contained a total of 238 case histories of human sexual behaviour. This book popularized the terms sadism (derived from…
Vintage: Boston Public Schools (late 19th Century)

Vintage: Boston Public Schools (late 19th Century)

The Boston Pictorial Archive holds photographs documenting Boston-area adult and evening classes in the 19th century, with the bulk of the material covering the years between 1890 and 1893. These images offer interior views as well as adult students engaged in classroom work or other educational endeavors.
Vintage: Trench Rats Killed by Terriers During World War I

Vintage: Trench Rats Killed by Terriers During World War I

The trench soldier of World War I had to cope with millions of rats. The omnipresent rats were attracted by the human waste of war – not simply sewage waste but also the bodies of men long forgotten who had been buried in the trenches and often reappeared after heavy rain or shelling. Two or three rats would always be…
Vintage: Daily Life of Ringling Bros. Circus (1910s)

Vintage: Daily Life of Ringling Bros. Circus (1910s)

Harry A. Atwell (1879-1957) was an American photographer. He was hired for his first circus assignment in 1910 to travel with the Ringling Bros. Circus. Over the next forty years he documented the roustabouts, big top crowds, sideshow performers and center-ring stars of the circus during a time when shops, schools, and even factories closed when the circus came to…
Vintage: Portraits of Lillian Gish (1920s)

Vintage: Portraits of Lillian Gish (1920s)

After 10 years of acting on the stage, she made her film debut opposite Dorothy in Griffith’s short film An Unseen Enemy (1912). At the time established thespians considered “the flickers” a rather base form of entertainment, but she was assured of its merits. Gish continued to perform on the stage, and in 1913, during a run of A Good…
Vintage: Canadian Brides by Yousuf Karsh (1930s)

Vintage: Canadian Brides by Yousuf Karsh (1930s)

Renowned Armenian–Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) – one of the great portrait photographers of the 20th century by Time magazine and the Metropolitan Museum of Art – has a wide array of wedding photographs, particularly portraits of the bride. via Library and Archives Canada
Vintage: Everyday Life of Siberia (1900s)

Vintage: Everyday Life of Siberia (1900s)

The growing power of Russia in the West began to undermine the Siberian Khanate in the 16th century. First, groups of traders and Cossacks began to enter the area. The Russian Army was directed to establish forts farther and farther east to protect new settlers from European Russia. Towns such as Mangazeya, Tara, Yeniseysk and Tobolsk were developed, the last…
Vintage: Lewis Cycle and Motor Works Factory in Adelaide (1904-1906)

Vintage: Lewis Cycle and Motor Works Factory in Adelaide (1904-1906)

In 1900, Lewis Cycle Works made the leap from bicycles to motor driven vehicles with the creation of the Lewis motor car. Built in-house, the company soon realized that there would be no profit in hand-built cars, when they could be more easily and cheaply imported from other countries. The solution was to use their expertise in producing bicycles to…
Vintage: Everyday Life of Egypt (late 19th Century)

Vintage: Everyday Life of Egypt (late 19th Century)

Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty remained nominally an Ottoman province. It was granted the status of an autonomous vassal state or Khedivate in 1867, a status which was to remain in place until 1914. The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869. Its construction led to enormous debt to European banks, and caused popular…
Vintage: Margaret Gorman, The First Miss America (1920s)

Vintage: Margaret Gorman, The First Miss America (1920s)

Gorman was a junior at Western High School in Washington, D.C. when her photo was entered into a popularity contest at the Washington Herald. She was chosen as “Miss District of Columbia” in 1921 at age 16 on account of her athletic ability, past accomplishments, and outgoing personality. As a result of that victory, she was invited to join the…
Vintage: Hoboken, New Jersey (Early XX Century)

Vintage: Hoboken, New Jersey (Early XX Century)

Hoboken was originally formed as a township on April 9, 1849, from portions of North Bergen Township. As the town grew in population and employment, many of Hoboken’s residents saw a need to incorporate as a full-fledged city, and in a referendum held on March 29, 1855, ratified an Act of the New Jersey Legislature signed the previous day, and…
Vintage: Swedish churches (19th Century)

Vintage: Swedish churches (19th Century)

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: Historical Photos of Harvard University (19th Century)

Vintage: Historical Photos of Harvard University (19th Century)

Established originally by the Massachusetts legislature and soon thereafter named for John Harvard (its first benefactor), Harvard is the United States’ oldest institution of higher learning, and the Harvard Corporation (formally, the President and Fellows of Harvard College) is its first chartered corporation. Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy. Its…
Vintage: Helsinki in the late 19th Century

Vintage: Helsinki in the late 19th Century

During the 19th century, Helsinki became the economic and cultural center of Finland; as elsewhere, technological advancements such as railroads and industrialization were key factors behind the city’s growth. The first Helsinki railway station opened in 1862 with service to Hämeenlinna. Beginning from the late 19th century, the Finnish language became more and more dominant in the city, since the…
Vintage: New York City before the Indoor Toilets

Vintage: New York City before the Indoor Toilets

If you’ve ever bemoaned the fact that you share a bathroom with several family members or housemates, you’re not alone. Most New Yorkers live in apartments and most units have just a single bathroom. A hundred and fifty years ago, however, the situation was much worse. At the time, New Yorkers had just a few choices when it came to…
Vintage: Portrait Postcards of the German Actresses (1910s-1920s)

Vintage: Portrait Postcards of the German Actresses (1910s-1920s)

The German film industry (during Weimar Republic), which was protected during the war by the ban on foreign films import, became exposed at the end of the war to the international film industry while having to face an embargo, this time on its own films. Many countries banned the import of German films and audiences themselves were resisting anything that…