Vintage Glass Plate images of Streets from Sydney City (1900s)
Photo collection of early XX century old historic images of streets and city life in Sydney, Australia (1900s).
Vintage
Vintage Glass Plate portraits by Freeman Brothers Studio (1871-1880)
The Freeman Brother Studio lays claim to being the longest running studio in Australia. It was established as the ‘Freeman Brothers and Wheeler’ by William Freeman and his brother James in George Street in 1854; it was still running nearly 150 years later.
Vintage: historic photos of Bremen, Germany in the late 19th Century
In 1827, Bremen, under Johann Smidt, its mayor at that time, purchased land from the Kingdom of Hanover, to establish the city of Bremerhaven (Port of Bremen) as an outpost of Bremen because of the increased silting up of the river Weser. Bremen became part of the North German Confederation in 1867 and became an autonomous component state of the…
Behind the Scenes: Psycho (1960)
Psycho is a 1960 American psychological thriller-horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh. The screenplay is by Joseph Stefano, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch loosely inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein.
Historic B&W photos of Munich, Bavaria, Germany in the 19th century
n 1806, Munich became the capital of the new Kingdom of Bavaria, with the state’s parliament (the Landtag) and the new archdiocese of Munich and Freising being located in the city. Twenty years later Landshut University was moved to Munich. Many of the city’s finest buildings belong to this period and were built under the first three Bavarian kings. Especially…
Vintage: The Great Blizzard of 1888
The Great Blizzard of 1888 was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States of America. The storm began in earnest shortly after midnight on March 12, and continued unabated for a full day and a half. The National Weather Service estimated this Nor’easter dumped as much as 50 inches (130 cm) of snow…
Behind the Scenes: Scarface (1932)
With “Little Caesar” and “The Public Enemy” proving hits, plenty of imitators lined up and one of the first, and best, came from producer Howard Hughes, who lined up an impressive roster of talent for his cautionary crime tale “Scarface” (sometimes subtitled “The Shame Of A Nation”). Writer Ben Hecht was underway on the script when he received a visit…
Vintage B&W photos of Venice, Italy (19th century)
In the late 19th century Venice flourished as a port and a manufacturing center. The railway reached Venice in 1846. However Venice did not prosper under Austrian rule. In 1848 revolutions swept Europe and Venice rose in rebellion against the Austrians. For a short period Daniele Manin became president of an independent Venice. However Austrian forces bombarded the city and…
Behind the Scenes: Gone With the Wind (1939)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to…
History of Mercedes-Benz in Motorsport
From the first automotive competition in history to its return to the Formula One championship with a works team for the 2010 season, the racing activities of Mercedes-Benz tell a success story that has its roots in the early days of the automobile. Since the 19th century, racing cars, racing sports cars and rally cars made in Stuttgart have consistently…
Behind the scenes: Metropolis (1927)
Metropolis (1927) is a stylized, visually-compelling, melodramatic silent film set in the dystopic, 21st century city of Metropolis – a dialectical treatise on man vs. machine and class struggle. Austrian director Fritz Lang’s German Expressionistic masterpiece helped to develop the science-fiction genre, with innovative imagery from cinematographer Karl Freund, art design by Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, and Karl Vollbrecht, and…
Vintage Glass Plate negatives of Snow in Australia (1900s)
The alpine region of Australia stretches through New South Wales and into Victoria. In NSW the Snowy Mountains region is home to good snowfalls from June through to September and to Australia’s highest mountain – Mount Kosciuszko – which at 2228 metres is about 1/4 of the height of Mount Everest.
Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s)
After the horrors of the Nazi occupation and repressive postwar Soviet domination, Polish cinema suddenly took off in the mid-50s to become a major international force. Initially, it was Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy (1954-58) on wartime resistance that attracted attention. That was followed by a wave of films approaching contemporary society with skilful circumspection before there was a further clampdown in…
Behind the Scenes: G-Men (1935)
G Men is a 1935 Warner Bros. crime film starring James Cagney, Ann Dvorak, and Margaret Lindsay, and presenting Lloyd Nolan’s film debut. According to Variety Magazine, the movie was one of the top-grossing films of 1935. The supporting cast features Robert Armstrong and Barton MacLane. G Men was made as part of a deliberate attempt to counteract what many…
Historic B&W photos of Milan, Italy (19th century)
The political unification of Italy cemented Milan’s commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian partronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for…
Vintage: Sweden in 1880s and 1890s
Carl Curman (1833–1913) was a physician and a scientist. He is mainly known as a pioneer in his commitment in public health care, especially in bathing. He founded two public indoor baths in Stockholm and developed a minor outdoor bath in the fisherman village of Lysekil on the west coast into a high-society seaside resort. He was an associate professor…
Vintage: Manhattan Bridge Under Construction (New York, 1903-1909)
The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges. It has four vehicle lanes on the upper level, split between two roadways. The lower level has three lanes, four subway tracks, a walkway and a bikeway. The upper level, originally used for streetcars, has two lanes…
Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Dutch Windmills in 19th Century
The first windmills were invented in antiquity, but it was the Dutch who really hit it off with this wooden giant. In a flat country, where the wind always blows, windmills sprouted from the ground like mushrooms. They were used to mill, saw, pump and press. The production of boards, paint, oil and paper, as well as bread and mustard…
Vintage: The Wolf Man (1941)
The Wolf Man (1941) is a mishmash of several wolf legends, with added ingredients. Siodmak stirs pentagrams, gypsies, silver bullets and the full moon together to create a robust myth. It owes little to established European traditions, but established a new set of cinematic rules which Hollywood lycanthropes would adhere to for decades. Set in a contemporary Wales (where no…
Behind the Scenes: Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo is a 1958 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The story was based on the 1954 novel D’entre les morts by Boileau-Narcejac. The film stars James Stewart as former police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson. Scottie is forced into early retirement because an incident in the line of duty has caused him to develop acrophobia (an…
