Vintage

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…
Vintage: Motor Racing from the 1920s-30s

Vintage: Motor Racing from the 1920s-30s

Donald James Harkness, pioneer in the Australian automotive and aeronautical industries, racing driver and record breaker, was born in Leichhardt, NSW in December 1898. On leaving school he became an apprentice in general engineering. At the age of 20 he secured employment at J.C. Hillier’s garage at Drummoyne and in 1922 the partnership of Harkness & Hillier Pty Ltd was…
Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913

Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913

The Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C.. Organized by the suffragist Alice Paul. The parade, calling for a constitutional amendment, featured 8,000 marchers, including nine bands, four mounted brigades, 20 floats, and an allegorical performance near the Treasury Building. Though the parade began late, it appeared to be off to a good start…
Vintage: photos of Ku Klux Klan Parade in 1920s

Vintage: photos of Ku Klux Klan Parade in 1920s

The Ku Klux Klan was a secret organization; apart from a few top leaders the members never revealed their membership and wore masks in public. Investigators in the 1920s used KKK publicity, court cases, exposés by disgruntled Klansman, newspaper reports, and speculation to write stories about what the Klan was doing. Almost all the major newspapers and magazines were hostile.…
Vintage: Chicago’s 1919 race riot

Vintage: Chicago’s 1919 race riot

The riots began after an incident at a South side beach where an African-American teenager was killed, setting off five violence-filled days where dozens died and hundreds were injured. The rioting wasn’t quelled until Gov. Frank Lowden sent in 6,500 state militia troops to draw a line between the white and black districts. In the end, 23 African-Americans and 15…
Historic B&W photos of Naples, Italy (19th century)

Historic B&W photos of Naples, Italy (19th century)

After the Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, which culminated in the controversial Siege of Gaeta, Naples became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 as part of the Italian unification, ending the era of Bourbon rule. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies had been wealthy, and as many as 443.2 million ducats were taken from the…
Vintage: Prohibition in Boston (1920s)

Vintage: Prohibition in Boston (1920s)

Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. Prohibition ended with the…
Historic B&W photos of Rotterdam, Holland (19th century)

Historic B&W photos of Rotterdam, Holland (19th century)

The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance. The greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbor started to expand on the south bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and…
World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893

World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893

The World’s Columbian Exposition was a World’s Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. The Exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on architecture, sanitation, the arts, Chicago’s self-image, and American industrial optimism. Most of the buildings of the fair…
Neofuturistic architecture of Eero Saarinen (1950s and 60s)

Neofuturistic architecture of Eero Saarinen (1950s and 60s)

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for shaping his neofuturistic style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism. Photographer Balthazar Korab worked for Saarinen, skillfully capturing the nuances, shapes, and lines of his structures and documenting the creative process involved. In the process,…
Vintage: Dracula (1931)

Vintage: Dracula (1931)

Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The concept of Dracula is taken from the stageplay as opposed to the novel, and the results are highly theatrical. Lugosi laughs evilly throughout; no wonder, his depiction of the Count-as-seducer is aeons removed from the feral creature represented in Nosferatu and…