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Vintage: Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in ‘Julius Caesar’ (1953)

Vintage: Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in ‘Julius Caesar’ (1953)

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Marlon Brando’s casting was met with some skepticism when it was announced, as he had acquired the nickname of “The Mumbler” following his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz even considered Paul Scofield for the role of Mark Antony if Brando’s screen test was unsuccessful. Brando asked John Gielgud for advice in declaiming Shakespeare, and…
Vintage: Portraits of Vilma Bánky – Silent Movie Star

Vintage: Portraits of Vilma Bánky – Silent Movie Star

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Vilma Bánky (1901 – 1991) was a Hungarian-born American silent film actress, although the early part of her acting career began in Budapest. Her first film appearance was in the now lost film, Im Letzten Augenblick (In the last moment), directed by Carl Boese in Germany in 1919. On a trip to Budapest in 1925, Hollywood film producer Samuel Goldwyn…
Vintage: Portraits of Vietnamese People by Émile Gsell (1880s)

Vintage: Portraits of Vietnamese People by Émile Gsell (1880s)

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Émile Gsell was born in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Haut-Rhin, France on 31 December 1838. He served in the military from 1858 to 1866, during which time he learned photography and travelled to Cochin China (now Southern Vietnam). In Cochin China, Gsell was hired by the Commission d’exploration du Mékong, directed by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée (b. 1823 – d. 1868), to photograph…
Vintage: Lady Dancing With Skeleton by Franz Fiedler (1923)

Vintage: Lady Dancing With Skeleton by Franz Fiedler (1923)

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Franz Fiedler (1885 – 1956) was a German photographer. Fiedler was born in Prostějov, near Olomouc in Moravia. Fiedler was a pupil of Hugo Erfurth. He was regarded as an eccentric during his apprenticeship in Pilsen, and worked in 1905 and again in 1912 with Rudof Dührkoop in Hamburg, and from 1908 to 1911 with Hugo Erfurth in Dresden. At…
Vintage: Our Modern Maidens (1929)

Vintage: Our Modern Maidens (1929)

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Our Modern Maidens is a 1929 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway. Starring Joan Crawford in her last silent film role, the film also stars Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Anita Page. Heiress Billie Brown (Crawford), is engaged to marry her longtime sweetheart, budding diplomat Gil Jordan (Fairbanks). When Billie goes to see senior diplomat Glenn…
Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Holy Land, Syria (19th Century)

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Holy Land, Syria (19th Century)

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In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its empire. The Ottoman system was not burdensome to Syrians because the Turks respected Arabic as the language of the Quran, and accepted the mantle of defenders of the faith. Damascus was made the major entrepot for Mecca, and as such it acquired…
Vintage: Portraits of Norma Shearer – Silent Movie Star

Vintage: Portraits of Norma Shearer – Silent Movie Star

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Norma Shearer (1902 – 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and Hollywood star. Shearer appeared in a few silent movies, but her time in Hollywood coincided with the transition from silent films to sound. She took the lead in MGM’s second “talkie” in 1929. Its success bolstered her career, as did her 1927 marriage to studio chief Thalberg. He may have…
Vintage: Paris by Émile Zola (1900s)

Vintage: Paris by Émile Zola (1900s)

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Émile Zola (1840 – 1902) was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in the…
Vintage: Italy (19th Century)

Vintage: Italy (19th Century)

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In many ways, the roots of several well known aspects of Italian culture find their origin in the 19th century. The land, the food and the people were all shaped by warfare, struggle and the desire for independence. Most of the men who fought for freedom during this period were peasants, seeking a chance for something better. Northern Italy, mostly…
Vintage: R.M.S. “Mauretania” (1906)

Vintage: R.M.S. “Mauretania” (1906)

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RMS Mauretania was an ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by Wigham Richardson and Swan Hunter for the British Cunard Line, launched on the afternoon of 20 September 1906. Mauretania departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, and on the return voyage captured the record for the fastest…
Vintage: Glass Plate Negatives of Norfolk, Virginia (1919)

Vintage: Glass Plate Negatives of Norfolk, Virginia (1919)

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In the 1980’s 46 glass plate negatives were found in the attic of a Norfolk home. The plates measured 8.5” x 6.5”. Through the generous support of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Old Dominion University, and Colorcraft Corporation, ten portfolios were created. The contact prints were archivally processed. The photographer remains anonymous. It is assumed that he…
Vintage: Portraits of Betty Bronson – Silent Movie Star

Vintage: Portraits of Betty Bronson – Silent Movie Star

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Betty Bronson (1906 – 1971) was an American television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Bronson began her film career at the age of 16 with a bit part in Anna Ascends. At 17, she was interviewed by J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan. Although the role had been sought by such established…
Vintage: Queen Christina (1933)

Vintage: Queen Christina (1933)

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Queen Christina is a pre-Code Hollywood biographical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933. It stars Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in their fourth and last film together. The film was directed by Rouben Mamoulian in 1933, and written by H. M. Harwood and Salka Viertel, with dialogue by S. N. Behrman, based on a story by Salka Viertel…
Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Benares (Varanasi), India (1890s)

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Benares (Varanasi), India (1890s)

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The Kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947, during the reign of Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. In the 18th century, Muhammad Shah ordered the construction of an observatory on the Ganges, attached to Man Mandir Ghat, designed to discover imperfections in the calendar in…
Vintage: Portraits of Betty Compson – Silent Movie Star

Vintage: Portraits of Betty Compson – Silent Movie Star

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Betty Compson (1897 – 1974) was an American actress most famous in silent films and early talkies. Playing in vaudeville sketches with touring circuits, Compson got noticed by Hollywood producers. While touring, she was discovered by comedic producer Al Christie and signed a contract with him. Her first silent film, Wanted, a Leading Lady, was in November 1915. She made…
Vintage: Portraits by James Abbe (1920s)

Vintage: Portraits by James Abbe (1920s)

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James Abbe (1883 – 1973) was an American photographer. His career as international photographer was first boosted by the Washington Post, which commissioned him to travel and take photographs of a 16-day voyage with the American battleship fleet to England and France in 1910. Many years later he traveled throughout Europe as a young photojournalist in the late 1920s and…
Vintage: Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger (1930s)

Vintage: Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger (1930s)

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The thylacine, now extinct, is one of the largest known carnivorous marsupials, evolving about 4 million years ago. The last known live animal was captured in 1933 in Tasmania. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger because of its striped lower back, or the Tasmanian wolf because of its canid-like characteristics. It was native to Tasmania, New Guinea, and…