Vintage | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

Vintage: Railway in Chicago (1940s)

4 April 2017 0

Chicago is the most important railroad center in North America. More lines of track radiate in more directions from Chicago than from any other city. Chicago has long been the most important interchange point for freight traffic between the nation’s…

Vintage: Liverpool (early 20th century)

3 April 2017 0

By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, and the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool and Manchester became the first cities to have an intercity rail link,…

Vintage: Rio de Janeiro (1880s-1910s)

31 March 2017 0

When Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire. Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy was replaced by a…

Vintage: Early Days of the London Underground

28 March 2017 0

The idea of an underground railway linking the City of London with some of the railway termini in its urban centre was proposed in the 1830s, and the Metropolitan Railway was granted permission to build such a line in 1854.…

Vintage: Soldiers Swimming and Playing in the Water during World War I

27 March 2017 0

Time spent out of the line at least offered the opportunity for the frontline soldier to get clean. Communal baths would be set up and lice-infested clothing steam-cleaned. The chance to be clean was another essential prop to morale.

Vintage: Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotives (1880s)

23 March 2017 0

The construction of the national railway by the Canadian Pacific Railway company in the 1880s is inextricably linked with the settlement and development of Western Canada. Glenbow Museum has an extensive collection of more than 6000 railway-related historic photographs, which…

Vintage: Victorian Era Portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron (1860s-1870s)

21 March 2017 0

In 1863, when Cameron was 48 years old, her daughter gave her a camera as a present, thereby starting her career as a photographer. Within a year, Cameron became a member of the Photographic Societies of London and Scotland. She…

Vintage: Niagara Falls during Winter (19th Century)

17 March 2017 0

There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the falls. According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, “Niagara” is derived from the name given to a branch of the local native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as…

Vintage: Behind the Scenes from To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

12 March 2017 0

The story takes place during three years (1933–35) of the Great Depression in the fictional “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama, the seat of Maycomb County. It focuses on six-year-old Jean Louise Finch (Scout), who lives with her older brother,…

Vintage: Early Bicycles in the 19th Century (1850s – 1890s)

11 March 2017 0

The first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais, a civil servant to the Grand Duke of Baden in Germany. Drais invented his Laufmaschine (German for “running machine”) of 1817 that was called…

Vintage: Portraits of First Miss Europe in 1929

7 March 2017 0

Miss Europe was a first annual beauty pageant with female contestants from all over Europe. It was established in February 1929 by French journalist Maurice de Waleffe, who also created, in 1920, what by 1927 had become the Miss France…

Vintage: Mugshots of Prisoners in West London (1890s)

5 March 2017 0

These photographs were taken in 1880 and 1890 at Wormwood Scrubs prison in West London by unknown photographer. These portraits are unusual compared with the standard of prison photography at the time, in that they combine the profile and frontal…

Vintage: Portraits of the First Nations People by Alex Ross (1880s)

23 February 2017 0

Alex Ross, 1851-1894, came to Calgary, Alberta in 1884 and set up a photographic studio at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Osler Street. He had previously worked for a photographer in Winnipeg, but felt the time was right to…

Vintage: Havana (early 20th Century)

19 February 2017 0

As trade between Caribbean and North American states increased in the early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing and fashionable city. Havana’s theaters featured the most distinguished actors of the age, and prosperity among the burgeoning middle-class led to expensive…

Vintage: Historic views of Melbourne (1800s)

10 February 2017 0

The decade of the 1880s was one of extraordinary growth, when consumer confidence, easy access to credit, and steep increases in the price of land, led to an enormous amount of construction. This ‘land boom’ was followed by a severe…

Vinatge: The Great Baltimore Fire in 1904

7 February 2017 0

The Great Baltimore Fire raged in Baltimore exactly 113 years ago (February 7, 1904). 1,231 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control, both professional paid Truck and Engine companies from the city’s B.C.F.D. and volunteers from the surrounding counties and…

Vintage: Soldiers during World War I (1914-1918)

3 February 2017 0

Life for soldiers in World War I followed a specific routine that involved waking up at around 5 a.m., performing military drills when not engaged in direct combat, eating breakfast, having an early dinner, sleeping briefly, performing more military exercises…