Vintage | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Schaffhausen, Switzerland (1890s)

22 December 2023 0

Schaffhausen was a city state in the Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins from 1045. About 1050 the counts of Nellenburg founded the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, which became the centre of the town. Perhaps as…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Alsace Lorraine, Germany (1890s)

10 December 2023 0

In 1871, the newly created German Empire’s demand for Alsace from France after its victory in the Franco-Prussian War was not simply a punitive measure. The transfer was controversial even among the Germans: The German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Nuremberg, Germany (1890s)

25 November 2023 0

After the Thirty Years’ War, Nuremberg attempted to remain detached from external affairs, but contributions were demanded for the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years’ War and restrictions of imports and exports deprived the city of many…

Vintage: SS Normandie

11 October 2023 0

The SS Normandie was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, crossing the Atlantic in a record 4.14 days,…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Lucerne, Switzerland (1890s)

9 September 2023 0

It was during the latter part of the 19th century that Lucerne became a popular destination for artists, royalty and others to escape to. The German composer Richard Wagner established a residence at Tribschen in 1866 from which he lived…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of the Isle of Rugen, Germany (1890s)

3 August 2023 0

After the death of the last Slav prince, Wizlaw III, in 1325, the principality was acquired by Pomerania-Wolgast as a consequence of the 1321 inheritance agreement (Erbverbrüderung), and from 1368/72–1451 was part of the estate of a branch line, the…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Towns in Wales (1890s)

10 July 2023 0

Prior to the industrial revolution in Wales there were small-scale industries scattered throughout Wales. These ranged from those connected to agriculture, such as milling and the manufacture of woollen textiles, through to mining and quarrying. Agriculture remained the dominant source…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Edinburgh, Scotland (1890s)

1 July 2023 0

Despite an enduring myth to the contrary, Edinburgh became an industrial centre with its traditional industries of printing, brewing and distilling continuing to grow in the 19th century and joined by new industries such as rubber works, engineering works and…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Bromberg (Bydgoszcz), Germany (1890s)

16 June 2023 0

In 1772, in the First Partition of Poland, the town was acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia as Bromberg and incorporated into the Netze District in the newly established province of West Prussia. At the time, the town was seriously…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of the Riesengebirge, Germany (1890s)

1 June 2023 0

The modern names of Krkonoše (Czech), Riesengebirge (German) and Karkonosze (Polish) became widely accepted only in the 19th century. The range is also often referred to in English as the “Giant Mountains”. The Czech name “Krkonoše” is first mentioned (in…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Westphalia, Germany (1890s)

16 May 2023 0

After the defeat of the Prussian Army by the French at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the easternmost portion of today’s Westphalia part of the French client Kingdom of Westphalia until 1813, when the…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of County Dublin, Ireland (1890s)

1 May 2023 0

Despite harsh penal laws and unfavourable trade restrictions imposed upon Ireland, Dublin flourished in the 18th century. The Georgian buildings which still define much of Dublin’s architectural landscape to this day were mostly built over a 50-year period spanning from…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Marienburg (Malbork), Prussia (1890s)

15 April 2023 0

It was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772 and became part of the newly established Province of West Prussia the following year. Prussians liquidated the municipal government and replaced it with new…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Bath, England (1890s)

28 March 2023 0

In the early 18th century, Bath acquired its first purpose-built theatre, the Old Orchard Street Theatre. It was rebuilt as the Theatre Royal, along with the Grand Pump Room attached to the Roman Baths and assembly rooms. Master of ceremonies…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Stettin, Germany (1890s)

20 March 2023 0

Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and became part of the German Empire in 1871. While most of the province retained its agrarian character, Stettin was industrialised, and its population rose from 27,000 in 1813 to 210,000 in 1900…

Vintage: Historic B&W photos of Valais, Switzerland (1890s)

8 March 2023 0

In the early 17th century, the aristocratic governors of the districts in the Upper Valais pressured the prince-bishop of Sion to abdicate secular power, which was achieved temporarily in 1613 and then permanently in 1634, when the country became the…