Early-20th-Century Haunting Portraits of Dr. Harvey Cushing’s Surgery Patients
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
Dr. Cushing, who also performed some of the first successful brain surgery, was a pioneer in neuroscience. The first effective electro-cautery device and the first use of x-rays to identify brain malignancies were developed by him. Continue reading »
Amazing Illustrations and Posters Designed by Duilio Cambellotti in the Early 20th Century
Fine di Secolo, Acqua Progressiva Insuperabile, circa 1900
Italian applied artist, illustrator, painter, sculptor, and designer Duilio Cambellotti (1876–1960) was involved in the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, and his impact extended beyond the aesthetic and political to the social and political. His fidelity to agrarian motifs and versatility across a broad spectrum of visual and design disciplines have earned him recognition. Continue reading »
Authentic Funny Leap Year Postcards From 1908
Early 20th-century Leap Year postcards often featured gender stereotypes that are absurd in today’s world. For example, in this comic postcard series, women were depicted wielding guns, axes, dogs, nets, and traps to apprehend men, who could be readily enticed with food and beverages (such as beer, cheese, and pretzels) or cash. Continue reading »
Antique Postcard Images Reveal Projected Visions of the US a Century Later
Massachusetts. Copley Square, Boston
A captivating assortment of odd yet fascinating postcards from Steven R. Shook offers visions conceived in the 1900s, hypothesizing how the cities, towns, and hamlets across the US might evolve over the next 100 years. Continue reading »
Tatiana at the Beach: Early Color Autochrome Photography by Ernest-Louis Lessieux
The Autochrome was a pioneering color photography process invented by the Lumière brothers in France. First patented in 1903 and marketed in 1907, the process revolutionized photography by enabling the creation of color images for the first time. In 1907, the same year the process was introduced, photographs were taken using Autochrome. Continue reading »
John Edlund and His Life-Preserving Valise, 1915
When the Titanic sunk in 1912 south of Newfoundland, the world mourned the deaths of more than 1,500 people, and were outraged by the news that there were not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers on board. As a result, more stringent regulations were established for the number of safety vessels a ship had to carry. But a Canadian inventor had his own idea: passengers could carry their own personal lifeboats — in their suitcase. Continue reading »
Kiss Me, My Fool!: Theda Bara, the Original Vamp, Posing With a Skeleton as Publicity for the Silent Film ‘A Fool There Was’, 1915
A Fool There Was is an American silent drama film produced by William Fox, directed by Frank Powell, and starring Theda Bara. Released in 1915, the film was long considered controversial for such risqué intertitle cards as “Kiss me, my fool!” Continue reading »
The Gepetto of Prosthetic Limbs: These Early Prostheses Made by James Gillingham From 1900 Were Decades Ahead of Time
James Gillingham/SSPL/Getty Images
Nicknamed the “Gepetto of Prosthetic Limbs,” James Gillingham (1839–1924) was a British boot and shoemaker at his Golden Shoe shop until 1863 when he began making artificial limbs made from leather and molded like a pair of shoes. Continue reading »
In 1908, a Doctor Used X-Rays to Highlight the Damaging Effects of Tight Corsets on a Woman’s Body
Ludovic O’Followell, a French doctor who in 1905 and 1908 published books on the effects of the corset on female health. O’Followell, however, had something that all the previous arguments and illustrations did not: he used a brand new technology to bolster his arguments. Continue reading »
Antonin Personnaz’s Autochrome Dreams Of Early 20th Century France
Between 1907 and 1914, art collector Antonin Personnaz (1854 – 31 December 1936) took autochrome pictures of France’s Oise Valley. His dreamy, impressionist-style photographs call to mind the work of the artists he knew, like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Albert Lebourg and Jean-François Raffaelli, Camille Pissarro and Paul Gachet. Continue reading »
Amazing Vintage Photographs of Fountain of Ice on Washington Boulevard in Detroit From the Early 20th Century
One of the unique features of Detroit in winter is the famous ice fountain on Washington Boulevard. Several jets of water are allowed to play all winder, and the result is a massive berg of ice which sometimes reaches a height of nearly thirty feet, and contains many tons of the crystal. Continue reading »
Edwardian London as Seen Through the Eyes of an Unknown Russian Tourist in 1909
London entered the 20th century at the height of its influence as the capital of the largest empire in history, but the new century was to bring many challenges. London was the largest city in the world from about 1825 until it was overtaken by New York City in 1925. Continue reading »
A Collection of Incredible Rare Color Photographs of France in World War I
Serving in the French Army, photographer Fernand Cuville (1887–1927) continued the autochromists’ tradition of recording the world around them in great detail. These color photographs were taken by Cuville in 1917. His photos capture French soldiers in everyday situations, including cleaning their clothes and eating lunch. They also show war’s destruction in scenes of crumbling buildings and ruined landscapes. Continue reading »
Bizarre Pair of Shoes Called “Soles” Ardèche From the Late 19th Century
This footwear, called “Soles”, made in the Ardèche region of France in the 19th century. The soles are heavy duty shoes whose soles are studded with sharp blades. They were in wood for the sole, leather for the portion covering the foot and metal for the dents. Continue reading »
Jack London’s Extraordinary Photos of London’s East End in 1902
Men sleeping in Green Park.
In 1902 the American author Jack London visited his namesake city – at the time when it was still the largest in the world. In a book that became to be known as The People of the Abyss he described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets. Continue reading »
Mugshots of Сhild Сriminals of Edwardian Britain, 1900-1910
Susan Joice, 16, arrested for stealing money from a gas meter. 1903.
Tyne and Wear Archives & Museum / Juvenile delinquency and the evolution of the British juvenile courts by Kate Bradley, University of Kent
These mugshots of Edwardian Britain depict minors arrested for petty crimes and are part of a wide photographic collection of Tyne Wear Archives. The age of the subjects starts from 12 years old to 21 which was the legal age of adulthood. These minors were arrested in the British town of North Shields. Continue reading »
Arnold Genthe’s Cats : Women Posing With ‘Buzzer’ From A Century Ago
German-born American photographer, Arnold Genthe (January 8, 1869 – August 9, 1942) took a series of photographs of woman posing with his cat. Beginning in 1906, Genthe photographed a number of women with 4 of his cats, all named Buzzer. Continue reading »
Teach Yourself to Draw with The Help of The Man Who Influenced Walt Disney, 1913
“In drawing from this book, copy the last diagram, or finished picture, of the particular series before you,” advises American artist E.G. Lutz (August 26, 1868 — March 30, 1951) in the introduction to his first book What To Draw and How To Draw It (1913). Continue reading »
Amazing Rare Photographs of The Romanovs’ Final Ball In Color, St Petersburg, Russia 1903
The last emperor of Russia Nicolas II dressed in the golden brocade of 17th-century Russian tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, standng with Empress Alexandra Fedorovna. All the jewellery was chosen by court jeweller Carl Faberge.
These portrait photographs of Russia’s ruling Romanovs were taken in 1903 at the Winter Palace in majestic. St. Petersburg. Knowing what was to follow, the venue was apposite. Continue reading »
“Women of The Future” According to The French Artist Albert Bergeret, 1902
In 1902, a French manufacturer released a set of trading cards designed by artist Albert Bergeret that imagined the “women of the future” (original: Les Femmes de l’Avenir). These cards depict various, imagined occupations that would have seemed fantastical to most ladies at the time: doctor, lawyer, politician, firefighter, even members of the military. Continue reading »
Stunning Vintage Photos Of Young Hopi Maidens With Their Traditional Hairstyle From The 1900s And 1910s
The hairstyle is called the Squash Blossom Whorls, or Butterfly Whorls and were worn only by the young Hopi maidens to show that they were unmarried. This complex hairstyle was achieved by the maidens mother, who would wind her hair around a curved piece of wood to give it a round shape, then remove the wood frame. Continue reading »
These Early 1900s Color Autochrome Images Look Like Literal Dreams
1909 “The Japanese parasol.”
John Cimon Warburg/SSPL/Getty Images
Born into a wealthy family, John Cimon Warburg (1867 – 1931) was able to devote his time wholeheartedly to photography because bad asthma stopped him from working in a full time job and a private income gave him economic freedom. He excelled at the autochrome process, giving lectures and writing extensively on the subject. Although never a member of The Linked Ring, he seems to have been something of a linchpin in the photographic world. Continue reading »
Just Before It Was Destroyed By Fire, These Amazing Photos Captured The Cliff House In The Early 1900s
The famous Cliff House of San Francisco was built in 1863 by Senator John Buckley and C. C. Butler. Later it was turned into a restaurant with a breathtaking view. Continue reading »
4K 60Fps Video Shows Colorized Footage Of NYC In 1911
Video editor Denis Shiryaev recently shared a video on his Youtube channel that shows colorized footage of New York City in 1911. The video is a restored version of the footage previously shared by a Swedish film crew from Svenska Biografteatern, which showed an old film slowed down to a natural rate with added sound for ambiance. Continue reading »
Vintage Photos Of People Wearing Masks During The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, One Of The Deadliest Natural Disasters In Human History
At the close of WWI, an estimated 50 million people died from the Spanish flu. Masks were the uninfected’s main line of defense. Continue reading »
