1950s – Design You Trust

The Rhino: An Inventor’s Visionary Solution for Off-Road and Highway Transportation From The 1950s

Rhino’s tilting hemispheroidal wheels adjust to variable heights on uneven terrain.
1

Back in 1954, inventor Elie Aghnides was struck by an idea that would revolutionize the way we think about off-road vehicles. As he watched a caterpillar tractor muscling dirt around in New York City’s Central Park, he couldn’t help but wonder why such a powerful machine was limited to a maximum speed of 25 mph and plagued by frequent tread breaks. Continue reading »

The Visionary Austrian Engineer Who Gave Birth to a Housekeeping Robot in the 1950s

1

In a world where women have fought tirelessly for their freedom and autonomy, it seems the answer to their dreams may come in the form of a robot. A robot that can do everything from answering phones to pouring a cup of tea without spilling a single drop. And who is the mastermind behind this technological breakthrough? None other than Viennese engineer Claus Scholz. Continue reading »

Weird Advertising for a Weird Car: Balloon-Wheeled Citroen DS, 1959

1

Back in 1959, Citroen’s communication department was on a mission to prove to the world that their ID and DS models were in a league of their own. And what better way to do that than to take a car, perch it on four balloons, and float it in the middle of a lake? It’s like they always say: “When you want to showcase comfort, just combine air and water and hope for the best!” Continue reading »

Photographer by Ruth Orkin Captured Stunning Color Photographs of New York City in the 1950s

1

Ruth Orkin was a trailblazing photojournalist and filmmaker, whose passion for photography began at a young age. Born in Boston, Orkin grew up in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s, and was gifted her first camera, a 39 cent Univex, at the age of 10. It was a gift that would change the course of her life. Continue reading »

1950s Teenage Girls’ Fashion Captured in Vintage Photos

0

In the 1950s, Christian Dior’s “New Look” of 1947 continued to shape fashion trends. The focus on femininity was evident in the use of unpadded, rounded shoulders, shapely bust lines, and defined waistlines, as well as full, billowing skirts. Blouses, jeans, and long, narrow roots were also popular choices. Continue reading »

This Is a Real Wheelchair Car from 1956

1

Harold Young of Downey, California, has a car designed expressly for wheelchair users in 1956. The driver gets in and out without help. Controls, including a push-stop, pull-go lever, are designed for the handicapped. Continue reading »

The Messerschmitt KR200: A Sunny Day out In Germany’s Two-Seater Tandem Bubble Car, 1959

1

In 1952, German aircraft engineer Fritz Fend (April 14, 1920 – November 22, 2000), a former technical officer with the Luftwaffe in World War 2, took his design for a Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter) to the Messerschmitt aircraft corporation. Continue reading »

Beautiful Kodachrome Slides of West Germany Taken By a Nurse During Her Tour of Duty in the Early 1950s

Amongst the ruins, Bavaria.
1

These slides appear to have been taken by a US Army nurse who seems to have been attached to the 97th General Army Hospital at Frankfurt, (West) Germany in 1952 and 1953. During her tour of duty she was able, like most US service personnel, to travel in her free time to various places in Europe and Algeria (and possibly other countries in North Africa). Continue reading »

Vintage Photos Show Lifestyle of Teenagers in the 1950s

1

The term ‘teenager’ was first introduced to the American public in the 1940s as a moniker coined by advertising executives looking to sell their products to a new audience. Continue reading »

Hot Dog Sizzler, an Auto Oven Cooks Hot Dogs From the 1950s

1

Want a hot dog on the road? Just plug this heater into your car’s electrical system. This 12 volt electric cooker could cook two wieners at the same time in three to five minutes in your car! Continue reading »

Cool Pics That Capture Naughty Ladies of the 1950s

1

A cool photo collection that shows what naughty ladies looked like in the 1950s. They were probably funny but rebellious. Continue reading »

Rare Photos of A Young and Then Still-Unknown Marylin Monroe Hiking in The Woods, 1950

0
Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images/Mashable/Wikimedia Commons

These photos were taken in 1950 by Life Magazine photographer Ed Clark who got a call from a friend at 20th Century Fox about a “hot tomato” the studio had just signed. Continue reading »

Rare and Fascinating Historical Photos of Pasta Production From the 1920s to 1950s

A worker hangs pasta to dry in a factory in Italy. 1932.
1
Bettmann/Getty Images/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

Pasta is an integral part of Italy’s food history. Wherever Italians immigrated they have brought their pasta along, so much so that today it can be considered a staple of international cuisine. Continue reading »

Vintage Pictures of Snow King Chairlifts without Any Safety Bars that Look Very Unsafe, 1950-1970

1
Mashable/Wikimedia Commons/Flickr/Snow King Mountain Winter Resort

These vintage photographs of Snow King chairlifts taken between the 1950s and 1970s show people riding in a very unsafe way without deploying any safety bars or other protections. Continue reading »

Stunning Vintage Photographs of San Francisco’s Sky Tram, 1955-1961

1

From late 1955 to 1966, an aerial tram ran from the Cliff House to Point Lobos. Continue reading »

Vintage Photographs of Women Flaunting the Inflatable Bras to Look Like Marilyn Monroe in 1952

Four models show how to use the Trés Secrete bra, developed by La Resista Corset Co. in Connecticut.
1
Mediadrumimages/TopFoto

These amazing images, which were discovered by TopFoto in their extensive archives, have revealed the post-World War Two invention of inflatable bras as women strived to look like Marilyn Monroe in 1952. Continue reading »

Unique House for the Atomic Age from 1953

Fireplace in front yard is built into side of hill. Lava appearance of hill comes from stippled Gunite.
1

In 1953, a swimming pool that became an automatic decontamination bath during an A-bomb attack was one of the features of a home that Hal B. Hayes, Hollywood contractor, was completing for himself. In the hillside next to the swimming pool he’s building an underground sanctuary that you reach by diving into the pool. Continue reading »

Playboy Magazine Covers in The 1950s Are Not What You Imagined Them to Be

0

In the 1950s Playboy was hardly puritanical (by modern standards, of course). If there was any nudity, it was only the most charmingly innocent and conventional. The covers in general exhibited photos that would make one think this was a magazine for giovial housewives or photo-collage lovers. Continue reading »

Vintage Found Photos of ’50s Young Girls in Swimsuits

1950s-swimsuits-1

These vintage photos were found by Steven Martin that show young girls in swimsuits from the 1950s. The post-war economic boom meant that people were not only spending more money they also wanted luxurious new styles. This economic boom also resulted in the return of fashion. Continue reading »

Beautiful Advertising Photos of Opel Automobiles From the 1950s

1

Opel is a German automobile manufacturer which was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group, a predecessor of Stellantis, from 2017 until 2021. Continue reading »

The Albee Rolligon: An Innovative Transport Truck From the 1950s

1

One of the earliest applications of Albee’s low-pressure tires was this three-roller Dodge Power Wagon. Ground pressure was drastically reduced due to the large ground area in contact with the bags, and the low air pressure (from 2.5 to 6 PSI) in the bags. Continue reading »

Adhesive Bras: The Stick-On Bra Swimsuit that Was Quite Distinctive in 1949

1
Nina Leen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images/Mashable.com

In May 1949, Charles L. Langs announced a daring innovation in beachwear: a pair of bra cups a woman could affix to her breasts with an adhesive. His idea was to use individual strapless cups for each breast, backed with specially developed glue. Continue reading »

Dayalets’ Hellish Vitamin Mascots Intended to Promote a Healthy Diet From the 1950s

1

Nothing really prepares you for the Dayalets. As you can gather from the cover, they were vitamins, but they were so much more: they were vitamins suitable for framing. Continue reading »

An English Student’s Street Photographs of Edinburgh In the 1950s and 1960s

Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, 1965
1

Robert Blomfield’s photographs take us to Edinburgh between 1957 and 1966. Born in Leeds in 1938, Bloomfield studied medicine in Scotland’s capital. He took pictures for pleasure, recording things that caught his eye. Never exhibited during his lifetime, once his prints were dry, Robert would be put them into their yellow Kodak boxes. Continue reading »

Wake Up Little Susie: Vintage Photos That Show Styles of Teenagers in the 1950s

00

The term ‘teenager’ was first introduced to the American public in the 1940s as a moniker coined by advertising executives looking to sell their products to a new audience. Continue reading »