Beautiful Advertising Photos of Opel Automobiles From the 1950s
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
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
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
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
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
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 »
“Blow Up to Be the Size You Want!” – Vintage Inflatable Bra Ads From the 1950s and 1960s
What was a woman to do if she wanted to boost her cleavage in the days before Wonderbra was on the market and the more drastic measure of plastic surgery wasn’t so readily available? The answer is by wearing an inflatable bra that the wearer could blow up to the size they desired themselves. Continue reading »
Vintage Family Photos of BMW Automobiles and Their Owners
A fellow experiencing tyre trouble with a BMW 3/15 PS on a gravel road in a forest in wintertime. The car is registered in the former German state of Oldenburg, circa 1930
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly referred to as BMW, is a German multinational corporate manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The corporation was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945. Continue reading »
Gorgeous Photos of American Actress and Model Joan Staley in the 1950s and ’60s
Born 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, American actress and model Joan Staley joined The Little Theater in Hollywood with roles in The Robe, Fiona in Brigadoon, and My Sister Eileen with actress Jo Anne Worley. This led to small roles in live television, such as Playhouse 90, Climax!, and Westinghouse Studio One. These appearances opened the door for her in film and television. Continue reading »
Beautiful Photos That Defined ’50s Women’s Swimsuits
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 »
1953 Beverly Hills Session Sadness: The Last Photographs of Marilyn Monroe Taken by Andre de Dienes
This session was to be the last one between Marilyn Monroe by Andre de Dienes, even though he asked to take photos of her several years later. Marilyn suffered from insomnia throughout her adult life. One night yet again in 1953 when she couldn’t sleep she called Andre de Dienes who came and took these poignant photos. Continue reading »
Portraits of a Young Elizabeth Taylor Taken by Peter Basch on the Set of ‘Giant’ in 1955
Giant is an epic Western drama film that follows the family of a Texas cattle rancher over the course of 25 years. Bick Benedict Jr. (Rock Hudson) falls in love and marries socialite Leslie Lynton (Elizabeth Taylor) from Maryland. Leslie struggles with adjusting to Bick’s family and the Texan culture. Meanwhile, Bick’s nemesis Jett Rink (James Dean) falls for Leslie and things take a turn for the worse. Continue reading »
Vintage Photos of Ugly Restaurants in the USA From the Mid-20th Century
The 1950s was a truly unique moment in time. Fresh out of World War II, the world – and North America in particular – were embracing prosperity and a strong economy, built and spurred on by the war. Continue reading »
Beautiful Photos of the 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner
Introduced as a 1953 model, the new Studebakers again stunned onlookers and competitors with its radical styling. The long and lean two-door coupe was undeniably the star of the show, while the hastily designed four-door sedan was somewhat ungainly in comparison. Continue reading »
Vintage Photos Show What Kids Used to Do For Fun in the 1950s
For contemporary children, it may be difficult to imagine kids having fun in the 1950s. Not only were there were no video games, even children’s television programming operated at a bare minimum, with the medium still in its infancy at that time. Continue reading »
Stunning Color Photography in the 1950s by Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter (1923-2013) was born in Pittsburgh. His interest in art began in his late teens, he left theology school and moved to New York to pursue painting at age 23. In New York, he befriended the Abstract Expressionist painter Richard Pousette-Dart, who was experimenting with photography. His friendship with Pousette-Dart and soon after, with W. Eugene Smith, expanded his interest in photography. Continue reading »
Portraits of Swiss “Halbstarken” Girls With Very Big Hair in the 1950s and 1960s
Halbstarke is a German term describing a postwar-period subculture of adolescents – mostly male and of working class parents – that appeared in public in an aggressive and provocative way during the 1950s in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Later, the term sometimes described youths in general. Continue reading »
Back When the Rotor Rides Were Fun and Dangerous!
The Rotor is an amusement park ride, designed and patented by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in 1948. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949, and was exhibited at fairs and events throughout Europe, during the 1950s and 1960s. The ride still appears in numerous amusement parks, although traveling variants have been surpassed by the Gravitron. Continue reading »
Incredible Color Photographs That Show What Life Was Really Like in Britain in the 1950s
Unemployment was very low in the 1950s and it was a long period of prosperity. In the early part of the decade, there was still rationing. However, food rationing ended in 1954. In the 1950s living standards in Britain rose considerably. In the late 1950s, Britain became an affluent society. By 1959 about two-thirds of British homes had a vacuum cleaner. However, even in 1960, only 44% of homes had a washing machine. Continue reading »
Remember When Traveling by Train Was Wonderful in the 1950s
Before the start of Amtrak in 1971, the Sunset Limited was operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Sunset Limited is the oldest named train in the United States, operating since November 1894 along the Sunset Route (though originally named the Sunset Express). The Sunset Route (originating in New Orleans) is the southernmost of the three gateways to the West Coast envisioned through the Pacific Railroad Acts. The other two embarked from Chicago and St. Louis. Continue reading »
Vintage Photos of Cars During Winter in the 1950s and ’60s
1950s and 1960s cars in Portland, Maine
1950s cars were some of the most classic, powerful and unsafe cars ever driven. The modern designs and acceleration abilities were getting more and more amazing every year. The auto industry was starting to experiment with a new concept called a “sports car.” By the end of the 50s, Americans fell in love with the sports car. After all, the 50s gave birth to the Corvette. Continue reading »
Inspiring & Rare Color Photographs Of Everyday Life In Hong Kong From The Photographer Fan Ho
Here are rare and beautiful color photographs from Master photographer Fan Ho. We have seen a lot of his Black and White photographs, but in this collection, we are presenting his colorwork. Continue reading »
Behind the Scenes Photographs From a 1950s Casting Call for a Long-Haired Model
Thomas McAvoy/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
In 1959 Dallas photographer William Langley had a problem: he needed a long-haired model for a shoot—the woman’s hair needed to blow in the breeze. But no local agency had a model who could do the job. Their hair was all too short. Continue reading »
Breakfast in Bed: Extraordinary Color Photographs Revealed the First Class of Air France in the 1950s
Air France, in full Compagnie Nationale Air France, French international airline originally formed in 1933 and today serving all parts of the globe. With British Airways, it was the first to fly the supersonic Concorde. Headquarters are in Paris. Continue reading »
Fantastic Photos of the USSR in the 1950s You Haven’t Seen
Well, maybe you have seen some of these photos, however you are more likely to see the majority of them for the first time. All of them are colored and they literally help you dig into that special atmosphere. Amazing feeling of a time journey – 60-70 years into the past. Continue reading »
