1950s – Page 3 – Design You Trust

The Cars That Money Can’t Buy: 1953-1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. Concepts


Ron Kimball/RM Sothebys

Unconstrained by the limitations of budget and the realities of manufacturing, concept cars afford talented designers the opportunity to explore their wildest and most progressive ideas. At their best, these dazzling, artistic creations invite us to totally reimagine what the automobile can be. Continue reading »

Early 1950s Tijuana Bible, a Humorous Pamphlet About Urination

Tijuana bibles were palm-sized comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression era. Continue reading »

Vintage Photos of Stunning Custom Cars Painted by Larry Watson in the 1950s

Larry Watson was born on July 21, 1938, in Bellflower, California. He began his pinstriping career at the tender age of 16, having grown up in a time period that saw the Southern California scene abuzz with the latest American makes and model cars; a time period that would later be considered “the era of Bombs.” Continue reading »

Beautiful Vintage Color Photos of Holidaymakers at Southend-on-Sea in 1953

Take a look at tourists enjoying their holiday at Southend-on-Sea, a resort town on the Thames Estuary in Essex, Southeast England: sunbathing on the beach, singing and dancing on the Royal Sovereign-a pleasure steamer taking passengers on a trip up the Thames, having good times at the funfair, through 11 fascinating color photographs taken by Bert Hardy. Continue reading »

The Making of a Coca-Cola Neon Sign for Piccadilly Circus, 1954

The area began as a link between Piccadilly and Regent Street and when the tube was opened at Piccadilly Circus in 1906, Perrier became the first advertiser in 1908. Continue reading »

These Humorous Stinker Station Signs Helped to Provide Comic Relief for Motorists in Idaho During the 1950s and ’60s

When traveling to distant places, it is well to remember where you come from. If you come from Idaho, chances are you are familiar with the Stinker gas stations, which used to put up gag signs along the roads. Those bright yellow Stinker Station signs all with black print truly were an “Idaho only” institution. The Stinker gas stations used to break the monotony of traveling through southern Idaho’s miles of sagebrush with their comic signs. Continue reading »

Fascinating Nostalgic Color Photos Show What the World Looked Like in the 1950s

A 1950s Ford with a ‘Welcome to Colorful Colorado’

The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement in the United States. “America at this moment,” said the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1945, “stands at the summit of the world.” Continue reading »

The 1955 GMC L’Universelle Dream Truck

One of the most popular General Motors design concept models designed under the direction of Harley Earl was the 1955 GMC L’Universelle show van. The name “L’Universelle” is French and means “The Universal.” The model was a part of the Motorama shows during the 1950s, which created a huge buzz among crowds at the time. Continue reading »

Incredible Black and White Photos Capture Street Scenes of NYC in the 1950s

However, after peaking in population in 1950, the city began to feel the effects of white flight to the suburbs, a downturn in industry and commerce as businesses left for places where it was cheaper and easier to operate, an increase in crime, and an upturn in its welfare burden, all of which reached a nadir in the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s, when it barely avoided defaulting on its obligations and declaring bankruptcy. Continue reading »

Belfast in Amazing Rare Color Photographs, 1955


Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

These amazing color photos of Belfast capture the shipyards, the lively streets, the everyday life, the fashion, and document a city worlds away from the one we know today. The pictures were taken by documentary and Press photographer, Bert Hardy, who’s best known for his work in the Picture Post magazine. Continue reading »

Vintage Photographs of the Skiway Sky Bus Lift Used on Mt. Hood, Oregon From the 1950s

Using a modified city bus, a twin-engine design powered the wheels to turn cables in a pulley system that moved the tram back and forth above the slope. Continue reading »

The Rhino: A Bizarre Experimental All-Terrain Vehicle, 1954

The bizarre amphibious four-wheeled vehicle called Rhino was designed by the Greek-American inventor Elie Aghnides. In the 1940s, Aghnides was watching a tractor laboring through New York City’s Central Park and figured he could combine the stability of a bulldozer with the speed of a car, and create an efficient, all-terrain vehicle. Continue reading »

“We Do Lockdown”: A Razor-Sharp Satire of COVID-19 Lockdown Life Packed Full of Parodies of Vintage Illustrations by Miriam Elia

“In Series 2a of the latest Dung Beetle Books title, Mummy, John and Susan go through an indefinite period of self-isolation during lockdown. In this solitary time, the children will be forcibly adapted to the ‘new normal’, where a joyless existence is heroically embraced to save humanity. The children will come to have no real-life friends, no education, and conditioned to see their peers as portable germ vessels.” Continue reading »

Vintage Photos Capture People Wearing Masks During the Great Smog in the 1950s


Bettmann

In early December 1952, a thick layer of smog–a combination of cold weather, windless conditions, and sulfurous acidic smoke arising from the abundant use of coal–settled over the British capital. As London had already been infamous for its heavy fog, there was no panic. Continue reading »

Cool Ad Photos of Proper Dispensing to All Carbonated Beverages in the 1950s

Proper dispensing adds the customer-appeal of taste and quality to all carbonated beverages

Proper dispensing is final step which makes all your investments in soda fountain equipment and material pay out. Here is the correct way to dispense many of the drinks you serve at the fountain. Coca-Cola is used as an example, but the same principles apply to carbonated beverages of all kinds.

A set of cool ad photos shows the proper dispensing adding the customer-appeal of taste and quality to all carbonated beverages in 1954. Continue reading »

Fascinating Color Photos of Marilyn Monroe Singing to the Troops During the First Show of Her Four-Day Tour in Korea

Pictures of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe singing to an audience of G.I.’s during the first show of her recent four-day tour of Korea on February 22, 1954. She is wearing her much-discussed low-cut purple cocktail dress about which she had told newsmen, “it’s the only one I brought over that is suitable for the show.” Continue reading »

Amazing Vintage Photographs Of The TC-497 Overland Train Mark II, The Longest Offroad Vehicle In The World

In the early 1950s, LeTourneau, Inc., a heavy-equipment maker based in Longview, Texas, developed the idea of using a diesel-electric transmission to drive multi-wheeled vehicles. Each wheel was driven by a separate electric motor, which gave the vehicles much better traction as the force of the engine was spread across a number of wheels. Continue reading »

Beautiful Vintage Color Photos Of New York City In The 1950s

Pedestrians weave their way through traffic.

Ernst Haas is considered one of the pioneers of color photography and one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Taking up photography after World War II, his early work on the returning prisoners of war caught the attention of LIFE magazine. Continue reading »

Beautiful Photographs Of Marilyn Monroe As The Fabulous Enchantresses, 1958

Marilyn Monroe as Lillian Russell.

In 1958, Marilyn Monroe posed for a series of photographs taken by Richard Avedon for Life Magazine. The photographs were to accompany an article titled “Fabulous Enchantresses” where Monroe recreated five famous actresses. Continue reading »

25 Cool Pics Of The 1959 Cadillac DeVille Series

The 1959 Cadillac is remembered for its huge sharp tailfins with dual bullet tail lights, two distinctive rooflines and roof pillar configurations, new jewel-like grille patterns and matching deck lid beauty panels. Continue reading »

This Unbelievable 1959 Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air-Car

The Army Transportation Research Command purchased two Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car ground effects machines (gem) in early 1960. The purchases were for engineering and operational evaluation as part of an ongoing investigation into vehicles for use in the military. Continue reading »

Cool Retro Photos Capture People With Their Station Wagons From Between The 1950s And ’70s

A station wagon, also called an estate car, estate or wagon, is a car body style which has a two-box design, a large cargo area and a rear tailgate that is hinged to open for access to the cargo area. Continue reading »

Beautiful Photos Of Marilyn Monroe In New York City By Ed Feingersh, 1955

“1955 was a year of change for Marilyn Monroe. After leaving Hollywood for New York, and abandoning her contract with Twentieth Century Fox, Marilyn was no longer “just a dumb blonde”, but a true renegade. In January, Marilyn formed a production company with photographer Milton Greene, and moved into a suite at the Ambassador Hotel. Continue reading »

Intimate Vintage Photos Capture Romantic Couples In The 1950s

Lovers on a public bench, England, 1950s. Photo by Jean-Philippe Charbonnier/Gamma-Rapho.

A series of candid vintage photographs capture the intimacy between lovers during the 1950s. Continue reading »

Vintage Photos Capture Springtime In Clarksville, Arkansas In 1953

Kids playing outdoors.

Clarksville, a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, is widely known for its peaches, scenic byways and abundance of natural outdoor recreational activities. Take a look at the peaceful life of the city during the springtime in 1953 through these 21 captivating vintage photographs taken by LIFE photographer Yale Joel. Continue reading »

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