Thatcher Says: Depressive Photos of Liverpool in the 1980s

The 1980s were a time of turmoil and upheaval for Liverpool. Unemployment and economic instability led to widespread disquiet, culminating in public shows of resistance such as the 1981 Toxteth Riots. Liverpool also elected its first Labour council in 1983, who promised to stand up for what they saw as unjust cuts under the Thatcher government. Continue reading »

Portraits of Twiggy Taken by Ron Burton for the Mirror and Herald in 1966

Twiggy was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging ’60s in London. Continue reading »

Stunning Photos of Betty Davis and Her Bold, Funky Style in the Late 1960s and ’70s

Born 1945 in Durham, North Carolina, American funk and soul singer Betty Davis recorded “Get Ready For Betty” b/w “I’m Gonna Get My Baby Back” in 1964 for DCP International. Sometime in that same era, she also recorded a duet with Roy Arlington and under their joint name “Roy and Betty,” released a single for Safice entitled, “I’ll Be There.” Continue reading »

Bowie Fans Outside a David Bowie Concert, Including a Young Sid Vicious, at Earls Court, London, 1973

Following UK dates at the start of the year, The David Bowie Tour 1973 revisited the USA in February and Japan for the first time in April. Continue reading »

Stunning Snapshots of America in Crisis in the 1970s

By the late 1960s, the American landscape was ravaged by decades of unchecked land development, blighted by urban decay in the big cities, and plagued by seemingly unstoppable air, noise, and water pollution.

In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a monumental photodocumentary project to “photographically document subjects of environmental concern” in the United States. The collection, now at the National Archives, resulted in a collection of more than 20,000 photographs by its conclusion in 1978.

Water cooling towers of the John Amos Power Plant loom over a home located across the Kanawha River, near Poca, West Virginia, August 1973. (Harry Schaefer)

With support from the first EPA administrator, William Ruckelshaus, project director Gifford D. Hampshire contracted well-known photographers to work for the EPA on the project. Estimates of the number involved range between 70 and 120, and they were organized geographically, with each photographer working in a particular area in which they were already active. Continue reading »

Beautiful Photos of the Ferrari 166 S

The Ferrari 166 S was a sports racing car built by Ferrari between 1948 and 1953, an evolution of its Colombo V12-powered 125 S racer. It was adapted into a sports car for the street in the form of the 166 Inter. Continue reading »

Evocative Photos of Life in Texas in the 1970s

Dallas, 1972

By the late 1960s, the American landscape was ravaged by decades of unchecked land development, blighted by urban decay in the big cities, and plagued by seemingly unstoppable air, noise, and water pollution. Continue reading »

Cool Pics Show Fashion Styles of ’80s Couples

The 1980s are easily identifiable. This amazing decade featured fast music, sporty cars, TV in every home, and new materials that changed the world. Continue reading »

Stunning Vintage Portrait Photography by Clarence Hudson White

The shelter, 1897

Clarence Hudson White (1871–1925) was an American photographer, teacher and a founding member of the Photo-Secession movement. He grew up in small towns in Ohio, where his primary influences were his family and the social life of rural America. After visiting the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, he took up photography. Continue reading »

Vintage Japanese Watercolor Sketches of Toy Designs

The Ningyo-Do Bunko database features thousands of late 19th and early 20th Century watercolor sketches of Japanese toy designs. More can be seen at Japan’s Akita Prefectural Library, which holds a series of six toy design illustration books produced between 1891 and 1913 by Yamada of Kyoto. Continue reading »

Cool Photos Show Lifestyle of Swedish Youth in the Early 1970s

The decade of the 1970s was in many ways a continuation of the late 1960s with respect to social trends. Continue reading »

Amazing Cover Photos of the Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1970s

Famous Monsters of Filmland is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. Continue reading »

Trapped In The 1930s: Artist Draws Popular Characters In Rubber Hose Style

Many of us feel nostalgia for certain things, be it old-school candy, clothing style, TV shows, cartoons, etc. It feels good to relive something that is remembered with a warm feeling once again. Some things, even if not experienced personally, are admired nonetheless and are wished to be brought back so that they can be enjoyed and appreciated by those who didn’t have the chance to do so. And that’s what Kev Craven does! Continue reading »

The Unique Hairstyles of Jean-Michel Basquiat


1979

Jean-Michel Basquiat had a professional career that lasted just nine years, but in that time he managed to make himself one of the most significant painters of the 20th century and an enduring cultural icon. Continue reading »

Cheerful Photos of Teenage Girls in the 1940s

Teenage girls living in the 1940s enjoyed an independence that would make many modern teen envious. They had been raised by parents and teachers who encouraged them to dress prettily so they could find a young man to marry, and to work a part-time job so they could buy expensive wedding china. Continue reading »

A Beautiful Photo Series of Audi F103

Audi F103 is the internal designation for a series of car models produced by Auto Union GmbH in West Germany from 1965 to 1972. To signify the change from a two-stroke to four-stroke engine, the DKW marque was dropped in favor of Audi, a name that had been dormant since before the Second World War. Continue reading »

Fascinating Nostalgic Black and White Photos of Daily Life in Michigan in 1970s and ’80s

These pictures were taken by Don Hudson, an experienced amateur photographer born on December 29, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, during his student days at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, now called College for Creative Studies. Continue reading »

A Teenager’s Photos of 1970s Brooklyn NYC: Led Zeppelin, The El, snow and All the President’s Men

Anthony Catalano’s photographs of Brooklyn, New York City, in the mid-1970s were mostly developed in his darkroom in Boro Park darkroom in the 70s. “Remember the snow storm of ’78?” he asks. Continue reading »

Portraits of Lovely Ladies Featured on the Covers of Radio Control Modeler Magazines From the 1970s and 1980s

We all know about the lovely ladies who graced the covers of such manly car and bike magazines as Easy Rider, Hot Rod, and Lowrider… but there was another type of magazine that gave those macho muscle car magazines a run for their money, the radio control airplane magazine. Continue reading »

Vintage Postcards of Mid-Century Romantic Couples

The phrase “romantic” might be used to describe a particularly dramatic or meaningful gesture from one person toward the object of their affection. Some people might even describe themselves as a “hopeless romantic” in general. Continue reading »

Beautiful Photos of Margaux Hemingway in the 1970s and ’80s

Born 1954 in Portland, Oregon, American fashion model, actress and the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway Margaux Hemingway earned success as a supermodel in the mid-1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Time. Continue reading »

Amazing Photos of the 1961 Ford Gyron

The Ford Gyron was a futuristic two-wheeled gyrocar first shown to the world in 1961 at the Detroit Motor Show as a concept car designed by Syd Mead. Continue reading »

Schlörwagen: The Bizarre German Car from 1939 that Was Super-Aerodynamic but Very Impractical

The 1930s was a defining decade for automotive design, during which time the car evolved from its horse-drawn ancestry into an integrally engineered, aerodynamic, desirable product to meet the demands of the public. This was true nowhere more than in Germany, where the first autobahns were being opened. Continue reading »

Cool Photos Defined Fashion Styles of Young Women in the 1970s

The 1970s began with a continuation of the hippie look from the 1960s, giving a distinct ethnic flavor.

Popular early 1970s fashions for women included Tie dye shirts, Mexican ‘peasant’ blouses, folk-embroidered Hungarian blouses, ponchos, capes, and military surplus clothing. Bottom attire for women during this time included bell-bottoms, gauchos, frayed jeans, midi skirts, and ankle-length maxi dresses. Hippie clothing during this time was made in extremely bright colors, as well as Indian patterns, Native American patterns, and floral patterns. Continue reading »

Historic Photos of USS Recruit, a Dreadnought Battleship Built in Union Square From 1917-1920

USS Recruit was a wooden mockup of a dreadnought battleship constructed by the United States Navy in Manhattan in New York City, as a recruiting tool and training ship during the First World War. Commissioned as if it were a normal vessel of the U.S. Navy and manned by a crew of trainee sailors, Recruit was located in Union Square from 1917 until the end of the war. Continue reading »