A Holiday Potpourri Of 40 Classy To Wildly Irreverent Vintage Christmas Magazine Covers
Sure, we could have delivered a bunch of boring Christmas magazine back issues, but that’s no fun. Instead, I’ve selected a stack of holiday editions which I found interesting – for their irreverence, nostalgia or just plain intangible awesomeness. Continue reading »
Woman Splashes £70K Transforming Her Three-Bed Terrace Into A Retro Wonderland After Raiding Charity Shops
North News and Pictures
A nostalgia nut has transformed every room of her three-bed terraced house into a retro wonderland. Visitors feel like they have stepped back in time when they enter Trudi Evan’s vintage vision at her home in Stanley, County Durham. Continue reading »
Bizarre And Creepy Vintage Christmas Cards From The Victorian Era
The Victorians had a much more macabre approach to the festive season!
Christmas cards today usually feature a jolly Santa, fluffy woodland animal or green glittery tree, but Victorian versions had a much more terrifying tone.
The first Christmas card was commercially produced by Sir Henry Cole in 1843 but it was not until the 1870s, and the introduction of the halfpenny stamp, that sending cards was affordable for almost everyone. Victorians then leapt upon the idea with alacrity. Continue reading »
Closer Than We Think: 40 Visions Of The Future World According To Arthur Radebaugh
From 1958 to 1962, illustrator and futurist Arthur Radebaugh thrilled newspaper readers with his weekly syndicated visions of the future, in a Sunday strip enticingly called “Closer Than We Think”.
Radebaugh was a commercial illustrator in Detroit when he began experimenting with imagery—fantastical skyscrapers and futuristic, streamlined cars—that he later described as “halfway between science fiction and designs for modern living.” Radebaugh’s career took a downward turn in the mid-1950s, as photography began to usurp illustrations in the advertising world. But he found a new outlet for his visions when he began illustrating a syndicated Sunday comic strip, “Closer Than We Think,” which debuted on January 12, 1958—just months after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik—with a portrayal of a “Satellite Space Station.” Continue reading »
1955 Ford “Beatnik” Bubbletop: This Bubble-Roofed Custom Ford Is Strange And Wonderful!
The builder of this amazing car was Gary “Chopit” Fioto, a New York custom car builder with a clearly eclectic moodboard. Fioto’s nickname, “Chopit,” craftily describes his central customizing philosophy. After he impressed custom-car traditionalists with his new interpretation on an old theme, a chopped ’50 Merc transformed into the sleek hardtop called “Tuf Enuff,” Gary Fioto performed his unique take on the Bubbletop genre. Continue reading »
Photos Of Time Before The Invention Of That Grossly Antisocial Device: The Smartphone
We’ve all heard our parents say it: “Look up from your phone every once in a while”, “Hey, talk to me don’t text”, “Why are you being so anti-social on your phone?” They claim that in the good old days everything was different… Continue reading »
“Goodbye, Diesel Train”: This Brutal Soviet Bad Boy Has Been Destroyed In Estonia
Couple days ago near Tallinn, Estonia, Soviet train has been destroyed. A survived old Russian loco called “DR1A-2283″ (just like droids in Star Wars) found its last grave in Estonia and we have photos how it was. It was pretty nice design, might be used in a museum, but they scrapped it for the metal. Continue reading »
“Small Town Noir” – Twenty-One ’30s And ’40s Mugshots From New Castle, Pennsylvania
Jessie Smith left her home in South Carolina before the First World War and spent the next two decades working as a prostitute in New Castle. Her mug shot was taken on 22 February, 1932, after she stole a client’s pocketbook.
When the police department of the once-prosperous small town of New Castle, Pennsylvania, threw out thousands of mid-century mug shots in the late 1990s, a few hundred were saved from destruction by one police officer. The pictures ended up scattered across the world after he sold themon ebay. Continue reading »
Quirky And Daring: Best Soviet Concept Cars
In 1988, Minsk Automobile Plant designers created a prototype of a truck called MAZ 2000 Perestroika. It was revealed to the public at the foreign Paris International Motor Show and received the highest ratings from foreign experts.
These innovative projects were designed to breathe new life into the Soviet automobile industry, but due to the collapse of the USSR, they never went into serial production. Today’s concept cars can provide us with a glimpse into the future and give us a sense of the direction being taken by manufacturers as they use the newest technology of tomorrow.
However, sometimes it’s equally fascinating to look into the past. These quirky Russian car designs from way back provide an insight into the innovative and daring concepts of engineers from the USSR, which paved the way for modern cars. Continue reading »
Men Behaving Badly On Saucy Vintage Postcards
For some reason, in the early decades of the 20th century it was a “thing” to send sleazy cartoon postcards while on vacation. Looking through postcards from the 1930s-1950s, you’ll find not as many photographs of tourist locations as you will bawdy cartoons. It’s a fascinating social documentation on public tolerance for this risqué subject matter – much of it would be wildly inappropriate today. Continue reading »
Artist Transforms Victorian Portraits Into Modern Pop Culture Trading Cards
Artist Alex Gross transforms 19th-century portraits into amusing mashups with iconic figures of popular culture. Using the sepia-toned photographs as his initial inspiration, Gross paints on cabinet cards (these were a style of portraits mounted on a 4.25-inch by 6.5-inch sheet that had widespread appeal after 1870). When he’s done, the anonymous men and women from yesteryear are retro versions of superheroes, villains, and famous figures from pop culture. Continue reading »
These Men’s Fashion Ads From The 1970s That Will Leave You Speechless
The 1970s must have taken place on a different planet. These photos of men’s fashions from that decade leave us drowning in astounding mustard knits, garish patterns, high waists, way-too-skimpy briefs, and other fashion faux pas that defy description 40 years later. Continue reading »
Before Facebook: This Is How We Used to Unfriend People Back Then
Remember when unfriending people was just scratching or tearing out their faces on your photographs… Below is a collection of 20 vintage photos show how we used to “unfriend” people back then. Continue reading »
There Was Sex In The USSR: Soviet Car Advertising From The Past
An advertisement for the Soviet GAZ-24 ‘Volga’. The Volga was the main dream of every man and many women in the Soviet Union.
There were times when the VAZ-2101 ‘Zhiguli’ was advertised as an exclusive car, and even photographed with giraffes while the GAZ ‘Volga’ was the dream of every citizen, and sausage was considered a delicacy. Continue reading »
Fascinating Photos of Chicago’s Tri-Taylor Neighborhood From 1971
These photos of the Tri-Taylor neighborhood on Chicago’s Near West Side were taken by Lou Fourcher as a graduate student while participating in the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Valley Project. Continue reading »
As The Standard Of The World Turns: Lovely Photos Of 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille
Cadillac was “Standard of the World” in motoring pleasure and owner loyalty. “So new, so right, so obviously Cadillac!” This editorial is dedicated to those who regard their motorcars as prized possessions. Once one has been in the driver’s seat of a new Cadillac… it is difficult to become content with any other car.
Here is another classic DeVille encore performance… in the continuing saga of “As the Standard of the World Turns.” Continue reading »
Honeywell Kitchen Computer, The $70,000 Machine That No One Bought In The Late 1960s
Original advertisement for the Kitchen Computer: “If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute.” Why would anyone want a computer at home? Before the personal computer era and its avalanche of possible uses, the perennial answer was: “to store recipes.” Continue reading »
Supercool Pics Of Bugatti Cars In The 1920s And 1930s
1927 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Coupe Napoleon with family driver
Bugatti was founded in in 1909 in Molsheim, France by Ettore Bugatti an Italian imigrant. The company produced expensive, and in the case of the Royalle some of the most exclusive bespoke cars in the world. The T35’s and T51’s were amongst the most sucessful voiterette racing cars.
Bugatti also produced aircraft engines and the engines for French rail cars. The badge not only bears the name Bugatti but the initials of Ettore Bugatti with an inverted E. Continue reading »
“Freezing The City That Never Sleeps”: A Brooklyn Chemist’s 1800s Photos Capture New York In Motion
June 26, 1886. Jamie Swan jumps off a short stone wall at Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn. IMAGE: WALLACE G. LEVISON/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES
Wallace G. Levison was a chemist, inventor, and lecturer who founded the Departments of Mineralogy and Astronomy at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in the latter half of the 19th century. He was also an avid photographer, using the new technology both as a scientific tool and a recreational activity. As the dawn of the 20th century approached, newer, more sensitive film emulsions were developed that allowed pictures to be taken with faster and faster shutter speeds. Continue reading »
The Isolator: This Insane Anti-Distraction Helmet From 1925 Would Fit Into Any Modern Open Office
Maybe you blame your smartphone or your open office for the fact that you can’t concentrate at work. But distraction isn’t exactly a new problem: In the 1920s, Hugo Gernsback published a design for a creepy-looking helmet that blocks out sound and vision so someone can focus on their work. As a writer, editor and inventor, he had a lot to do and no time for distractions. And yet, they lurked everywhere he looked. So, he created something he called “The Isolator”. Continue reading »
“The Paper Time Machine” Book Takes Historical Images And Imbues Them With Astonishing Color
Early photographic technology lacked a crucial ingredient — color. As early as the invention of the medium, skilled artisans applied color to photographs by hand, attempting to convey the vibrancy and immediacy of life in vivid detail (with mostly crude results).
The age-old practice of colorization has been revived with modern digital precision in a new book, “The Paper Time Machine”.
With images curated by Retronaut creator Wolfgang Wild and colorized according to meticulous period research by Jordan Lloyd of Dynamichrome, the book aims to collapse the divide between historical imagery and present-day viewers.
An overhead view of people on 36th St. between 8th and 9th Aves., New York. Manhattan’s Garment District has been the center of the American fashion industry since at least the turn of the twentieth century – in 1900, New York City’s garment trade was its largest industry by a factor of three. The entire fashion ecosystem, from fabric suppliers to designer showrooms, exists within an area just under a square mile. Native New Yorker Margaret Bourke-White was in her mid-twenties when she took this picture. She would later become Life magazine’s first female photojournalist and, during WWII, the first female war correspondent. The two cars shown are a 1930 Ford Model A 4-Door Sedan, left, and a Ford Model A Sports Coupe, right. IMAGE: MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE /TIME & LIFE PICTURES / GETTY IMAGES Continue reading »
The ‘Oooo Face’: That Puckered Look Every Woman Was Making Mid-Century
If you’ve seen old advertisements from the 1950s, then you know exactly what the “Oooo Face” is (not to be confused with the “O Face”). Seemingly every woman in these ads wore the expression; the lips positioned to form the long /oo/ sound. Generally, she’s wearing red lipstick and her eyes give the impression of being dumbfounded.
And it wasn’t just advertisements that had women pursing their lips – it was everywhere: album covers, pin-ups, magazine covers. Wherever an image of a woman was found, there you found the “Oooo Face”.
Let’s have a look at some of the endless examples from midcentury… Continue reading »
42 Stunning Restored And Colorized Historic Images Bring The Past To Life
An emaciated 18-year-old Russian girl looks into the camera lens during the liberation of Dachau concentration camp in 1945.
Relating to the past can be difficult when all you have to look at are faded black and white photos that feel like they are from another planet. The mind thinks and remembers in color, meaning a color photograph is much easier to connect with than a black and white photo. Continue reading »
Artist Transforms Present Technologies Into Objects From The 1980s
A world without the Internet is already an alien concept. The Internet is an integral part of our daily routines and objects around us, so much in fact, that certain things would not even exist without it.
But that certainly doesn’t mean we can’t try imagining how certain apps would look like in different times, right? Thomas Olliver, a creative art director, has envisioned technologies of nowadays as objects from the 1980s. Continue reading »
“The Control Panel Archive”: The Tactile Beauty Of Buttons, Meters, Knobs And Dials
U.S. Army audiovisual technician stands at her videotape editing station, 1973
If you’re like me, you’ve once or twice seen the near future in the form of Spielberg’s action-packed take on Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report. Not precogs, precrime, or pre-arrests, so much, nor the ubiquitous floating ads, but the scenes in which Tom Cruise’s character controls his tech by speaking to it and waving his hands in the air, doing a sort of interpretive dance in which voice and body take the place of primitive interfaces. Continue reading »
