Saturday, September 12, 2026

Loretta Young: A Hollywood Survivor

Loretta Young, born Gretchen Michaela Young in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1913, arrived in Hollywood at the exact time that Hollywood began to define itself. After her parents’ separation, Loretta, her sisters and mother relocated the family to Southern California, where Young and her siblings started their film careers as children. By the timeContinue reading “Loretta Young: A Hollywood Survivor”

Rust, Chrome, and Forgotten Dreams: Vintage Photos of Classic Car Salvage Yards from the 1940s and 1950s

The 1950s – A Great Time to Live in America

A family and friends somewhere in the United States are seen enjoying some watermelon. Life in America during the 1950s is most often remembered as a period of incredible optimism and stability, influenced by postwar recovery and prosperity. After the hardships brought on by the Great Depression and World War II, many American families finallyContinue reading “The 1950s – A Great Time to Live in America”

The Building of the Kansas Pacific Railway

Image: Engineer camp at the Zuni Pass, in the Sierra Madre, N.M., 975 miles west of Missouri River. The Kansas Pacific Railway and the Struggle to Become a Transcontinental Line In the decade after the American Civil War, few ambitions loomed larger in the imagination of railroad promoters than the dream of a second transcontinentalContinue reading “The Building of the Kansas Pacific Railway”

The Jersey Lily: Lillie Langtry’s Life of Audacity

Jane Fonda in Hanoi: Reassessing the Photographs That Shaped a National Controversy

Image: Jane Fonda seated at a North Vietnamese anti‑aircraft gun, surrounded by soldiers and observers during her 1972 visit to Hanoi. Introduction: Why These 1972 Photographs Still Matter The now-infamous 1972 photographs of Jane Fonda’s trip to North Vietnam remain among the most iconic and reviled images of the Vietnam War era. These photographs—especially theContinue reading “Jane Fonda in Hanoi: Reassessing the Photographs That Shaped a National Controversy”

Amazing Historical Photos of Life in the United States during the 1930s

The United States of America consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, 326 Indian reservations, and nine minor outlying islands. It is the world’s third-largest country by both land and total area. The United States shares land borders with Canada to the north and with Mexico to the south, as wellContinue reading “Amazing Historical Photos of Life in the United States during the 1930s”

Eyes of the Fleet: The Arado Ar 196 and the Kriegsmarine’s Aerial Reach

Image: An Arado Ar 196 in flight during the Second World War. #AradoAr196 https://amzn.to/44Lzrpz This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Section I — Opening Throughout the world’s vast ocean expanses and contested spaces that existed during World War II, where the world’sContinue reading “Eyes of the Fleet: The Arado Ar 196 and the Kriegsmarine’s Aerial Reach”

Haunting Mugshots: Criminal Faces of the 1900s

The early 20th century was a pivotal moment in the history of criminal justice, marked by the widespread adoption of “scientific” methods of identification and documentation. At the heart of this revolution was the mugshot. Far from being mere photographs, these stark, standardized portraits were the culmination of a movement to professionalize policing and createContinue reading “Haunting Mugshots: Criminal Faces of the 1900s”