River view, Alexandria The Adelphoi Zangaki (Zangaki Brothers) were two brothers of Greek origin, active as photographers in Ottoman Egypt from the 1860s through to the 1890s. Little is known about them, except their initials, C. and G., and that they worked out of Port Said and Cairo from around the 1860s through to atContinue reading “Vintage Photographs of Egypt From Between the 1860s and 1890s”
Category Archives: 1800s
Wild West Wednesdays, Part 2 (a day late) – The Death of Outlaw Johnny Ringo
30 Elegant Photos Show What Victorian Girls Wore in the 1860s
Victorian fashion consists of the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly from the 1830s through the 1890s. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. Various movementContinue reading “30 Elegant Photos Show What Victorian Girls Wore in the 1860s”
Wild West Wednesdays Part 1
Today we begin a new series, appearing every Wednesday, profiling one notorious outlaw who was roaming the American Wild West in the late-1800s. I hope that you will enjoy the series as much as I did writing it. Enjoy!. Michael Yesterday Today John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin was an Old West outlaw and gunfighter.Continue reading “Wild West Wednesdays Part 1”
The First Photograph of a Woman Smoking: Lola Montez 1852
Considered to be the first photograph of a woman smoking, this is Lola Montez’s portrait by Southworth & Hawes. A savvy self-promoter, Lola Montez is the first woman ever to be photographed smoking. She made sure the cigarette is the focus of the picture. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) This is Lola’s third and most provocativeContinue reading “The First Photograph of a Woman Smoking: Lola Montez 1852”
Abolitionist Button, ca. 1850s
Abolitionist Button is an early photography daguerreotype and gold photographic print created from between the 1840s to the 1850s. It lives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The image is in the public domain, and tagged jewelry and political work. This miniature daguerreotype shows two hands resting on a book. The photographContinue reading “Abolitionist Button, ca. 1850s”
40 Wonderful Portrait Photos of Women Posing With Their Books From the Mid-19th Century
Women formed a large and increasing part of the new novel-reading public. The traditional discrepancy between male and female literacy rates was narrowed, and finally eliminated by the end of the 19th century. The gap had always been the widest at the lowest end of the social scale. Perhaps more women than we realize couldContinue reading “40 Wonderful Portrait Photos of Women Posing With Their Books From the Mid-19th Century”
Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp
Scalping is often depicted in old-timey cowboy-and-Indian movies with lots of quavering music and dramatic pauses. But then you see the real scalp under a bell jar and it isn’t so melodramatic anymore. William Thompson’s scalp, archived at the Main Library in Omaha, Nebraska, looks more like some sort of rodent than an impactful partContinue reading “Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp”
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman aka Lyons Wakeman: A Woman’s Life as a Man in the Civil War
In 1940, Jackson Doane, of Binghamton, unearthed a packet of letters, a ring and a picture in his family’s attic from Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, the older sister of Jackson’s great-grandmother. She was a family member that seemed to be little spoken about — and little known. In 1976, Jackson read those letters, discovering that theyContinue reading “Sarah Rosetta Wakeman aka Lyons Wakeman: A Woman’s Life as a Man in the Civil War”
Victorian Readers: 40 Vintage Portraits of People Posing With Their Books From 19th Century
Victorians were great readers of the novel, and the number of novels available for them to read increased enormously during Victoria’s reign. The activity of reading benefited hugely from wider schooling and increased literacy rates, from the cheapening costs of publication, from improved distribution that resulted from better transportation, and, towards the end of theContinue reading “Victorian Readers: 40 Vintage Portraits of People Posing With Their Books From 19th Century”
