Street Life of Shanghai in 1947

“A great, wicked and quite extraordinary city” was how, in 1947, LIFE described Shanghai. In 1947, four million people had made the City their residence (today, that number is 26 million). It seemed that at any one time, a very substantial proportion of the population was on the Shanghai streets. “The traffic has become aContinue reading “Street Life of Shanghai in 1947”

Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, the First Woman to Travel Around the World by Air in a Zeppelin

Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, an English journalist, was the only woman among sixty passengers and crew on the Graf Zeppelin when it flew around the world in 1929. Although she was not an aviator herself at first, she contributed to the glamour of aviation and general knowledge of it, by writing articles about her aerial adventuresContinue reading “Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, the First Woman to Travel Around the World by Air in a Zeppelin”

Amazing Vintage Photographs of 1900 One Thousand Mile Trial

In 1900, automobiles weren’t much more impressive than the horse-drawn carriages they were meant to replace. Internal combustion engines offered about 12 horsepower, but they were also loud, dirty, and unreliable. In a public effort to dispel that image—or at least the unreliable part—the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland organized the 1,000 MileContinue reading “Amazing Vintage Photographs of 1900 One Thousand Mile Trial”

15 Vintage Photographs of Bugle Megaphones From the Mid-20 Century

Bugle megaphones were used on military garrisons to help amplify the sound of the bugle. Used in a garrison environment, the megaphone was mounted to a swivel on a post enabling the bugler to play in any direction and the sound to carry further and over a broader area. These pedestals were usually placed nearContinue reading “15 Vintage Photographs of Bugle Megaphones From the Mid-20 Century”

Midsummer Night Celebrations in Kirunavaara, Sweden, Where the Sun Doesn’t Set During Summer, 1901

In Kiruna, the sun doesn’t set for 47 days during the summer. This phenomenon, known as midnight sun, is at it’s hight around midsummer, which is always celebrated near the summer solstice. Kirunavaara is the name of the mountain that the crowd is standing on. Kirunavaara means “mountain of the ptarmigans” in the Sámi languageContinue reading “Midsummer Night Celebrations in Kirunavaara, Sweden, Where the Sun Doesn’t Set During Summer, 1901”