59 Amazing Photos Showing Life in the 1850s

Drinking and cards, late 1850s
Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (front row, center-right) and others observe the SS Great Eastern launch attempt in Blackwall, London, November 1857. It was a massive steamship, the largest ship ever built when it launched
Faruk Khan, vice premier to the court of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, and the Persian ambassador to French emperor Napoleon III, and Queen Victoria, circa 1857
Former President Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, posing in photographer Mathew Brady’s New York portrait studio, circa 1855-1858
Group portrait of a man, woman, and boy, with Niagara Falls in the background, 1855
Horses and carts surround a busy Quincy Public Market in downtown Boston, 1857
Jerusalem, Site of the Temple on Mount Moriah, and Jerusalem, Court of the Mosque of Omar, 1857
Men at work beside the launching chains of the Great Eastern while under construction at London’s Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, November 18, 1857
Morlaix – Le quai de Tréguier, 1857
Napoleon III, emperor of France, 1857
Paris looking back toward the Ile de la Cité from across the Seine, circa 1857
Peter Force, American editor, publisher, and historian, served as the 12th mayor of Washington, D.C., from 1836 to 1840, circa 1857
Pierre Clément Eugène Pelletan, a French writer, journalist, and passionate critic, circa 1855-1859
Portrait of a girl in the Netherlands, circa 1855
Portrait of newlyweds Dorman and Eliza Egbert Cortright, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1850
Portrait of the Baroness of Séverac, 1856-1859
Queen Victoria’s visit to the Manchester Exhibition of Art Treasures of the United Kingdom in Manchester, England, June 1857
Samuel Morse, the American artist and inventor, standing in a studio with an automatic telegraph receiver, which would record incoming morse-code messages onto paper, 1857
San Francisco and the harbor from Stockton Street, containing the portions between Washington and Sacramento Streets, 1856
Seascape with a ship leaving port in Sète, France, 1857
St. Sophia (Hagia Sophia) from the Hypodrome, Constantinople, Turkey, in 1857.
The Chattar Manzil palace wall in Lucknow, India, which was destroyed by mutineers during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
The earliest surviving photo of Japanese feudal lord, Shimazu Nariakira, dressed formally, September 17, 1857
The French-English fleet in the harbor of Cherbourg-Cotentin, France, August 1858
The inauguration of President James Buchanan, at the east front of the United States Capitol Building, March 4, 1857
The Parker House Hotel, late 1850s
The Pyramids of Dahshoor from the east, 1857
The River Seine in Paris, from the Square du Vert-Galant, a park at the tip of the Ile de la Cité, 1857
The Sphinx, built during the Egyptian Fourth Dynasty, stands in the desert with the Pyramid Cheops nearby in Giza, 1857
The U.S. Capitol Building dome under construction, looking south from the roof of the Senate wing, showing the first row of columns near completion and the cast-irons pillars up, 1857
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, an Italian aristocrat who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France, 1857
Young gentleman of the 1850s
A group of Gurkha soldiers with their British officer, during the Indian Mutiny or Great Sepoy Rebellion, 1857
A portrait of two women gleaners in rural England, 1857
Abraham Lincoln, immediately prior to his Senate nomination in Chicago, Illinois, February 28, 1857
An abbot accompanies students visiting the Roman Forum in Rome, Italy, 1857
Barrack Hill, Ottawa, during the construction of the Parliament Buildings, 1857
Battery Street in San Francisco, California, 1856
Boston and a busy Boston Harbor looking north from the State House dome in 1858
Brant Point Light Station, on Nantucket Harbor, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in the 1850s
Camp de Châlons; The Zouave storyteller, Chalons, France, 1857
Canadian man posing in front of his house, 1855
Cathedral, Baltimore, Maryland, 1856
Cloud study over Paris, 1850s
Construction workers build a new jail in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1857
Hippo Obaysch is spotted taking a nap in the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, 1852. He was donated by Egypt in 1850 in exchange for English greyhounds and deerhounds, and he lived until 1878
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s roundhouse at Martinsburg, West Virginia in June 1858.
Family Portrait, 1850s
Three Young Women, 1856
A Beautiful Bride, 1850
Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, Paris, France, 1850s
Family group at church, England, 1854
Mary Le Port Street, Bristol, England, 1854
Officers of the 4th Light Dragoons, England, 1855
UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 30: Photograph. There were various forms of ‘pedamotive carriage’ or velocipede during the 19th century. It was an early form of bicycle which was propelled forward by the rider pedalling cranks fixed to the front wheel(s). Interest in velocipedes dropped after the introduction of the bicycle in the form we know it today, which was both cheaper and less cumbersome.
Bombay, India, 1850
Toronto, Canada, 1856
Chouteau’s Pond, St. Louis, Missouri, 1854
American Falls from below prospect point, Niagara, 1850

The Two Kings of the British Invasion: Vintage Photos of John Lennon and Mick Jagger That Show Just How Close Their Friendship Was

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, are arguably the two most profound British Rock & Roll bands to come to the U.S. as part of the 1960s British Invasion. John Lennon was arguably the leader of the Beatles as was Mick Jagger with The Rolling Stones. This assortment of historical images of John Lennon and Mick Jagger really show you just how close their friendship was.

1966.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger, 1974.
1972.
Mick Jagger, John Lennon and May Pang during American Film Institute Salute to James Cagney at Century Plaza, 1974.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger at Paul’s Cavendish Avenue in London, 1967.
Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York City, 1972.
Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York City, 1972.
Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York City, 1972.
Mick Jagger borrows a Rolls Royce from John Lennon for a scene in the Nicolas Roeg film Performance, 1968.
Mick Jagger visits EMI Studios while the Beatles are recording “Revolver”, 1966.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger go shopping in Portobello Rd, 1966. The main picture shows (left to right) Chrissie Shrimpton, Mick Jagger and John Lennon with his wife Cynthia.
Mick Jagger and John Lennon at Our World broadcast from Abbey Road Studios, 1967.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger during American Film Institute Salute to James Cagney at Century Plaza Hotel, 1974.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger in The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus film, December 1968.
John, Sean and Yoko with Mick Jagger at MSG Circus, April, 1977.
John Lennon, Keith Richards & Eric Clapton in The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger, 1968.
Mick Jagger and John Lennon, 1974.
John Lennon and Mick Jagger, Rock and Roll Circus, 1968.
18th April 1967. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Mick Jagger at Cavendish Avenue with interviewer Stuart Kendall.
Mick Jagger, John Lennon and May Pang during American Film Institute Salute to James Cagney at Century Plaza, 1974.
John playing the song Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup) with Mick and Jesse Davis, 1972. John ended up producing the song for Mick.
1964

28 Vintage Photos Showing Ladies Fashion during the Early 1940s

It is worthless to discuss fashion of the forties without first understanding the tremendous impact World War II had on everyday life during the early part of the decade. Social trends dictated fashion, World War II changed the world of fashion forever.

The true hallmarks of fashion in the early 1940s included an austere silhouette with narrow hips, padded shoulders, and all manner of hats. The working-class look of icons such as Rosie the Riveter became chic, as women of all social standings joined the war effort. They kept things going at home, taking over the jobs – and the closets – of husbands and other male relatives. Class barriers fell and people dressed down. It was considered gauche to be showy during a time of shortage.

Many varieties of peplums were in vogue: butterfly, bustle and gathered peplums were a few. Ruffles found their way to skirt hems, necklines and waists. Gored, gathered and A-line skirts were topped with soft, feminine blouses. Blouses donned bows at the center-front neckline and might sport full or puffy sleeves. Collars were cut generously full, in peter pan and traditional pointed shirt-collar designs. Lace also accentuated blouses around the neckline.

Take a look at these glamorous photos to see what women’s fashion trends in the early 1940s looked like.

40 Vintage Photos Showing Life in Kashmir, India During the Early 1910s

Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term “Kashmir” denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompasses a larger area that includes the Indian-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism arose. In 1339, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Shah Mir dynasty. The region was part of the Mughal Empire from 1586 to 1751, and thereafter, until 1820, of the Afghan Durrani Empire. That year, the Sikh Empire, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, became the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until the Partition of India in 1947, when the former princely state of the British Indian Empire became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and China. (Wikipedia)

The First Winner of the Academy Award For Best Actress: 48 Stunning Vintage Photos of Janet Gaynor in the 1920s and 1930s

Born 1906 as Laura Augusta Gainor in Germantown, Philadelphia, American actress and painter Janet Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century-Fox) in 1926, she rose to fame and became one of the biggest box office draws of the era.

In 1929, Gaynor was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: 7th Heaven (1927), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), and Street Angel (1928). This was the only occasion on which an actress has won one Oscar for multiple film roles.

Gaynor’s career success continued into the sound film era, and she achieved a notable success in the original version of A Star Is Born (1937), for which she received a second Best Actress Academy Award nomination.

Gaynor retired from acting in 1939, and briefly returned to acting in films and television in the 1950s, and later became an accomplished oil painter.

In 1980, Gaynor made her Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of the 1971 film Harold and Maude and appeared in the touring theatrical production of On Golden Pond in February 1982.

In September 1982, she sustained multiple injuries when the taxicab in which she and others were passengers was struck by a drunken driver. These injuries eventually caused her death in September 1984.

Take a look at these glamorous photos to see the beauty of Janet Gaynor in the 1920s and 1930s.

73 Amazing Photographs of New York City During the Late 1970s

There is a strong current of nostalgia for the late ’70s, even among those who never lived through it — the era when the city was edgy and dangerous, when women carried Mace in their purses, when even men asked the taxi driver to wait until they’d crossed the 15 feet to the front door of their building, when a blackout plunged whole neighborhoods into frantic looting, when subway cars were covered with graffiti, when Balanchine was at the height of his powers and the New York State Theater was New York’s intellectual salon…

New York, often called New York City (NYC) to distinguish it from the state of New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world’s most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and is a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. It is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and has sometimes been called the capital of the world.

Situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is coextensive with a respective county of the state of New York. The five boroughs—Brooklyn (Kings County), Queens (Queens County), Manhattan (New York County), the Bronx (Bronx County), and Staten Island (Richmond County)—were created when local governments were consolidated into a single municipal entity in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2018, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly $1.8 trillion, ranking it first in the United States. If the New York metropolitan area were a sovereign state, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world. New York is home to the second highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.

New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in approximately 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. The city was regained by the Dutch in July 1673 and was renamed New Orange for one year and three months; the city has been continuously named New York since November 1674. New York City was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity, entrepreneurship, and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.

Many districts and monuments in New York City are major landmarks, including three of the world’s ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 66.6 million tourists visited New York City in 2019. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world’s busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world’s entertainment industry. Many of the city’s landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world, as is the city’s fast pace, spawning the term New York minute. The Empire State Building has become the global standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. Manhattan’s real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City That Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the world’s leading financial center and the most financially powerful city in the world, and is home to the world’s two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. (Wikipedia)

Below is a collection of 73 snapshots of New York City in May 1979.

35 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing Early Visitors to America’s First National Parks More Than a Century Ago

By the Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming “as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” and placed it “under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior.” The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national park movement.

In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United States authorized additional national parks and monuments, many of them carved from the federal lands of the West. All of them managed by either the Department of the Interior, War Department or Forest Service.

To organize the protection and preservation of these spaces for generations to come, on August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established.

A geological surveyor explores the lower basin of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, c.1870.
The Annie, reportedly the first boat ever launched on Yellowstone Lake, 1871.
Tourists drive their car on a dirt road along Yellowstone River 1899.
Tourists look out over the Grand Canyon, c.1900.
The Geyser Basins at Yellowstone, c.1900.
The gateway arch at Yellowstone, c.1900
Tourists skate on a frozen lake in Yosemite, c.1910.
A party of tourists in Mt. Rainier National Park, 1911.
Tourists ride through Mt. Rainier National Park 1909.
Tourists and guides picnic in Yellowstone, 1903.
Tourists ride up a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, 1909.
Tourists boat across Crater Lake, 1912.
Tourists watch the scalding water from the Excelsior Geyser flow into the Firehole River in Yellowstone, 1917.
President Theodore Roosevelt pays a visit to Yellowstone, 1903.
Tourists slide down a slope in Yosemite, 1903.
A member of a government geological survey stands next to Old Faithful in Yellowstone, two years before its designation as a National Park, 1870.
Tourists peer over a cliff into the Grand Canyon, 1880
Kitty Tatch and friend dance on the overhanging rock at Glacier Point in Yosemite, c.1890.
Tourists ride through Yosemite, c.1900.
Tourists pose for a picture in front of Yosemite Falls, c.1900.
A group of Yosemite tourists and their guide, c.1900.
Tourists ride the Glacier Point trail in Yosemite, 1901.
Tourists at Old Faithful in Yellowstone, 1901.
The view of Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, 1902.
Tourists look from Clouds Rest over the Little Yosemite Valley to Mount Clark, 1902.
Tourists on Clouds Rest in Yosemite, 1902.
Tourists at Mirror Lake in Yosemite, 1902.
A tourist looks out over the Yosemite Valley, 1902.
A tourist stands on Glacier Point with Yosemite Falls in the background, 1902.
Climbers scale Mt. Rainier, 1910.
Tourists pose on Glacier Point above the Yosemite Valley, 1887.
Tourists climb Paradise Glacier in Mt. Rainier National Park, 1911.
A man stands behind the “Pulpit Terrace” formation at the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, 1904.
A rider on a trail at Glacier National Park, 1916.
President Theodore Roosevelt addresses a crowd at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, 1903.

30 Incredible Color Photos of Montreal, Canada in the 1960s

Montreal is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or “City of Mary”, it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie is built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is situated 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital Ottawa, and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City.

As of 2021, the city had a population of 1,762,949, and a metropolitan population of 4,291,732, making it the second-largest city, and second-largest metropolitan area in Canada. French is the city’s official language and in 2016 was the only home language of 53.7% of the population, while 18.2% spoke only English and 18.7% spoke neither French nor English at home. 9.4% spoke a mix of French, English and a foreign language at home. In the larger Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 71.2% of the population spoke at least French at home, compared to 19.0% who spoke English. Still in 2016, 87.4% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 91.4% could speak it in the metropolitan area. Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 57.4% of the population able to speak both English and French. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the developed world, after Paris.

Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal was surpassed in population and in economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, art, culture, tourism, food, fashion, video game development, film, and world affairs. Montreal has the second-highest number of consulates in North America, serves as the location of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006. In 2017, Montreal was ranked the 12th-most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual Global Liveability Ranking, although it slipped to rank 40 in the 2021 index, primarily due to stress on the healthcare system from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is regularly ranked as a top ten city in the world to be a university student in the QS World University Rankings.

Montreal has hosted multiple international conferences and events, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympics. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics. In 2018, Montreal was ranked as a global city. The city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One since 1978, as well as the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the largest jazz festival in the world, the Just for Laughs festival, the largest comedy festival in the world, and Les Francos de Montréal, which is the largest event devoted exclusively to French-language music anywhere in the world. It is also home to ice hockey team Montreal Canadiens, the franchise with the most Stanley Cup wins. (Wikipedia)

Photos via Archives de la Ville de Montréal

41 Amazing Vintage Photos of Beautiful Monopede Women From the Past

These beautiful women are not only powerful, but also very confident, and really bring to our life the inspiration so much.

Here below is a collection of 41 extraordinary photos of monopede women from the past. Take a look.

45 Amazing Retro Photos of Men’s Fashions From the 1970s

The bell bottom pants became popular in the late 1960s and continued to widen into the ’70s as they gained in popularity. This was a time where polyester became a popular fabric to use in clothing. Also bold colors and prints became part of men’s fashion for the first time.

Early 1970s fashion was a fun era. It culminated some of the best elements of the ’60s and perfected and/or exaggerated them. Some of the best clothing produced in the 1970s perfectly blended the mods with the hippies.

Just when it seemed pants couldn’t flare any more, the flare was almost gone. By the late 1970s the pant suit, leisure suit and track suit was what the average person was sporting. Every man had a few striped v-neck velour shirts.

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