23 Vintage Photos That Show Christmas From the the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s

Christmas rush at Macy’s in NYC, 1947
Christmas shopping in New York City, 1945
Father Christmas delivering presents to the Children’s Aid and Adoption Society at Leytonstone, London. 20th November 1931.
A children’s Christmas party at the Hoxton Mission, London. 18th November 1933.
One-year-old Paramount child star Baby LeRoy plays with his new toys under the Christmas tree, 1933.
Christmas shopping in NYC, 1930s
Christmas window shopping in New York City, 1950s
A family at Christmas tea time with chocolate cake, a candelabra and holly on the table, 1935.
Father Christmas hands out presents to children at the Aid And Adoption Society home at Leytonstone. 7th December 1938.
A seasonably attired young shopper climbs on to the sandbags to get a closer look at the toys in a shop window in the West End of London. December 1939.
Two policemen regard London’s 64ft Christmas tree, a gift from Norway, illuminated in Trafalgar Square, in front of the National Gallery. 1st December 1948.
Crowd of holiday shoppers outside of Macy’s, NYC, 1939
Last minute Christmas Eve shoppers gather in front of Macy’s window display in New York, Dec. 24, 1946
Manhattan Christmas window shopping, New York, 1947
Two children waiting for Santa Claus, 1950s.
A young girl hangs a Christmas garland on the door of her cottage home at Northleach, Gloucestershire, in accordance with an old local custom. 24th December 1954.
When decorating a Christmas tree use a firm stepladder and don’t be like this woman who is standing on a chair and leaning over too far, 1955.
Happy Christmas shoppers happily gaze at the window displays of the shops of Washington DC, 1955
After the Christmas shopping rush, 1948
A close-up of a woman making Christmas tree decorations in Crisfield, Maryland, 1955.
A young patient in the pediatric ward of the Lenox Hill Hospital, America receives an unexpected Christmas present from student nurse Linda Gross, 1955.
Three young carol singers give their rendering of a Christmas song in the falling snow, 1955.
Macy’s Christmas shopping in snow, NYC, 1950s

16 Amazing Vintage Photos of Niagara Falls during Winter

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, also known as Canadian Falls, which straddles the international border of the two countries. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York.

Formed by the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America that has a vertical drop of more than 50 m (160 ft). During peak daytime tourist hours, more than 168,000 m3 (six million cubic feet) of water goes over the crest of the falls every minute. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by flow rate.[3] Niagara Falls is famed for its beauty and is a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Balancing recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century.

Niagara Falls is located 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, and 121 km (75 mi) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls was formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path over and through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. (Wikipedia)

These stunning photos show Niagara Falls frozen over during winter in the past.

A fairy-land of ice and snow, Niagara Fall, 1903
American Falls from below prospect point, Niagara, 1850
Cave of the Winds in Winter, Niagara Falls, ca. 1900s
Frozen Niagara Falls, 1885
Ice Bridge, Niagara Falls, 1912
Ice conditions at Niagara Falls during the winter of 1888
Niagara Falls completely frozen over in 1911
Niagara Falls during the winter, ca. 1850s
Niagara Falls frozen in 1911
Niagara Falls frozen over, 1933
Niagara Falls, 1900
Niagara Falls, 1890
Visitors at frozen Niagara Falls, 1883
Visitors at Niagara Falls, 1911
Visitors explore the Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls, 1916
A cave behind Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, 1917

53 Behind-the-Scenes Photos of Marilyn Monroe During the Filming ‘River of No Return’ in 1954

‘River of No Return’ is a 1954 American Western film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italian film The Bicycle Thief. It was made in Technicolor and CinemaScope and released by 20th Century Fox.

Here is a photo collection of Marilyn Monroe filming ‘River of No Return’ in 1954.

45 Wonderful Photos Showing Boston Street Fashion in 1971

Boston, officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States and 24th-most populous city in the country. The city proper covers 48.4 square miles (125 km2) with a population of 675,647 in 2020, also making it the most populous city in New England. It is the seat of Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999). The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.

Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston. Upon American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture. The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year. Boston’s many firsts include the United States’ first public park (Boston Common, 1634), first public or state school (Boston Latin School, 1635) and first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897).

Today, Boston is a thriving center of scientific research. The Boston area’s many colleges and universities make it a world leader in higher education, including law, medicine, engineering and business, and the city is considered to be a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship, with nearly 5,000 startups. Boston’s economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology and government activities. Households in the city claim the highest average rate of philanthropy in the United States; businesses and institutions rank among the top in the country for environmental sustainability and investment. The city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. (Wikipedia)

(Photos by Nick Dewolf)

26 Fabulous Photos of Life in Belfast in 1955

Belfast (meaning ‘mouth of the sand-bank ford’) is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Ireland. It had a population of 343,542 as of 2019. Belfast suffered greatly during the violence that accompanied the partition of Ireland, and especially during the more recent conflict known as the Troubles.

By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, becoming briefly the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname “Linenopolis”. By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the RMS Titanic, was the world’s largest shipyard. Belfast as of 2019 has a major aerospace and missiles industry. Industrialisation, and the inward migration it brought, made Belfast Northern Ireland’s biggest city. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland. Belfast’s status as a global industrial centre ended in the decades after the Second World War.

Belfast is still a port with commercial and industrial docks, including the Harland and Wolff shipyard, dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline. It is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport, 3 miles (5 kilometres) from the city centre, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of the city. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) listed Belfast as a Gamma + global city in 2020. (Wikipedia)

(Photos by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

22 Lovely Vintage Photos Show How Children Celebrated Christmas in the Early 20th Century

From lighting a real candle on the branch of an indoor Christmas tree, to a well-dressed family singing carols on a stairwell in the home, this lovely collection of nostalgic photos reveal how children from a bygone era celebrated the festive season.

A little girl and her Saint Bernard deliver Christmas, ca. 1910s

24 Vintage Celebrity Christmas Ads

Jackie Gleason for Manhattan Shirts
Donna Reed for Singer Machines, Inc.
Ann Sothern for Lucky Strike Cigarettes
Dick Van Dyke for Kodak
Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) and Jay Silverheels (Tonto) for Christmas Seals
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for Philip Morris Cigarettes
(L to R) Arthur Godfrey, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Bob Hope for Chesterfield Cigarettes
Starting at 12 noon going clockwise: Nat King Cole, Stan Kenton, The Four Freshmen, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Ray Anthony, Margaret Whiting, Glen Gray, Dean Martin, and Judy Garland for Telechron Timers
for Lucky Strike Cigarettes
(L to R) Curly Joe DeRita, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine for U.S. Savings Bonds
Sammy Davis Jr. for Alka Seltzer
Ronald Reagan for Chesterfield Cigarettes
1940s Bing Crosby Vintage Illustration Christmas Tree Advertisement
Ronald Reagan with wife Nancy, 1955
Barbara Stanwyck
Loretta Young 1952
Anne Baxter
Bob Hope
Joan Crawford, Royal Crown Cola, 1944
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for Philip Morris Cigarettes
Santa Claus
Ann-Margret, 1960s
Roy Rogers
Joan Crawford in a 1937 Christmas ad for Lucky Strike Cigarettes

16 Bizarre Classic Christmas Album Covers

Every year, a handful of new artists try their hand at a Christmas album. It works for some, but for many others, it’s just kind of a weird experiment.

It’s more or less expected for a lot of country singers and mainstream pop stars to make at least some kind of holiday offering, but there are plenty of musicians and bands who do, even though it doesn’t seem to fit the general theme of their music. Here’s a list of 16 Christmas albums from artists who we really thought had no business making Christmas albums…

Chabelo – En Navidad (1981)
Floral Pops 70 – Drum Christmas Para Bailar (1973)
Gayla Peevey – I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (1953)
Ferrante & Teicher ?– Adventure in Carols (The Sound of Tomorrow – Today) (1956)
Christmas Day with Colonel Sanders (1968)
Jack Webb – The Christmas Story (1953)
Merry Cajun Christmas, Volume Two (1987)
Dino – A Wonderful Time of Year (1987)
Sy Mann — Switched On Santa (1969)
Montreal Sound — Christmas Disco Party (1977)
The Caroleers — Favorite Christmas Carols (date unknown)
The Pac-Man Christmas Story (1983)
The Border Brass — Tijuana Christmas (date unknown)
Christmas with Colonel Sanders (1969)
Six Million Dollar Man 4 Exciting Christmas Adventures (1978)
Mickey Rooney — Merry Merry Micklemas (1979)

30 Candid Photographs of People Posing With Their Aluminum Christmas Trees From the 1960s and 1970s

The aluminum Christmas tree became extremely popular and sought after by the public in the early and mid-1960s. With beautiful mercury glass balls of red, blue and green these trees were very dazing to behold. Throw in a color wheel and you are on the launch pad for an awesome display that gives a dazzling brilliance to any room.

The Aluminum Christmas tree remained a top seller on the market until the mid 1970s, and was phased out by the bicentennial year of 1976 when more traditional trees became popular. Originally, the trees predominant color was silver and represented a wonderfully-sparkling breathtaking symbol the “Space Age Era” with silver reflecting bright moving points of light that had silvery shimmering branches. However in the late 1960s pink, purple, gold, green, red and a whole gallery of colors became available.

Even the famous vintage aluminum Christmas tree the Sparkler or Pom-Pom was later manufactured in various other shades such as blue, pink, green and red. In our times these remarkable and well-made aluminum trees are found on vintage sites across the internet with their swirled and tapered fullness ready to be UN-boxed for a new Christmas.

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