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Amazing Vintage Photos of Manchester, England During the 1970s

Manchester is a major city in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of more than two million in 2018, it is the second largest city by urban area in the United Kingdom. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form a large continuous conurbation. Due to Manchester’s size and global influence, it is considered the second city of the United Kingdom.

The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort (castra) of Mamucium or Mancunium, established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand “at an astonishing rate” around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester’s unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world’s first industrialised city. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. Its fortune declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, but the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration. Following successful redevelopment after the IRA bombing, Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

The city is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world’s first inter-city passenger railway station. At the University of Manchester, Ernest Rutherford first split the atom in 1917, Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill developed the world’s first stored-program computer in 1948, and Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov isolated the first graphene in 2004. (Wikipedia)

Manchester went through enormous changes in the seventies—a decade of confusion, of a loss of direction, of new music, and the arrival of a vast city center monster. During the 1970s, the City Council lost most of its remaining vital responsibilities. After WWII cities such as Manchester lost power over local gas and electrical supply – thus much of their income. All control of local transport was taken and the city’s famous red buses became grotesque pop orange and brown under a broader transport authority.

In 1974, Greater Manchester County was created from south-east Lancashire and north east Cheshire. Thus the city of Manchester lost power over its police force and fire services. With the creation of the North West Water Authority it also lost its management of water and sewage services. Even the airport was taken out of Manchester’s hands to be shared by the new Greater Manchester authority. It was also during this decade that Manchester Ship Canal began a steep decline at its headwaters in Salford and Trafford as container traffic began to make it unviable. Between 1961 and 1983, Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing.

Take a look back at the city in the 1970s through 36 fascinating vintage photographs.

Portrait of Madam C.J. Walker, the First Black Woman Millionaire in America

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Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. Multiple sources mention that although other women (like Mary Ellen Pleasant) might have been the first, their wealth is not as well-documented.

**Portrait of Madam C.J. Walker, ca. 1914.**

At the Time of the Louisville Flood, 1937

A good photojournalist might count himself lucky if he gets only one of his images published in a leading newspaper. A good photo should be able to convey an entire story on its own, but sometimes the image itself might be misleading because of the time and place it was made. In this famous example, Margaret Bourke-White’s picture of a depression era food line has actually more to tell than its face value.

During the Great Ohio River Flood of 1937, men and women in Louisville, Kentucky, line up seeking food and clothing from a relief station, in front of a billboard proclaiming, “World’s Highest Standard of Living.”

Margaret Bourke-White’s 1937 picture of African American men, women and children huddled in line before a billboard—on which a car bearing a beaming white family (and their dog!) appears to drive confidently into the future beneath the ultimately ironic slogan, “World’s Highest Standard of Living.” The overhead picture also shows a middle-class white family, smiling in their car with the tagline, “There’s no way like the American Way.”

The juxtaposition of the poor black people and the happy white family is quite striking, which makes this photograph one of the most recognizable images of the Great Depression. However, this is misleading as the image was taken right after the Ohio River Flood of 1937. Over one million residents were left homeless after the flood, which only exacerbated the conditions of the 1930s depression. A lot of residents had to resort to charitable donations after the catastrophe, and Bourke-White entitled the photograph, “Kentucky Flood.”

African Americans in Louisville, Kentucky, seek food and clothing from a relief station in the aftermath of flooding that devastated the city in 1937. The billboard in Margaret Bourke-White’s famous “American Way” photograph is visible in the background.

While the lack of an appropriate description might mislead some into thinking that everywhere people were always in food lines around 1930s America, the photograph is still quite symbolic of the great depression.

Amazing Vintage Photos of London Buses Used to Take British Soldiers to the Western Front During World War I

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When the First World War broke out, the era of the horse bus drew to a close. London’s largest bus operator, the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), had replaced all its horse buses with motor buses in 1911 and 1912. A few other bus operators continued to use horses until August 1914.

These new vehicles, especially the B type bus, manufactured first by the LGOC and later by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC), were of interest to the War Department because of their reliability. They were built of interchangeable parts, which made roadside repairs much easier. In the first few months of the war, the War Department requisitioned approximately 1,000 London buses, over a third of the LGOC’s fleet.

Some of these vehicles were used for war service in Britain. Others were shipped from large commercial ports, such as Avonmouth, and travelled mainly to France and Belgium, although some went as far as Greece.

The versatility of these motor buses meant they were put to a variety of uses. Many were converted into lorries, with others serving as ambulances, mobile workshops or even mobile pigeon lofts.

However, their most familiar use was as troop carriers, transporting troops between the camps and the front lines. The troop carriers had their windows replaced with wooden planks for safety. Each bus could carry 25 soldiers, which was fewer than the 34 passengers they carried in London. Numbers were halved on the top deck to prevent the bus becoming too top heavy on uneven roads.

Beautiful Photos of Lili Damita in the 1920s and 1930s

Lili Damita was born Liliane Marie Madeleine Carré on July 10, 1904, in Blaye, France. As a child she studied ballet and attended school in several different countries. By the age of sixteen she was working as a professional model and dancer. In 1921 she won a beauty contest and was offered her first acting role. She appeared in more than a dozen silent films made in Europe. Lili married Hungarian director Michael Curtiz in 1925. They divorced just a year later. Producer Samuel Goldwyn saw Lili and offered her a part in the 1928 romantic adventure The Rescue. American audiences fell in love with the exotic beauty nicknamed “Tiger Lil”. She appeared in a string of box office successes including The Cock-Eyed World and This Is The Night. Despite her thick accent she was easily able to make the transition to talkies. In 1935 Lili married actor Errol Flynn and decided to retire from the screen.

Her final role was in the 1938 French film Escadrille of Chance. Errol quickly became a superstar and Lili was now primarily known as his wife. The couple had a son in 1940, Sean, although their marriage was quite tumultuous. Errol had many affairs and Lili divorced him in 1942. They would spend years fighting over custody and child support. Lili continued to stay out of the spotlight and focused on raising her son. In 1962 she married American dairy farmer Allen R. Loomis and began living part-time in Iowa. Tragedy struck in 1970 when her son Sean went missing during a filming and journalistic trip to Cambodia during the Vietnam War, whereafter Lili spent fourteen years and millions of dollars searching for him however he was never found. Sean Flynn was declared legally dead in 1984. By this time Lili was divorced from Allen Loomis and was now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She died on March 21, 1994 in Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of eighty-nine. Lili was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The epitaph on her tombstone reads “She touched so many lives, brightened so many days.” (IMDB)

Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of young Lili Damita in the 1920s and 1930s.

Life in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s

The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a transcontinental country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, 326 Indian reservations, and nine minor outlying islands. It is the 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 well as maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, and Russia, among others. With more than 331 million people, it is the third most populous country in the world. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city and financial center is New York City.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the Thirteen British Colonies established along the East Coast. Disputes with Great Britain over taxation and political representation led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which established the nation’s independence. In the late 18th century, the U.S. began expanding across North America, gradually obtaining new territories, sometimes through war, frequently displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states. This was strongly related to belief in manifest destiny, and by 1848, the United States spanned the continent from east to west. Slavery was legal in the southern United States until 1865, when the American Civil War led to its abolition. A century later, the civil rights movement led to legislation outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans. The Spanish–American War and World War I established the U.S. as a world power, and the aftermath of World War II left the United States and the Soviet Union as the world’s two superpowers. During the Cold War, both countries opposed each other in the Korean and Vietnam Wars but avoided direct military conflict. They also competed in the Space Race, which culminated in the 1969 American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. The Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991 ended the Cold War, leaving the United States as the world’s sole superpower. The September 11 attacks in 2001 resulted in the United States launching the war on terror, which included the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Iraq War (2003–2011).

The United States is a federal republic with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Considered a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration. The United States is a liberal democracy; it ranks high in international measures of economic freedom, quality of life, income and wealth, education, and human rights; and it has low levels of perceived corruption. It lacks universal health care, retains capital punishment, and has high levels of incarceration and inequality.

The United States is a highly developed country, and its economy accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP and is the world’s largest by GDP at market exchange rates. By value, the United States is the world’s largest importer and second-largest exporter. Although it accounts for just over 4.2% of the world’s total population, the U.S. holds over 30% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share held by any country. Making up more than a third of global military spending, it is the foremost military power in the world and a leading political, cultural, and scientific force. (Wikipedia)

50 Amazing Vintage Photos From the 1920s Volume 11

The 1920s (pronounced “nineteen-twenties,” often shortened to the “20s”) was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. In America, it is frequently referred to as the “Roaring Twenties” or the “Jazz Age”, while in Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Twenties” because of the economic boom following World War I (1914-1918). French speakers refer to the period as the “Années folles” (“Crazy Years”), emphasizing the era’s social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The 1920s saw foreign oil companies begin operations in Venezuela, which became the world’s second-largest oil-producing nation. The devastating Wall Street Crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Economic problems contributed to the emergence of dictators in Eastern Europe to include Józef Pilsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karadordevic in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism saw progress, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Ireland (1921) and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive foreign policy, leading to the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia in 1921–1922 due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China in 1928–1930, leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu (1918–1920) and the 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic, which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), the 1922 Swatow typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and the 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ being the highest-grossing film of this decade, grossing $9,386,000 worldwide. Other high-grossing films of this decade include The Big Parade and The Singing Fool. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the 1920s, with 2 of his books, Main Street and Elmer Gantry, becoming best-selling books in the United States in 1921 and 1927 respectively. Other best-selling books of this decade include All Quiet on the Western Front and The Private Life of Helen of Troy. Songs of this decade include “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “Stardust”. (Wikipedia)

**Police in New York City pour liquor from a barrel down a sewer during a 1921 raid.**

**Washington Tidal Basin Beauty Contest winner Eva Fridell and runner-up Anna Niebel in 1922.**

**An appreciative audience for a young banjo player, 1920.**

**Working on a telephone line in the 1920s.**

**Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America, 1921**

**Alcohol being dumped, after being discovered by Prohibition agents during a raid on an illegal distiller (Detroit, Dec 10, 1929).**

**1929: The ‘George Bennie Railplane System of Transport’ experimental railway in Scotland**

**King Albert I of the Belgians (left) and King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, sometime before 1930**

**Navajo men on horseback, Shiprock, New Mexico, about 1920.**

**A greengrocer’s shop in New Zealand, 1920s.**

**The brand new Hollywood sign shortly after it was built in 1923.**

**First air-to-air refueling – June 27, 1923**

**Visitors on board the British Admiral-class battlescruiser HMS Hood at the Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, during Navy Week, 21st – 25th August 1928**

**Ranger, Texas. Petroleum boomtown in the 1920s.**

**Cabaret dancer Edmonde Guydens at the Moulin Rouge, 1926.**

**A blanket of snow outside of the Charlie Chaplin Studios in Hollywood, 1921.**

**Vaudeville team of Lloyd Durbin and Lester Hope in 1925. Lester later became known as Bob Hope.**

**Chorus line dancers getting ready backstage in the 1920s.**

**These ladies staying cool on a golf course, 1926.**

**Will A. Harris and his family with their “auto house” 1924.**

**Taking a ride on a penny-farthing in 1922.**

**Live model in Kresge’s 5-10-25¢ store on Market Street in downtown Philadelphia, late 1920s.**

**A Jewett touring car in the San Francisco area ( 1923 )**

**Albert Einstein lecturing on the Theory of Relativity, 1922**

**Bridesmaids after the ceremony, at the marriage of Piers Debenham and Angel Paget at St Peter’s church, Eaton Square, London. 1928**

**The Nile River and Giza Pyramids, Egypt, 1927**

**Racing cars on the roof of the Fiat Factory in Turin, Italy 1923.**

**Ruth Chatterton with her pet dogs, circa 1920s.**

**Having fun at a slumber party, 1924.**

**Waterloo Station in London, 30th May 1925.**

**Rubber beauty masks for a clearer complexion – 1921**

**A flapper getting a garter tattoo in the 1920s.**

Vintage Photographs of Life in Tehran, Iran in 1967

These photographs were taken in 1967 by Harrison Forman, an American photojournalist who has connections in the U.S. government department when he was in the country. These images of Tehran paint an incredibly different portrait of Iranian life.

“Until the revolution, Iran was among the most cultured, cosmopolitan countries in the region.” Notes the New York Times. “It had a progressive movement in art and literature and a sophisticated film and television industry.” For a period before the revolution in 1978, the old and the new seemed to be able to coexist in harmony.

Tehran is a city in Tehran Province and the capital (most important city) of Iran. With a population of around 8.7 million in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia, and has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East, after Cairo. It is ranked 24th in the world by metropolitan area population.

In the Classical era, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages, a prominent Median city destroyed in the medieval Arab, Turkic, and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray is urban area absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran.

Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1786, because of its proximity to Iran’s territories in the Caucasus, then separated from Iran in the Russo-Iranian Wars, to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout history, and Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Persia. Large-scale demolition and rebuilding began in the 1920s, and Tehran has been a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century.

Tehran is home to many historical locations, including the royal complexes of Golestan, Sa’dabad, and Niavaran, where the two last dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran’s most famous landmarks include the Azadi Tower, a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial State of Iran, and the Milad Tower, the world’s sixth-tallest self-supporting tower, completed in 2007, and the Tabiat Bridge, completed in 2014.

Most of the population are Persian, and roughly 99% of them understand and speak the Persian language, but large populations of other ethno-linguistic groups live in Tehran and speak Persian as a second language.

Tehran has an international airport (Imam Khomeini Airport), a domestic airport (Mehrabad Airport), a central railway station, a rapid transit system, Tehran Metro, a bus rapid transit system, trolleybuses, and a large network of highways.

Plans to relocate Iran’s capital from Tehran to another area, due to air pollution and earthquakes, have so far not yet received approval. A 2016 survey of 230 cities by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life. According to the Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations.

The City Council declared October 6 Tehran Day in 2016, celebrating the day in 1907 when the city officially became the capital of Iran. (Wikipedia)

Take a look at Iranian life in 1967 through these fascinating snapshots:

**Men hanging from oil press for leverage in Isfahan**

**Camel powered grain grinder in Isfahan**

30 Vintage Photos of Sports Star and Actor Johnny Mack Brown in the 1920s and 1930s

Born 1904 in Dothan, Alabama, Johnny Mack Brown was a prominent halfback on his university’s Crimson Tide football team, coached by Wallace Wade. He earned the nickname “The Dothan Antelope” and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Pop Warner called him “one of the fastest football players I’ve ever seen.”

Brown’s good looks and powerful physique saw him portrayed on Wheaties cereal boxes and in 1927, brought an offer for motion picture screen tests that resulted in a long and successful career in Hollywood. That same year, he signed a five-year contract with Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer. He played silent film star Mary Pickford’s love interest in her first talkie, Coquette (1929), for which Pickford won an Oscar.

Brown was cast as the star in a Western entitled Billy the Kid (1930). Also in 1930, he played Joan Crawford’s love interest in Montana Moon. He went on to make several more top-flight movies, including The Secret Six (1931), The Last Flight (1931).

Brown acted and starred mainly in Western films. He retired from the screen in 1952, and returned more than 10 years later to appear in secondary roles in a few Western films. Altogether, Brown appeared in more than 160 movies between 1927 and 1966, as well as a smattering of television shows, in a career spanning almost 40 years.

Brown died in 1966 at the age of 70. For his contributions to the film industry, He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star at 6101 Hollywood Boulevard. He received a posthumous Golden Boot Award in 2004 for his contributions to the Western entertainment genre. In 1969, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see portrait of a young Johnny Mack Brown in the 1920s and 1930s.

45 Vintage Photos Show What Living Rooms Looked Like in the 1960s

The Sixties were a time of enormous change, both technologically and socially. The space race was on and the American culture was focused on Sputnik, the Cold War and jet airplanes that were able to transport people faster than ever before.

American culture was also focused on a younger generation that was busy rebelling against long-established traditions. This rebellion had a huge impact on fashion, music and home décor. Everything became more dynamic, graphic and colorful. Life in the ’60s focused on self-expression and home décor was just the place for people to make their individual statement.

Colors were inspired by nature. Green, gold, orange and yellow were very popular and could be found on everything from clothes to home décor. Previous eras had similar popular colors, but in the ’60s they were pumped up to vibrant hues. Psychedelic colors played off one another for maximum impact. Contrasts in black-and white were also popular. The desired effect was to create maximum impact for a striking, provocative look.

Furniture was made of metal, glass, wood and PVC, and sometimes combinations of these. New technologies allowed furniture to be made from molded plastic and formed into organic or space age shapes. A lot of furniture was designed to be disposable and temporary.

Styles were fun and witty overall. Homes were now being built with casual family rooms or dens in addition to having just a formal living room. The TV became the focal point of the family room.

These vintage photos captured people at their living rooms in the 1960s.

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