This amazing daguerreotype photo may look as if it was taken in 19th century New York, but it is actually the work of California photographer Stephen Berkman, who is an expert in the extremely difficult pre-chemical photographic process of wet-collodion photography. This is one of 30 photographs Berkman took that was included in art installationContinue reading “Roller-Skating Street Ambassador Advertising the Mythical Zohar Photography Studio in Manhattan”
Tag Archives: 1800s
The Amphibious Tricycle, ca. 1886
This strange-looking machine was built by a Worcester man, Mr. Harry Savage, about 1896. Mr. Savage worked at a firm of Agricultural Implement Makers, J. L. Larkworthy & Co., of Sansome Place, Worcester. The water cycle “sailed” down the River Severn, ca. 1896. No doubt this employment gave him the skills and the opportunity toContinue reading “The Amphibious Tricycle, ca. 1886”
28 Amazing Photographs Capture Everyday Life in China From the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
William Charles White was an Anglican Bishop educated at Wycliffe College in Toronto and ordained as an Anglican Minister in 1896. He worked as a missionary in China from 1909-1934, and became the first Anglican bishop of Henan Province in 1910. During his time in China, he developed a great interest in Chinese culture andContinue reading “28 Amazing Photographs Capture Everyday Life in China From the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries”
Leatherman, the Mystery Man Who Walked Along the Same Path for 30 Years From the Mid-1850s
The Leatherman (ca. 1839–1889; aged 49–50) was a vagabond famous for his handmade leather suit of clothes who traveled through the northeastern United States on a regular circuit between the Connecticut River and the Hudson River from roughly 1857 to 1889. Of unknown origin, he was thought to be French-Canadian because of his fluency inContinue reading “Leatherman, the Mystery Man Who Walked Along the Same Path for 30 Years From the Mid-1850s”
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”
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”
Portraits of Archduke Ludwig Viktor, an Openly Homosexual Younger Brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria
Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (1842–1919) was the youngest child of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and as such was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I. He had a military career, as was usual for archdukes, but did not take part in politics. HeContinue reading “Portraits of Archduke Ludwig Viktor, an Openly Homosexual Younger Brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria”
The Story of the Famous Photograph of Captain Jonathan Walker’s Branded Hand, ca. 1845
The letters “S.S.,” for slave stealer, were branded on the hand of Captain Jonathan W. Walker, an ardent abolitionist, as shown in this dramatic photograph. Walker was born in Harwich on Cape Cod in 1799 and spent his early years between the shipyard and the sea. His life-long interest in the abolition of slavery probablyContinue reading “The Story of the Famous Photograph of Captain Jonathan Walker’s Branded Hand, ca. 1845”
Camille du Gast, the First Woman to Race Consistently at International Level
“The danger of an accident is always present in my mind, though I am never afraid.” – Camille du Gast, Motor Monthly, Dec. 1903. Camille du Gast (1868–1942) became the first woman to race consistently at international level in 1904. After witnessing the start of the Paris-Lyon road race, the following year she was satContinue reading “Camille du Gast, the First Woman to Race Consistently at International Level”
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”
