Back in 1947, when LIFE accompanied 10,000 young men and women to Balboa Beach in Southern California for spring break, the shenanigans wouldn’t have scored any higher than a PG rating. Daylight brought beachside dancing, boat races, beauty pageants and sunbathing. The evening hours found students aglow in the warmth of bonfires as portable radiosContinue reading “19 Wonderful Vintage Photographs That Show What Spring Break Looked Like in Southern California in the 1940s”
Tag Archives: 1940s
39 Vintage Photos of Actor Burt Lancaster in the 1940s and 1950s
Born 1913 in Manhattan, New York, American actor and producer Burt Lancaster was initially known for playing “tough guys”, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles. Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards, and won once for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a GoldenContinue reading “39 Vintage Photos of Actor Burt Lancaster in the 1940s and 1950s”
The Story Behind Toni Frissell’s Iconic Image of an Abandoned Boy Clutching a Stuffed Animal in the Rubble of 1945 London
“Here are faces that I have found memorable. If they are not all as happy as kings, it is because in this imperfect world and these hazardous times, the camera’s eye, like the eye of a child, often sees true,” wrote Toni Frissell. Those two eyes met in the below photo, one of the mostContinue reading “The Story Behind Toni Frissell’s Iconic Image of an Abandoned Boy Clutching a Stuffed Animal in the Rubble of 1945 London”
50 Color Vintage Photographs Showing Amazing Nose Art Painted on Military Aircrafts During World War II
The inscription of art work on military planes dates to World War I, when paintings were usually extravagant company or unit insignia. However, regulations were put in place after the war to stymie the practice. As the United States entered World War II, nose art regulations were relaxed, or in many cases totally ignored. WWIIContinue reading “50 Color Vintage Photographs Showing Amazing Nose Art Painted on Military Aircrafts During World War II”
57 Remarkable Vintage Photographs Showing Life in France During the 1930s & 1940s
15 Incredible Vintage Photos of People Getting X-Rays Over the Decades
The world first learned about X-rays 120 years ago. Despite the danger, however, the judicious use of X-rays allowed great medical progress in diagnosis and treatment alike—not to mention numerous non-medical uses. Here are 15 vintage images of X-rays at work over the decades.
23 Amazing Vintage Photographs Taken Inside WWII Tank Factories
80 Amazing Photos of Shanghai, China between 1947 & 1949
Shipping out to China in December 1947 with three ten-year-old German cameras and a plum assignment from LIFE magazine, Jack Birns was fulfilling a boyhood dream. The reality was something else: refugees and prostitutes, soldiers and beggars, street executions and urban protests photographed in difficult and often dangerous circumstances amidst the poverty, corruption, and chaosContinue reading “80 Amazing Photos of Shanghai, China between 1947 & 1949”
39 Amazing Photos of New York City Subway Passengers From the Late 1930s and Early 1940s
As photographic technology advanced—cameras became more portable and film more sensitive to light, requiring shorter exposure times—people were no longer required to stay still for pictures. Walker Evans was among the photographers who capitalized on this flexibility. Between 1938 and 1941, he took his camera underground, where he photographed subway riders in New York City.Continue reading “39 Amazing Photos of New York City Subway Passengers From the Late 1930s and Early 1940s”
44 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing Life in the Warsaw Ghetto in the Summer of 1941
On 2 October 1940, Ludwig Fischer, Governor of the Warsaw District in the occupied General Government of Poland, signed the order to officially create a Jewish district (ghetto) in Warsaw. It was to become the largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe. All Jewish people in Warsaw had to relocate to the area of the ghetto byContinue reading “44 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing Life in the Warsaw Ghetto in the Summer of 1941”
