Marilyn Monroe Reads Joyce’s Ulysses at the Playground, 1955

During the 1950s, the pioneering photojournalist Eve Arnold took a series of portraits of Marilyn Monroe. The now iconic photos generally present Monroe as a larger-than-life celebrity and sex symbol. Except for one. In 1955, Arnold photographed Monroe reading a worn copy of James Joyce’s modernist classic, Ulysses. It’s still debated whether this was simplyContinue reading “Marilyn Monroe Reads Joyce’s Ulysses at the Playground, 1955”

35 Pages From a 1902 Weird Phrenology Book That Can Help You Ascertain a Person’s Character by the Shape of Their Features

Illustrations from Vaught’s Practical Character Reader, a book on phrenology by L. A. Vaught published in 1902. As he confidently states in his Preface:The purpose of this book is to acquaint all with the elements of human nature and enable them to read these elements in all men, women and children in all countries. AtContinue reading “35 Pages From a 1902 Weird Phrenology Book That Can Help You Ascertain a Person’s Character by the Shape of Their Features”

The Prince George’s County Memorial Library Bookmobile in Woodmore, Maryland, 1951

In the early 1900s, a librarian could purchase a bookmobile for as little as $1,000. By the late 1930s, there were as many as 60 bookmobiles nationwide. The Great Depression and two World Wars then sharply curtailed services and bookmobile production around the country. During the boom years of the 1950s, bookmobile production resurged. ManyContinue reading “The Prince George’s County Memorial Library Bookmobile in Woodmore, Maryland, 1951”