Harry A. Atwell (1879-1957) was an American photographer. He was hired for his first circus assignment in 1910 to travel with the Ringling Bros. Circus. Over the next forty years he documented the roustabouts, big top crowds, sideshow performers and center-ring stars of the circus during a time when shops, schools, and even factories closedContinue reading “Amazing Vintage Photographs Show Life of Circus Performers in the Ringling Bros. Circus During the 1910s”
Tag Archives: life & culture
Long Before Inline Skates Were a Thing, There Were Ritter’s Aptly Named Road Skates, ca. 1898
Like inline skates, they were meant to free skating enthusiasts of those pesky iceless roads. As an advertisement reads, “Ritter Road Skates allow anyone to practice the graceful and healthful pastimes of speed and figure skating on any road or other suitable surface.” The skates were sold by the Road Skate Co of Oxford Street,Continue reading “Long Before Inline Skates Were a Thing, There Were Ritter’s Aptly Named Road Skates, ca. 1898”
Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria
A two thousand year old public bathhouse from the Roman period is still used by locals in the town of Khenchela, Algeria. Most of the bathhouse has been preserved, but the ancientness of the place is still apparent in the architecture. Algeria has hundreds of hot springs or fountains that back to thousands of years.Continue reading “Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria”
Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century
Sears Catalog Homes (sold under the Sears Modern Homes name) were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wideContinue reading “Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century”
48 Vintage Photos of Life in Depression-era Coal Mining Town Scott’s Run, West Virginia, 1937
The coaling industry, in comparison to the boom of the 1920s, had basically collapsed by 1932. Already suffering, the industry could not sustain the economic downturn brought about by the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Residents of Scotts Run not only suffered from unemployment, but also from ethnic and racial prejudice and limited educational opportunities.Continue reading “48 Vintage Photos of Life in Depression-era Coal Mining Town Scott’s Run, West Virginia, 1937”
A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875
Egyptian street vendors have been catering to the whims of tourists since forever, apparently: Selling ancient mummies to wealthy European and American tourists as “tourist souvenirs” was apparently commonplace in Egypt around the nineteenth century. Mummies were readily available from street vendors — such as the one pictured below from 1865 — for tourists toContinue reading “A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875”
30 Amazing Black and White Photos That Document Everyday Life of Shanghai in the Mid-1980s
Shanghai, is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People’s Republic of China. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. With a population of 24.87 million as of 2020, it is the most populous urban area in China, the most populous cityContinue reading “30 Amazing Black and White Photos That Document Everyday Life of Shanghai in the Mid-1980s”
Amazing Photos From the 19th Century Reveal the Slave Auctions and How People in America Were Selling People
When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the land was vast, the work was harsh, and there was a severe shortage of labor. Men and women were needed to work the land. White bond servants, paying their passage across the ocean from Europe through indentured labor, eased but did not solve theContinue reading “Amazing Photos From the 19th Century Reveal the Slave Auctions and How People in America Were Selling People”
40 Amazing Photos of the 1918 Spanish Flu
Spanish flu, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or the 1918 influenza pandemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in Kansas, United States, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April. Two years later,Continue reading “40 Amazing Photos of the 1918 Spanish Flu”
Wonderful Photographs Showing Life in Southern California From Between the 1940s and 1960s
Charles Phoenix is a dude who has done a great service to mankind. He has traveled to countless thrift stores and estate sales rescuing abandoned family slides from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. These particular photographs are from his book, Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome. “There’s a lot of specialness and magic from ourContinue reading “Wonderful Photographs Showing Life in Southern California From Between the 1940s and 1960s”
