The Story Behind an Epic Picture of a Group of Samurais Posing in Front of the Sphinx, Egypt, 1864

Ikeda Nagaoki (1837-1879) was the governor of small villages in Ibara, Bitchu Province. He was chosen to lead a group of delegates from the Japanese Embassy to Europe, sent by Tokugawa Shogunate on February 6, 1864. In his role as head the mission became known as the “Ikeda mission.” The main objective of the missionContinue reading “The Story Behind an Epic Picture of a Group of Samurais Posing in Front of the Sphinx, Egypt, 1864”

Beautiful Vintage Postcards of the Glamorous Butlin’s Ocean Hotel in Saltdean, England

Opened in 1938 the Ocean Hotel occupied a site of around 4 acres with 344 bedrooms and a dining hall that could seat 300 people. It consisted of a main building shaped like a crescent which contained the whole of the public rooms and some of the bedrooms, and there were six other buildings whichContinue reading “Beautiful Vintage Postcards of the Glamorous Butlin’s Ocean Hotel in Saltdean, England”

Photograph of Buffalo Bill and Wild West Cast Members in a Gondola in Venice, ca. 1890s

William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody sitting in a gondola with a group of four Native American men while touring in Venice, Italy. Sioux (Dakota) Chief Rocky Bear sits to the right of Cody wearing a feather headdress. Sioux (Dakota) Chief Black Heart, also wearing a feather headdress, sits on the ledge of the gondola. TheContinue reading “Photograph of Buffalo Bill and Wild West Cast Members in a Gondola in Venice, ca. 1890s”

25 Vintage Photos of Vacationing in Switzerland During the Early 1960s

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe. The country is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein toContinue reading “25 Vintage Photos of Vacationing in Switzerland During the Early 1960s”

25 Fascinating Photographs Showing Rock Stars As Tourists in Japan During the 1970s and 1980s

When Led Zeppelin arrived in Japan for a 1971 tour less than two months before the release of their fourth album, it was a time of great excitement for the band and for rock ’n’ roll in the land of the rising sun. Zep was one of the first big Western groups to visit, andContinue reading “25 Fascinating Photographs Showing Rock Stars As Tourists in Japan During the 1970s and 1980s”

35 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing Early Visitors to America’s First National Parks More Than a Century Ago

By the Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming “as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” and placed it “under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior.” The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide nationalContinue reading “35 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing Early Visitors to America’s First National Parks More Than a Century Ago”

Pictures of the First Class Gyms on the Titanic and Cruise Liners From the Early 20th Century

Titanic’s gymnasium was a wonderful innovation for an ocean-going liner. It had an electric camel, an electric horse, cycling machines and a rowing machine. Tickets, priced one shilling, were available from the purser and entitled first class passengers to one session in this facility, under the watchful eye of the physical educator, Mr Thomas McCauley.Continue reading “Pictures of the First Class Gyms on the Titanic and Cruise Liners From the Early 20th Century”

44 Fascinating Color Photographs of Travel Trailers and Motorhomes in the 1950s and ’60s

Modern-day travel trailers trace their origins to gypsy travel wagons and the Conestoga Wagons built to carry settlers across the United States. Created out of Americans’ love for camping and automobiles, the motorhome is born. In 1910 the first motorhome, Pierce-Arrow’s Touring Landau, debuts at Madison Square Garden. A back seat that folds down intoContinue reading “44 Fascinating Color Photographs of Travel Trailers and Motorhomes in the 1950s and ’60s”

The Luxury Apartment on Wheels: Camping in Style in a 1930s Jungle Yacht

The Jungle Yacht was created for and used by Italian explorer Commander Attilio Gatti and his wife, who both traveled extensively to the African Congo as a deluxe apartment “for his 1937-1940 (his 10th) and 1947 (his 11th) expeditions” and “equipped them quite lavishly.” The expedition used two streamlined trailers designed by Count Alexis deContinue reading “The Luxury Apartment on Wheels: Camping in Style in a 1930s Jungle Yacht”