March 31, 2010

secretaries, housewives, waitresses


Do you think they stayed this well dressed throughout, or was this just at school? Or for the picture? Do you think there was any sort of drama between those women who discovered they loved the work and those who couldn't wait for it to be over?

Daytona Beach
1942, photographer Howard R. Hollem
from Ace Pilots.com

March 30, 2010

Assorted


I'm having a hard time coming up with a situation that puts these four people in a room together.

no stats available
from Terry Castle: Vernacular Photo Gallery

Diver in octopus tank in Ocean Park


What a great, craggy old picture. Some people have better jobs than others, I'd say.

Santa Monica, California
from LA Public Library

March 29, 2010

Any dam work you can get


Times is tough, but they ain't that tough.

Hoover Dam
1931
from US Department of the Interior

March 22, 2010

Sheriff


Aw, he's just sore because he got busted by a lawman wearing red jeans and an orange shirt.

Ed-U-Card game
from Calsidyrose's flickr stream

Robot House


That's what it looks like to me, anyway. Or a house tank. Or a really intense RV. Or an alien failing at blending in.

1920s
from Square America

Look Good..? It IS!


You know what? It does look good. But what is the stuff in the round section on the lower left?

Postcard, I think
from actionlog's flickr stream

Bug House



I've always been fascinated by homes in holes. As a kid, I drew an elaborate underground compound, small rooms for all functions connected by tunnels and shafts. Not as cozy as this upper class little bug family's home, though.

The Golden Book of Little Verses
1953, illustrator Mary Blair
from Vintage Kids'Books My Kids Love

Wild, Savage Beauties


With only her knife, she can kill the giant crocosaur, for she is... JUNGLE GIRL.

AC Comics
1989
from Comic Browser

March 20, 2010

bikes, beer, and bellies


As a redhead, I have to say - he's gonna get such a sunburn.

1970s
from haig.stewart's flickr stream

March 19, 2010

lay down some bottom


Using your musical skills to pick up chicks became easier when they invented the electric guitar and bass.

Louisville
photographer Paul Gunter
from Filson Historical Society

serve with party flair


I don't know why that pickle is so happy. Soon enough someone will split him open and stuff him full of olive-laced cream cheese.

Advertisement
from Shelf Life Taste Test's flickr stream

Naturists At Play


Poor guy - they threw him in with his shoes on.

no stats available
from Nudism Life

March 18, 2010

The "Birds" of HMS Mars


Every sailor is a pirate at heart.

Onboard the HMS Mars
1911
from battleships-cruisers

March 17, 2010

Emancipated Women


Looks like a fun time, but do you think they had to go out into the countryside to dress like that and drink beer without being hassled? Or did they just feel like getting out of town?

Colorado
1933, photographer Harold M. Dunning
from The Denver Public Library

March 16, 2010

Low Down


What do you suppose is up with all the guys in suits at the back of the room? And how cool is that ceiling?

Billy Rose Theatre
from New York Public Library

Music in his Mouth


I dig this the same way I dig tattoos done inside someone's bottom lip. A hidden mark of pride and strength.

Mance Lipscomb at the Beloit Blues Festival
1970, photographer Archie Green
from The Southern Folklife Collection

Ink and Water


I like how huddled together they are. This tattoo is a conspiracy, not just a way to pass or mark time.

Aboard the USS New Jersey
1944, photographer Charles Fenno Jacobs
from LIFE Magazine

March 15, 2010

And then there was one.


You've probably seen this one, but I couldn't pass it up. George, 14. John, 16. Paul, 15. Ringo, somewhere dreaming about girls who won't give him the time of day. None of them with any clue yet that they'll change the world.

Liverpool
1958, photographer Michael McCartney (Paul's brother)
from John McNab's flickr stream

still, life


Bodies as landscapes, insides turned outside.

Etching with Engraving
1744, artist Frederik Ruysch
from Dream Anatomy

Let's Give Instant Comfort to Everyone


Something seems very wrong about this.

Borg-Warner Air Conditioning Co. Advertisement
from What Makes The Pie Shops Tick's flickr stream

Pickle Bookmark


My mustache eez so skeeny and my peeckle ees so roomy!

Advertising Bookmark
Heinz Pickle Company
from Mirage Bookmark Collection

March 11, 2010

Sleez Sister


This is one of those movies you used to hear about but could never find a copy of, back before the intarwebs supplied us with endless entertainment. An artifact of the NYC punk scene, a pre-queercore manifesto. These days, you can just grab it on netflix. Well, what's stopping you?

Robin Johnson in Times Square
1980
from Only the Good Die Young, but they borrowed it from Negative Pleasure. (Normally I don't use stuff I see on tumblr pages, but I've been looking for a good screenshot from this movie for a while.)

LaTosca Accordion


Man, I love accordions! Seriously - if I had a friend who played a glamorous LaTosca, I'd invite that person to all my parties.

Magazine Ad
1954
from bunky's pickle's flickr stream

An Old Daddy in Troy


The two young guys crack me up. They look so pleased with themselves.

From Stuff and Nonsense
1884, illustrated by A.B. Frost
from Tony DiTerlizzi's blog

March 8, 2010

"Instruments de fabrique de Mr Chareiere"


More or less frightening than Bumpsy the clown? You decide.

France
19th Century
from Vintage Printable

chimp and child


Differences and similarities. Fat little feet or grabbing toe fingers, we are close enough cousins to hold each other as babies.

American Museum of Natural History
1933, photographer H.C. Raven
from Yale

Total Hams


In my searches, I found this collection on flickr. It contains about 400 pictures of and taken by the poster's mother, seen here with his father, eating dinner in front of the tv. She had a remarkably good eye and developed her own film, and each one he's posted has her commentary as well. If you like that post-WW II era, you really should check out these photos.

Taken with tripod and self-timer
1951, photographer Mrs. Harrison?
from Joey Harrison's flickr stream

March 7, 2010

UJFO


Unidentified Jelly Fish Object

Wyborg, Denmark
1974
from The UFO Photo Archives

March 5, 2010

Hilarity


"Being a funny person does an awful lot of things to you. You feel that you mustn't get serious with people. They don't expect it from you, and they don't want to see it. You're not entitled to be serious, you're a clown, and they only want you to make them laugh." (Fanny Brice)

"Bumpsy" Anthony, Circus Clown
from Wisconsin History

In My Maidenform Bra...


This gal knows all kinds of ways to knock you the fuck out.

Bra Ad
from Vintage Posters

Freedom Burns


"The Milwaukee police burning the Freedom House in the summer of 1967. The neighborhood was tear gassed and young people had to flee from the house." You know, I have a really hard time trusting any cop.

Milwaukee
1967
from UVM Library

March 4, 2010

The Boss Lager


Goats? Check! Strongman? Check! Uncle Sam? Check! Beer? Check, check, and check! There is nothing about this to not love.

Advertising poster for Jacob Wirth Restaurant
1877
from Boston Public Library

March 2, 2010

"You paid to see us play?"


File under: Can You Believe That Really Happened? At least it wasn't a double bill.

Dallas, Texas
1978
from The Selvedge Yard

why I oughta


Movie being shot or actual interaction between street urchins and authority figures?

no stats available
from Foxtongue's flickr stream

Feats of Strength


What strong fellows those Swedish mailmen (?) were!

no stats available
from Time Tales

March 1, 2010

WACs dining in the mess hall


Is it just me, or do several of these women look like current day actresses?

Buckingham Army Air Field
1945, photographer Reva Pauline Ingram Fortune
from Women Veterans Historical Collection