April 29, 2010

slabs of bacon tied to her feet


Is she about to make the world's largest French toast? I ate part of the world's largest pizza, once. 

Chehalis, Washington
1930, photographer Vern C. Gorst

At a Party in Soho


Lord help me if I ever get too drugged out or jaded to notice something like this. 

NYC, NY
1970s, photographer Allan Tannenbaum

Al Zaebst wrestling a wild alligator


Yeah, we wrestle alligators all the time down here in Florida. Just hop off the boat in our street shoes and get to 'rasslin.

Weeki Wachee River, Florida
1949

Tex


Music group? Actors? Best buddies dressed for a night on the town? Cowboys who are frequently secretly fond of each other?

Richmond, VA

Field Columbian Museum Moon Model


Holy crap, the Moon is here!

Chicago, Illinois
1898
from The Field Museum Library

Rocket Men


Mine's bigger.

USSR, I think
1950s, from the book Welt Raum Fahrt
from Yunchtime

American Smiles


American women in American clothes with American hairstyles, born and bred on American soil, sent to live in American "relocation" camps. Oh, sure, they didn't mind - look how happy they all were. No surprise that this photo was originally taken for the U.S. Office of War Information.

Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, CA
1942 or 1943
from Library of Congress

Urban Sprawl, 70s Style


Super trashy during the day, but I bet it looked like a lot of fun at night.

1970s
from restro-space's flickr stream

Contents of an Ostrich's stomach


Once again, I have to turn to the official description, because the facts are enough.

Somehow, during its lifetime, the poor bird managed to ingest a lace handkerchief, a buttoned glove, a length of rope, a plain handkerchief (probably a man's), assorted copper coins, metal tacks, staples and hooks, and a four-inch nail - a step too far, and the cause of death.

London, England
1930, photographer FW Bond
from The National Media Museum

Grounded on Dog Island


This one is beautiful, but I'm mostly posting it because of a personal connection. For those who don't know, Dog Island is a small, sandy island just off the North Florida coast. There's no bridge, no stores, no cops, just a few houses and a public dock. My friends and I will be spending 5 days there later this summer, if the oil slick doesn't coat the beaches and a hurricane doesn't wipe it clean. A week of pirate life is a good thing.

Dog Island, Florida
1899
from State Library and Archives of Florida

April 27, 2010

Hang-dai "Y" 1924-1925 champs


I feel like the gents in the front row are sending me coded messages with their socks. 

Birmingham, Alabama
1925

Interior of the Drawing Room, Mar Lodge


How can she sleep with the curtains screaming at her like that?

Scotland
1863, Victor Albert Prout
from National Galleries of Scotland

Over the Edge


The artsy, Brazilian version of fencepole sitting. What do they do in the rain?

Rio
2009
from freshpics

Space Neighborhood


In a way, I find this an amazingly realistic view of what a human-settled space station might be like someday. Not the specifics, but the fact that we'll bring our fashions and fads with us. 1975 in space looked a lot like 1975 in America, didn't it?

The Stanford Torus
1975
from The National Space Society

Hibbing ladies at a costume "Dress Up Party"


When did people start smiling in photos? Some time after the 1930s, I guess.

St. Louis, Minnesota
1930
from The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest

April 25, 2010

behind him


It's important to stay aware of your surroundings.

no stats available
from Square America

Which Type Pickup Do You Need?


I've never even heard of a Corvair Rampside before, but now I want one. I'm always drawn to ugly or wrong-headed vehicle design, like El Caminos.

LIFE Magazine
1963
from saltycotton's flickr stream

Sausage Party


I suspect the guy on our far right felt really good about himself, generally.

The Board of Directors of the American Sunbathing Association
1965
from eFanzines.com

April 21, 2010

German stowaway, later sent home


America is a promise not always fulfilled.

Ellis Island
1911, photographer Augustus F. Sherman

not so artful dodger


I couldn't make up anything better than the actual backstory: 
George Davey was sentenced to one month's hard labour in Wandsworth Prison in 1872 for stealing two rabbits. He was ten years old.

Curiosity killed the cat,

but satisfaction brought it back.

Quick question: which pictures have been your favorites so far?
Why?

meat and poultry piled onto elaborate silver serving stands


Aspic scares me, but I'm a sucker for meat pies. Also, I hope to someday get to use the phrase "bouquet of prawns" in a sentence. (Aside from that one.)

Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book
1901
from State Library of Queensland

Home Canned Food


I'll take some of that, and a little bit of that, and one of those...

1940s
from Library of Congress

up to no good


Disney notwithstanding, Florida has always been an outlaw territory. One suitcase, two guns - what kind of trouble do you think these boys are chasing?

Eastpoint, Florida
Between 1898 and 1912
from
State Archives of Florida

hand-netting for macro-plankton


I bet it was cold, sitting out there with a net. You can see ice in the water. Still must have been mighty peaceful work.

Australasian Antarctic Expedition
1911 - 1914
from State Library of New South Wales

beaver & fox promenade


You have to ask yourself what sort of furs they're wearing.

Basni
1953, illustrator Sergei Bladimirovich Mikhalkov
from The Fantastic in Art and Fiction
(link lifted from Uncertain Times)

April 20, 2010

Orchestra during intermission at square dance


Somebody get them two a drink and that fellow a new shirt.

McIntosh County, Oklahoma
1939 or 40, photographer Russell Lee

April 19, 2010

Cheer Up - Show Your Colors


It's just very calming to look at, ain't it?

Advertisement
1910

A cat on HMAS Encounter


If someone shot a cat at me, I'd surrender.

Australian Naval Ship
WW I era
from The Australian War Memorial

Nude girl lounging in a box full of rabbit fur


I'm so confused by this one. Okay, so up front we have what the title says - nude girl, box, rabbit fur. In the background, shadowy men and one giant rabbit, unshaved. All around, bits of fur. Okay, explain.

Washington State
1930s, photographer Vern C. Gorst
from University of Washington Library

Toe to Toe


It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Atlantic City, New Jersey
1900, photographer William M. Vander Weyde
from The George Eastman House Photography Collection

April 18, 2010

Shocking


"Come on, let's go electrocute some sharks!" Wait, what?

Science and Invention Magazine
1920, illustrator Howard Brown
from MagazineArt.org

After the Marne fighting


We really don't talk much these days about the hundreds of thousands who died in World War I. It's gradually just fading into history, another set of dates to memorize and forget. After all, who's going to complain - these guys?

Marne River near Paris, France
1910s
from Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands

Moving the Fighting African Elephants


This is another one of those I think I actually have had this dream pictures.

Chicago, Illinois
1920
from the Illinois Urban Landscapes Project

Sea Man


I feel like this sometimes.

The Sea Man by Jane Yolen
1991, illustrator Christopher Denise
from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Up River


Their tent is a mast and sail - I wonder where they left their boat. The fellow on the left looks a little like my father - I wonder if we are related.

Shoalhaven River
from Powerhouse Museum

Frog and Piggy Wedding


We still miss you, Jim. Just sayin.

The making of Muppets Take Manhattan
1983
from Wikia

Enormous Sunfish


A friend and I saw a sunfish on tv the other day. She didn't know what the weird looking thing was, so I pulled up a few pictures of them in the wild - like a head with fins. This was one of them. 

Santa Catalina
1910
from reddit

Big Jump


This one made me laugh. Can't you just picture her running straight at him and bowling him over? Great catch, unknown photographer!

no stats available
from picassoswoman's flickr stream

April 17, 2010

In the Woods


Heel, toe, that's how we go!

Umatilla National Forest
1966
from US Forest Service

Safety Lines


I'm not normally one for putting kids on leashes, but if you're on a boat and mama's got to do laundry, well.

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
from the National Park Service

Shinto Shrine Melee, New Year's Day


And I thought my New Year's celebrations got a little rowdy.

Japan
1946, photographer Horace Bristol
from This Public Address

A Little Privacy


The description for this reads Sandwich meat product photos/ model. I... I... I'm at a complete loss.

Atlanta, Georgia
1954
from Georgia State University Library

Standing Guard


Look, pretty much everything the Russian Communists could get wrong, they got wrong. But damned if their propaganda posters weren't top notch.

USSR
from x-ray delta one's flickr stream

Prayer


Nuns aren't a turn on for me, but I'm sort of fascinated by their portrayal in old porn. I have to imagine that this sort of thing came across as extra super crazy dirty at the time.

no stats available
from Vintage Classic Porn

C T I X E L Y


Hamms, Twizzler, and Scrabble. I wouldn't call it my perfect Saturday night, but it looks like it might have been hers.

no stats available
from kawkawpa's flickr stream

Nursing


How did this picture happen? Who took it? I know they were probably annoying as hell, but I wish nurses still wore the little hats.

no stats available
from signs and wonders' flickr stream

Fully Dressed


Just the thing for the well dressed upper crust.

England
1920s
from BBC News

Too Loo


This one I simply enjoy visually. It doesn't have to make sense. it just looks cool.

A Gumby adventure
1950s
from Stewf's flickr stream

Thigh Grab


Now that is one deliberate handful.

See For Men
1962
from Cover Browser

Loeb


All the numbers and arrows in the world can't explain cold blooded murder.

Richard Albert Loeb
1920s
from Least Wanted's flickr stream