I've had dreams like that.

Charm

2012-01-28T00:21:00.000-05:00

I want to read a book of short stories by different authors about this one kid. I feel like he could go anywhere from here. Charming scamp? Total brat? Adored, abused, in on the joke? Or did he grow up, move to Paris, and become a major fashion designer?

no information available

from lennyd120's flickr stream

Даёшь ясли!

2012-01-28T00:13:00.000-05:00

No one ever looks at, say, a modern car ad and thinks, "Man, I really want to study graphic design."

Russian Poster

1920s

from Duke University

If she smokes, she pokes.

2012-01-25T00:40:00.000-05:00

Reece Witherspoon, have you been time traveling again?

no information available

from Jalopy Journal

Dive Deep

2012-01-25T00:29:00.000-05:00

When I see photos like this, I try to imagine what it looked like under the water, peering out of a tiny porthole while you walked on the bottom of the ocean dragging your air with you.

no information available

from National Marine Fisheries Service

I was not prepared for a shark.

2012-01-25T00:08:00.000-05:00

Wait a cotton pickin minute, what happened to that shark's teeth? And why is it still terrifying?

Vancouver, Canada

from The Dependent Magazine

Freedomites

2012-01-24T23:43:00.000-05:00

Nudity as protest. Simple, cheap, and it attracts plenty of attention. Plus, you get to take your pants off.

Doukhobors in Grand Fork, BC

1923

from Canadian Mysteries

Disguised

2012-01-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

Tell me this story in one sentence.

no information available

from Cindy B's flickr stream

Game of Arrows

2012-01-21T03:25:00.000-05:00

See that figure on the left? Dollars to doughnuts that's some kid they had retrieving the arrows.

1910, photographer Richard Throssel

from Museum of Photographic Arts Collections

Jack Ranch

2012-01-21T03:09:00.001-05:00

What the whosie now? I couldn't have less idea what is going on than I do right now. I've had dreams like this one for sure.

Cholame, California

1928

from the Bilerico Project

Astronaut Training

2012-01-21T02:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, now, that's just fucking cool looking. I intend to appropriate this graphic at the next opportunity.

San Diego

from the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives

The Feed Themselves

2012-01-21T02:14:00.000-05:00

Well that's just damn good advice. I'm sort of amazed sometimes that humans ever populated areas with no fish.

US Food Administration Poster

circa 1917 - 1919

from the US National Archive

what's mine is yours

2012-01-21T02:02:00.000-05:00

You know he did this every day for that 'munk to be so friendly.

Oregon

from OSU Special Collections and Archives

2012-01-17T23:32:00.000-05:00

Archelon Skeleton

2012-01-17T02:56:00.000-05:00

This is wrong on every level, but I want to have a small cottage roofed with the shell of one of these.

no information available

from Copyright Expired

Leap

2012-01-17T01:58:00.000-05:00

A good buddy of mine tried this one night. I think his ankle is still a little fucked up.

UCLA

1964

from Jalopy Journal

Slip of the Tongue

2012-01-14T17:20:00.000-05:00

People: multishaped.

Porn Movie Poster

1970

from X-Rated

At The Pulpit

2012-01-13T03:24:00.000-05:00

Jesus loves the little children, all the children in their cars.

no real information

from Baker Family History

every sailor a pirate

2012-01-12T01:36:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a photo of a sailor with liberty cuffs on his uniform to show my sister when I found this one. It's not the best one out there of the cuffs themselves, but I love the lady who like what she sees.

(By the way, the gent in the middle back is sporting the decoration in question.)

1970 or 1971

from Military.com

us against the world

2012-01-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

I feel like the word "tarnation" needs to be used in this caption somewhere. I bet she taught him how to play cards, too.

no information available

from Bighappyfunhouse

discovery of fossils

2012-01-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

Well now what the hell am I supposed to do with them?

Dinosaur National Park

1923

from The Smithsonian

familiarity

2012-01-11T22:49:00.000-05:00

How long do you have to hang out with the gent with no legs who does tricks on a chair before you cease to notice?

Coney Island, NY

1885, George Bradford Brainerd

from Brooklyn Museum

Bad Tools

2012-01-11T22:37:00.000-05:00

No modesty in pursuit of safety. Plastic bras, who knew?

LA, CA

1943

from the US National Archives

form over function

2012-01-11T21:40:00.000-05:00

Some things ain't deep, but they're pretty.

Reimagined poster for a '90 Hole show

2011, artist Mike Joyce

from swissted

down but not out

2012-01-11T00:26:00.000-05:00

And it comes to that part of night

and it comes to the singing part

he's remembering the words as he goes along

and my blood's so thin with beer

that there's weight in the air

and the air's my best blanket

and I've fallen asleep

feet flat on the floor

again.

Brooklyn, NYC

1960, photographer William Gale Gedney

from Duke University Library

Good Question

2012-01-10T23:48:00.000-05:00

I dunno, Keith. You tell me.

1979ish

from The Selvedge Yard

form and function

2012-01-10T16:17:00.000-05:00

I look at this and despair of ever being able to create the beauty I admire.

Zurich

1933, illustrator A. Baggenstos

from Sommeregger's Sammelsurium

Bros

2012-01-10T02:31:00.000-05:00

I won't lie, I know a couple dozen dudes who look just like these guys except without the excuse of being actual sailors. What is it about being at sea that leads to cultivating interesting facial hair?

no information available

from J. Yuenger

Cute Couple

2012-01-10T01:02:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love a photobooth?

no information available

from daphnep, posting to livejournal

comfort

2012-01-09T01:06:00.000-05:00

You know, I don't think I have ever seen a James Dean movie all the way through. This photo makes me want to.

James Dean, but other than that

I have no information.

1950s

from A Diamond Fell From the Sky's flickr stream

Hoover

2012-01-08T19:38:00.000-05:00

I want everything he's got.

no information available

from My Parents Were Awesome

Galloping Gertie

2012-01-08T03:57:00.000-05:00

Double hell no. I see this and all the air leaves my body.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Washington State

1940

from La Boite Verte

(but I had to go digging around

to find out what bridge it was)

Astounding Surprises on the Frontiers of Tomorrow

2012-01-08T03:04:00.000-05:00

I feel like one person saw this and came up with Terminator and another saw it and came up with Mad Men. Also, I want that wallpaper.

Fantastic Universe

1955

from Retrospace

Update and More Info on Skiing Superheroes

2012-01-08T02:03:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. I meant to add this forever ago and then shit got busy and it slipped my mind. Remember that photo of the superheroes waterskiing at Sea World? I know you do, because that was one of my most popular posts ever. Well, back in August a fellow wrote me to let me know that he had tons of info and other photos on that ski show (and other awesome superhero stuff) at his blog.

If you dig heroes and pop culture like that there, Marc Nobleman's got you covered. Go, check it out. Do it. Tell him Hank sent you.

stripes

2012-01-08T01:49:00.000-05:00

I was just thinking about how much I would love to go swimming tomorrow. The air here almost feels warm enough, but the Gulf would be cold cold cold. Lucky dudes.

Gallipoli, Turkey

1915

from kayip imge's flickr stream

Striptease IV

2012-01-08T01:17:00.000-05:00

He's starving for her, look at him. He wants to swallow her whole, like a fairy tale wolf. I've had the same reaction to a woman in stockings and garters myself.

Hamburg, Germany

1950s, photographer Herbert Dombrowski

from Camara Democratica

stacked

2012-01-08T00:55:00.000-05:00

Playing or working?

French Guiana

1995, photographer Giorgia Fiorio

from the artist's official site

Pigeon Boy

2012-01-08T00:18:00.000-05:00

He's showing off for that girl behind him.

New York City, NY

1940s, photographer (the amazing) Vivian Maier

from doblecachanilla's flickr stream

get her good side

2012-01-08T00:05:00.000-05:00

Down here in the south, we have a saying. If someone acts the fool or shames him or herself in public, we might say so-and-so "really showed her ass last night." This right here is exactly what we mean by that.

San Francisco, CA

1974, photographer Mary Anne Kramer

from The San Francisco Public Library

Planet of the Knob Heads

2012-01-07T23:47:00.000-05:00

Why? Why do they want human women so very badly? Robots, aliens, creatures from black lagoons, they all want those Earthly babes.

Cover of Science Fiction Magazine

1939, illustrator Frank R. Paul

from Ski-Ffy

Hiding

2012-01-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

I'm damned curious about this photo. Was it just some 19th century art student's pretentiousness, the early version of pretty-women-wearing-gas-masks or unsmiling-children-near-abandoned-playgrounds? Or was there genuine emotion behind it? Grief? Shame? Was the photographer capturing, creating, or both?

The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the Unconscious

by W.M. Hunt

1800s

from La Lettre de la Photographie

but seen at Black and WTF, one of the best tumblrs out there

if you like this sort of thing

The Iron Dobbin

2012-01-07T20:11:00.000-05:00

I could write a whole novel based on this one kid, his mechanical horse, and that fucking fez.

In Italy, featured in Popular Science Monthly

1933

from The Futility Closet,

but seen (once again) on Uncertain Times

Bless You

2012-01-07T19:51:00.000-05:00

Beer and geeks: always a fun combination.

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

1962, photographer Madeleine Willis

from eFanzines.com

once seen, never unseen

2011-12-09T02:24:00.000-05:00

Aw, that's so... wait.

no information available

probably 1940s

from The Bilerico Project

but suggested by my friend Anna

a little late

2011-11-18T02:45:00.000-05:00

The dog sees right through it.

no information available

from Found Films

Study of Swimmer Through Water

2011-11-09T00:39:00.000-05:00

Screaming, breathing, or simply very cold?

Lake Michigan

1941, photographer Charles Cushman

from What Makes the Pie Shops Tick

lift off

2011-11-09T00:12:00.000-05:00

I don't like the way that horse is looking at me.

no information available

from Dead Fred's Archive

all the babies

2011-11-08T01:30:00.000-05:00

This is just damn ridiculous.

Tampa, Florida

1977

from Manatee County Public Library

Lost Boys

2011-10-23T18:24:00.000-04:00

The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two... They are forbidden by Peter to look in the least like him, and they wear the skins of the bears slain by themselves, in which they are so round and furry that when they fall they roll. They have therefore become very sure-footed.

Peter Pan, by JM Barrie

1980, illustrator Trina Schart Hyman

from kidpix

Jiu Jitsu for railway officials

2011-10-20T00:41:00.000-04:00

I bet you can't tell which one was the actual jiu jitsu champ.

Uppsala, Sweden

1944

from DigitaltMuseum

Pride

2011-10-19T23:39:00.000-04:00

Some stay home, some go to sea.

Sydney, Australia

1945, photographer Alan Evans

from Historic Houses Trust,

which is a frankly amazing site once you start digging

On Hill

2011-10-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

I've always been sort of obsessed with weird yard statues and giant beasts and so on. Ask my mom, she can tell you. Someday, I suspect that I will own some sort of crazy dinosaur/concrete creatures park on the edge of a swamp somewhere in the Florida boonies.

Rapid City, SD

from Crafty Dogma's flickr stream

Two Legged Race

2011-10-19T22:18:00.000-04:00

I love their faces. I bet there was ice cream later.

A New Zealand camp in England

1918, photographer Thomas Frederick Scales

from The Alexander Turnbull Library

Caught

2011-10-16T01:17:00.000-04:00

"What? Me? Oh, I'm just, uh, just dusting the bear, see... Yeah, that's the ticket. Just gonna, uh, shoot the dust off friendly ol' Mr. Bear here, yeah..."

no information available

from Kingkongphoto

Plate I

2011-10-13T00:16:00.000-04:00

War and information, all of civilization.

The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (1861-1865). Part I. Volume II

1876

from the Villanova University Digital Library

Family Fun

2011-10-11T23:24:00.000-04:00

The official description says this is two women and five men, but I'm seeing four women and three men. What say you?

Blount County, Tennessee

1918, photographer A. Randolph Shields

from Blount County Appalachian Photograph Archive

loaded

2011-10-08T23:28:00.000-04:00

This is what my house will look like when the war gets this far. Except without the guns, because I only have the typewriters.

Oliver typewriter ad

1908

from Captain Geoffrey Spaulding's flickr stream

determined

2011-10-08T23:06:00.000-04:00

She's killing me with that tongue hanging out. That's a whole lot of yard, and she's going to mow it all.

Albion, Illinois

1941

from Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection

Married By Satan

2011-10-08T01:36:00.000-04:00

Russian artwork is something else. This is amazing and horrible. Oh, the glaring eyes!

Russian Movie Poster

1917

from Wrong Side of the Art

Rocking Horse

2011-10-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

You know what? I think this may be a trick. Unless this guy's nickname is Ol' Head-dent.

no information available

from Crafty Dogma's flickr stream

Said Chocolate Drop the barber...

2011-10-07T22:04:00.001-04:00

This is how I like children's book. Slightly offputting and surreal.

Fun and Nonsense

1904, illustrator Willard Bonte

from Project Gutenburg

Couples

2011-09-20T02:08:00.000-04:00

The longer I look at this, the less I understand it. Mother/Daughter picnic? What's up with that fence?

Herfordshire, England

1920s

from Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities

Early Life in LA

2011-09-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

I love this kind of additional history stuff, and this artist's work is especially seamless. I remember thinking, as a little kid, that dragons were just another extinct animal. That's the part of this appeals to.

2011, artist Matthew Buchholz

from alternativehistories on etsy

Schreibmaschinen

2011-09-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

A typewriter for everyone, and everyone to their typewriter.

Hermes ad

1948

from shordzi's flickr stream

Highway 64

2011-09-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

Is this a warning or an enticement?

Lake Toxaway, North Carolina

1955

from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

seen at Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities

Skeleton

2011-09-02T15:47:00.000-04:00

And the skeleton, ever the frail and solelmn philosopher, hung quietly inside, saying not a word, suspended like a delicate insect within a chrysalis, waiting and waiting.

This illustration scared me as a kid, but not as much as the story itself.

October Country by Ray Bradbury

1955, illustrator Joe Mugnaini

from and everything else too

Psychic Duels

2011-08-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

The listed caption says, "Here Chief Wi'ishi is showing techniques of psychic duels." Well, I had to know about that, right? So I googled around and found this. Check out the pdf version for a little more info. Were I the photographer, I'd be scared.

California

1935

from The Smithsonian Institute

Floating Platform

2011-08-23T23:08:00.000-04:00

Now that I know these exist, I'm going to have to have one.

Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee

1955

from UA

Mug

2011-08-23T22:53:00.000-04:00

Good draft, bad draft.

Temperance Pamphlet

WW II era

from Jan Tonnesen's flickr stream

Little Man

2011-08-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

So, do you suppose that dad was also prone to watering the yard in his underwear?

1960s

from TobyCreek's Etsy

Blustery

2011-08-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

This seems like either a dangerous outing or a missed opportunity for a sail.

Niobrara State Park, Nebraska

1928

from 4delos

XYZ

2011-08-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

Alienated youth at its finest.

Canada

in the 60s or 70s

from BArPh

Your Mom

2011-08-23T21:16:00.000-04:00

I'm the oldest of four. We used to tell my mom, "It's a good thing you have your nursing degree."

no information available

from unexpectedtales' flickr stream

Hat Party

2011-08-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

At first I thought she was giving him the look of death, but now I think she's suppressing a grin and up to no good under the table.

1948

from Len Treeman's flickr stream

Book of Job

2011-08-03T00:11:00.000-04:00

The little details on this one make it fascinating to me. Giant cricket?

Illustrations of The Book of Job

1826, illustrator William Blake

from Project Gutenberg

On a Pacific Beach

2011-08-02T23:02:00.000-04:00

A little late for rubbernecking.

Washington State

1923

from University of Washington Digital Collection

On the Move

2011-07-31T23:38:00.000-04:00

Like these two women, I've been on the road and now I'm home again.

La Baule, France

1939

from parispomene's flickr stream

On Vacation

2011-07-20T13:56:00.000-04:00

Hey, y'all. Like this strange, baby-lifting fellow, I'll be on vacation for the next little while. I'll be back on the pictures when I come home again, so don't forget about me!

Seriously, though, what is that guy doing with that baby?

1970

from depthandtime's flickr stream

Bold as Brass

2011-07-14T21:08:00.000-04:00

I'm half convinced I'd already posted this one. I mean, why wouldn't I? Naked hippie band. I think the guy on our left is marching to a different drum, though.

Chicago

from T.V. Girls's flickr stream

Pet Show

2011-07-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

Okay, cat on the right, cat on the left - what does the boy in the middle have?

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

1925

from University of Tennessee Libraries

Team

2011-07-14T20:32:00.000-04:00

I choose to think that this is a family of acrobats on summer vacation.

New Jersey

1930

from Brian Murphy's flickr stream

excuses, excuses

2011-07-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

I love the double image here, the matched posture.

"You Meet the Nicest People on Vacations"

1945

from and everything else too

Hall of Ocean Life

2011-07-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

I am your God now.

New York, New York

1969, photographer Arthur Singer

from The American Museum of Natural History

8 feet over, 30 feet down

2011-07-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

Two things. 1. How did this happen? What's behind the building to the left? 2. I love the care that was taken when drawing the arrows. I bet this looked great in court.

San Francisco, CA

1956

The Lady's Hand

2011-07-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

She's huge, as is the promise she makes on our behalf. As a nation, we fail to live up to that promise pretty much daily. But I can't help but feel proud when I see her, even piecemeal, even barely made. For all the racism, all the colonization, all the broken treaties and broken people, there is a flame to be cherished and fed. Not with the blood of another country's civilians. Not with the bones of the working class. No, that flame is the burning hope of millions of people, the hope of a better future, of happy families, of being able to square your shoulders and look anyone in the eye and say, "I'll work with you and you work with me, and together we'll get this done." Maybe those in Washington should take a field trip up to NYC and stand at Lady Liberty's feet. Take a good look at those broken chains, guys, and think of the labor it took to raise that torch. The Chinatown bus is only $35 - I'll buy the first ticket.

Philadelphia, PA

1876

from Philly History

invisible PLAGUE GERMS

2011-07-12T10:19:00.001-04:00

I can picture someone designing this flier. "What's scary? Bombs. No, that's not enough. INVISIBLE PLAGUE GERMS!" Look, I've been bombed in Tallahassee plenty of times - it's not that bad.

Tallahassee, Florida

1954

from Florida Memory

Laughstronauts

2011-07-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

Back in 1985, when I was 9 and Hurricane Kate shut down all the schools, my Aunt Lynn took my sister and I down to watch the shuttle blast off. It was the Atlantis, and there people right here rode it into space. I wonder if they laugh a lot in space. I wonder if it blew their mind every time they lifted off.

STS-61-B Crew

1985

from Retro Spaces Images

Come See Us at Seaworld

2011-07-05T22:56:00.001-04:00

There's nothing about this that isn't completely awesome. I saw some pretty great waterski shows as a kid (usually at Cypress Gardens) but nothing with actual superheroes. My loss.

Completely awesome update: check out the Noblemania blog for TONS of further info and photos about this ski show (and other cool stuff).

Sea World, Orlando, Florida

mid 1970s

from J. Yuenger

Swimming Lesson

2011-07-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

This seems lazy to me. Then again, the method I know best for teaching a kid to swim involves getting her to let go of something stable and doggie paddle toward you, while you back up slowly to make them swim further than they thought they had to. Now that I think about it, our method seems sort of mean.

England

from The Hulton Collection

La Femme Amphibie

2011-07-05T20:25:00.000-04:00

There is something about old illustrations of crocs and gators that I really love. They look so very lizardy - almost like dragons - in our imaginations. They're much bulkier in real life, though every bit as interesting.

French Circus Poster

late 1800s/early 1900s

from Layman's Layout

Seattle Tubing Society

2011-07-05T20:18:00.000-04:00

That is what a good time should look like. A few drinks, nice hats, plenty of water. Maybe this is the year I actually go tubing.

Seattle, Washington

1953, photographer Burt Glinn

from Burt Glinn's official website

Les Fumeuses de Pipes

2011-07-03T14:36:00.000-04:00

I can't help but assume we're looking at the employees of a brothel, and possibly a few of their daughters. Them again, I just watched Pretty Baby, so that could be influencing my understanding of this photo.

no information available

found at AAnonymes

Valeriy V. Polyakov

2011-07-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

When you live in space, this is what your house looks like.

Mir Space Station

1994

from The Atlantic

Musical Trio

2011-06-30T01:23:00.001-04:00

I'm willing to bet that within hours of the first tennis racket being invented, someone used it as a fake guitar/mandolin/lute/whatever. You know you did it. I sure did.

Dublin, Ireland

1920s

from Jacolette

Glider

2011-06-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

I do not even begin to understand what is going on here, but I can't stop trying to figure it out.

from the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive

Plenty to Go Around

2011-06-28T21:09:00.000-04:00

The kid checking out the tusks will always have a very different image of a walrus than the boy on its back.

Sunderland Museum, Tyne And Wear, England

1913

from The Tyne And Wear Archives and Museums

Relaxing on the Beach

2011-06-28T13:54:00.000-04:00

This photo makes me uncomfortable in so many ways. Aside from the obvious, the only sunblock around in 1950 was sticky, red, and seldom used, and (as a fellow redhead) I can feel her skin sizzling. Get under an umbrella, girl! Somewhere, this woman is sitting around telling her grandkids, "I used to have the best skin, and now look at it." That being said, I think my favorite part of this picture is that no one is watching her contort herself. Was this the acrobats' day out?

Rockaway Beach, New York

1950

from What Makes the Pie Shops Tick?'s flickr stream