In 1920, the Wildflower Preservation Society, Illinois Chapter (WPSIC) convened for a celebration of native blooms. Children got into costumes made up to look like flowers. Formed in 1914, the WPSIC rans hikes around Chicago to introduce the public to the value of wildflowers. Th … | Continue reading
Miguel Covarrubias (1904—1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, he was the co-discoverer of the Olmec civilization. Illustration by Miguel Covarrubias in the 1920s and ’30s A ma … | Continue reading
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a live action superhero children’s television series from 1976 created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series aired 16 episodes in a single season as part of the umbrella series The Krofft Supershow. During the second season, it was dropped, along with … | Continue reading
Born 1944 in Queens, New York City, American transgender actress Candy Darling saw Andy Warhol at The Tenth of Always in 1967, an after-hours club. Darling was with Jackie Curtis, who invited Warhol to a play that she had written and directed, called Glamour, Glory and Gold, star … | Continue reading
Rio is the second studio album by Duran Duran, released on May 10, 1982 through EMI. Duran Duran themselves do not appear on the front cover of Rio, which was a stylistic departure from their debut and most albums at the time; the band felt that photographs and the music videos w … | Continue reading
A large sign reading “I AM AN AMERICAN” placed in the window of a store, at 13th and Franklin streets in Oakland, California on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast a … | Continue reading
From the late 19th century to the early 1970s, there was a distinctive bohemian subculture in Sydney. Alternative thinkers gathered in private houses, clubs and coffee houses. Some of the best known bohemian hangouts were Kings Cross and the area around Rowe Street (demolished in … | Continue reading
Françoise Hardy, a French singer, actor and model whose classical beauty and often melancholy music combined to transfix fans internationally in the 1960s and beyond, has died at age 80. Her death was reported by her son, the fellow musician Thomas Dutronc, who wrote “Maman est p … | Continue reading
August 31, 1975: Sex Pistols first band rehearsal with John Lydon, Glen Matlock, Steve Jones and Paul Cook at the ‘Rose and Crown’ pub, 134 Wandsworth High Street, Wandsworth, London. John Gray was also present with John and took photographs. This rehearsal almost did not happen. … | Continue reading
Born 1898 in Draguignan in Provence, French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress Lily Pons had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated … | Continue reading
These photographs are from Qajar (1998), the series of studio portraits by Shadi Ghadirian, a contemporary artist who was inspired by the studio portraiture first introduced to Iran in the late 19th century under the Qajar dynasty (1794–1925). In order to re-create the earlier se … | Continue reading
1950s kitchens were characterized by bold pastel colors, glossy painted or metal cabinets, laminate countertops, rounded chrome-detailed appliances, built-in breakfast nooks, decorative backsplashes, and linoleum flooring. They often featured bright, coordinated designs with a fo … | Continue reading
Science fiction based Blade Runner is a 1982 film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. The script is based on the 1968 novel by Philip K. Dick’s 1968 entitled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford, Sean Young, … | Continue reading
Back in the 1970s, hundreds would compete in the popular Blackpool to Isle of Man Race, an event which attracted much attention and sponsorship from the likes of Whitbread. Traveling from Blackpool Tower to the summit of Snaefell, Isle of Man, competitors would use many different … | Continue reading
Adrian Adolph Greenburg (1903–1959), widely known mononymously as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and hundreds of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films between 1928 and 1941. Fashion designs by Adrian in the 1940s Adrian was usual … | Continue reading
13-year old Winona Ryder (next to Allison Hart, another young actress of the mid 1980s) sporting a Clash t-shirt during her first movie audition back in 1984. The movie was Desert Bloom and she didn’t get the role but her audition tape made its way to an agency which led her to b … | Continue reading
A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, Mansfield was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. Although her film career was short-lived, she had several box-office successes, and won a Theatre World Award and Golden Globe Award, and soon gained the nickn … | Continue reading
Of the ‘Big 3’ American motorcycle manufacturers responding to US Military requests for motorcycles, it was Harley-Davidson that gave the matter the most thought. Every manufacturer had a good motorcycle to offer, and none were specialized at the kind of harsh service required by … | Continue reading
Novelty photography focuses on humor and creativity, using props, costumes, and visual tricks like forced perspective and photo manipulation to create amusing, surprising, or whimsical images. It aims to entertain and engage viewers with playful and unconventional themes. Novelty … | Continue reading
No Iranian woman ever medaled in the Olympics before the Revolution. Women participated for the first time at the 1958 Tokyo Asian games in athletics. The women’s volleyball team won the first bronze medal at the 1966 Asian games in Bangkok. Iran’s best performance at the interna … | Continue reading
Debbie Harry’s legs, knit wool mini dress and punk rock accessories, as photographed by Christopher Makos in 1977. This iconic shot was used as the cover of his seminal 1977 book “White Trash”, which captured the DIY ethos of the late ‘70s NYC punk rock/ new wave scene. | Continue reading
Debuting in 1922, the Type 30 holds a special significance in Bugatti’s history as the company’s inaugural straight-eight engine to enter production. It also marked the introduction of Bugatti’s iconic single-overhead-cam cylinder head, solidifying its status as one of the most r … | Continue reading
Cher once revealed that she had been a fan of Presley since she was a child. “When I was 10 years old, my mom took me to the Pan Pacific to see Elvis. I just — I really loved him. And then when I got older — not this old — but older, he invited me to Las Vegas.” “One of his peopl … | Continue reading
This is a 1964 Lambretta Amphi-Scooter, and as the name suggests, it’s a Lambretta scooter-based amphibious vehicle. The first was developed and built in the 1960s, floats were attached at either side on a hinged mechanism that allow the Lambretta to be used on land or water. The … | Continue reading
Born 1912 in Los Angeles, California, American actress Iris Adrian won a beauty pageant, worked with the Ziegfeld Follies, and performed with Fred Waring before she entered films at the end of the silent era in Chasing Husbands (1928) and appeared as an extra or chorus girl in ea … | Continue reading
Perhaps the most famous photograph of Mary Todd Lincoln was taken in Boston in 1872—seven years after her time as First Lady and a decade before her death. Mary, age 54, sits with hands folded, dressed in a loose black gown or cape, a black bonnet on her head secured by wide blac … | Continue reading
Home interiors in the 1950s featured pastel color schemes with bold accents, sleek mid-century modern furniture, and open-plan layouts. Kitchens were efficient with built-in cabinets and colorful Formica countertops. Decor included atomic-inspired designs, starburst clocks, and a … | Continue reading
Grace Jones, who turns 76 today, has always possessed an inimitable aesthetic vision. Meticulously crafted and ever-evolving in collaboration with French creator and ex-paramour Jean-Paul Goude, the singer’s Afrofuturist image is as integral to her character as her sultry contral … | Continue reading
January 20, 1973: John Simon Ritchie (Beverley), aka Sid Vicious, along with friend David Stevens (who confirmed this photo), visited the record signing of Elton John’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, at Noel Edmonds Record Bar in London. He was pictured to Elton’s left … | Continue reading
The Jenolan Caves are limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains, in Jenolan, Oberon Council, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The caves and 3,083-hectare (7,620-acre) reserve are situat … | Continue reading
When The Who released their first single “I Can’t Explain” in 1965, it went straight in at No8 in the UK’s charts. The man behind the track was Pete Townshend, cofounder of the band, whose unique sound was rooted in Britain’s swinging mod culture. Townshend went on to be one of t … | Continue reading
In the mid-20th century (1940s–1960s), automobiles experienced significant technological advancements such as the widespread adoption of automatic transmissions, power steering, and air conditioning. Design trends included bold, flamboyant styles in the 1950s with tailfins and ch … | Continue reading
Judy Garland was a huge star, but at age 41, her star power had faded and she was having financial difficulties. Her agent Freddie Fields signed Garland with CBS Television for a weekly variety show that would pay her handsomely and reward her with ownership of the tapes after th … | Continue reading
Australian photographer Dean Sewell spent 15 months in Russia after the breakup of the former USSR. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he was suddenly reminded that he still had more than two dozen undeveloped B&W film rolls from 1996 to 1997. Sewell managed to find the film and get th … | Continue reading
Born 1910 as Elizabeth Jane Young, American actress Sally Blane had her film debut at the age of seven when she appeared in Sirens of the Sea in 1917. She returned to the film business as an adult in the 1920s, playing small parts in a number of silent films. Her career continued … | Continue reading
Fast-forward to the turn of the century and automobile manufacturing was increasing steadily. Couple that with wealthy Americans’ increasing appetite for travel across the States and US travelers were in need of a new breed of motorcar. This 1905 sketch by Albert Levering – title … | Continue reading
Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. The daguerreotype produced a positive image on a silver surface. It was invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in 1835 and became publicly available in 1839. This … | Continue reading
In 1951, a diesel-powered US Navy submarine called the U.S.S. Catfish passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and did a short tour of San Francisco Bay. While there, the crew decided to snap some photographs of San Francisco through its periscope. The photographs were rediscovered by … | Continue reading
The royal children spent many happy times at Osborne and we can still see objects relating to their childhoods on the estate today. One of the more unusual ways that Queen Victoria kept souvenirs of her children’s childhood was by commissioning marble copies of their forearms and … | Continue reading
Born 1938 in London, England, English actress Venetia Stevenson, once called “the most photogenic girl in the world”, played Peggy McTavish in the film Darby’s Rangers (1958), a Warner Bros. release in which she was paired with Peter Brown. She is one of the women pursued by acto … | Continue reading
Early US punk rock scene all-stars Joan Jett of The Runaways, Debbie Harry of Blondie, David Johansen of The New York Dolls and Joey Ramone of The Ramones attend a mock wedding in New York, 1977. The photos were taken by Roberta Bayley as part of a shoot for Punk magazine. | Continue reading
Interiors in the late Victorian era were often characterized by elaborate decoration, rich colors, and ornate furniture. Heavy draperies, patterned wallpapers, and intricately carved woodwork were common features. Rooms were typically filled with furniture such as upholstered cha … | Continue reading
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, and Lea Thompson. Th … | Continue reading
The 1950 British Grand Prix, formally known as The Royal Automobile Club Grand Prix d’Europe Incorporating The British Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race held on May 13, 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, England. It was the first World Championship Formula One … | Continue reading
Born and raised in the southern United States, American model and actress Lauren Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was initially dismissed by agents for a signature gap in her teeth, Hutton signed a modeling contract w … | Continue reading
When photographs first appeared a century and a half ago, people were astonished by their mirror-like fidelity. Early reports often referred to the “mirror of nature” and “the mirror with a memory.” Although today the ubiquity of photographic imagery has largely drained it of thi … | Continue reading
Fashion in the 1930s was characterized by elegance, glamour, and sophistication. Women's fashion included bias-cut dresses that accentuated the natural curves of the body, often made of luxurious fabrics like silk or satin. Hemlines were typically longer, reaching the mid-calf or … | Continue reading
Katharine Hepburn never did interviews. But the fiercely private four-time Academy Award-winning “Best Actress” and star of such big screen classics as African Queen, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby and Woman of the Year suddenly broke her “ … | Continue reading