Cool old photos
40 Must-See Photos From The Past
The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” was coined by American newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane in 1911. It’s a simple notion that applies to many aspects of our lives, but especially to historical photos. Sometimes, one simple picture can tell you more about history than any story you might read or any document you might analyze.
These old time photos all tell stories about the historical figures or events that they represent. Once taken merely to document their present, they now help us witness the past. Many images only become iconic shots years later, once we understand their importance and historical context. From historical landmarks and famous people to the basic daily routines of the past, these old photos portray the history in a way that we can empathize with and understand more intimately.
Perhaps the wars, poverty, fights for freedom and little miracles of the past have lessons for us that we can use today? Scroll through our list of rare historical photos and see if we’ve learned anything.
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Woman With A Gas-Resistant Pram, England, 1938
Unpacking the head of the Statue of Liberty, 1885
Elvis in the Army, 1958
Animals being used as part of medical therapy, 1956
Testing of new bulletproof vests, 1923
Charlie Chaplin at age 27, 1916
Hindenburg Disaster, May 6, 1937
Circus hippo pulling a cart, 1924
Annette Kellerman promotes women’s right to wear a fitted one-piece bathing suit, 1907. She was arrested for indecency
Annie Edison Taylor, the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, 1901
106-year-old Armenian Woman guards home, 1990
Baby cages used to ensure that children get enough sunlight and fresh air when living in an apartment building, ca. 1937
The original Ronald McDonald, 1963
Disneyland Employee Cafeteria in 1961
Advertisement for Atabrine, anti-malaria drug, in Papua, New Guinea during WWII
Soldier shares a banana with a goat during the battle of Saipan, ca. 1944
Little girl with her doll sitting in the ruins of her bombed home, London, 1940
Construction of the Berlin wall, 1961
Unknown soldier in Vietnam, 1965
Bookstore in London ruined by an air raid, 1940
Walter Yeo, one of the first to undergo an advanced plastic surgery and a skin transplant, 1917
Suntan vending machine, 1949
Measuring bathing suits – if they were too short, women would be fined, 1920’s
Martin Luther King with his son removing a burnt cross from their front yard, 1960
Hotel owner pouring acid in the pool while black people swim in it, ca. 1964
Lifeguard on the coast, 1920’s
Artificial legs, UK, ca.
1890Mom and son watching the mushroom cloud after an atomic test, Las Vegas, 1953
Mother hides her face in shame after putting her children up for sale, Chicago, 1948
Austrian boy receives new shoes during WWII
Hitler’s officers and cadets celebrating Christmas, 1941
Christmas dinner during Great Depression: turnips and cabbage
The real Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, ca. 1927
Last prisoners of Alcatraz leaving, 1963
Melted and damaged mannequins after a fire at Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London, 1930
A space chimp posing to camera after a successful mission to space, 1961
Illegal alcohol being poured out during Prohibition, Detroit, 1929
Princeton students after a freshman vs. sophomores snowball fight, 1893
A beautiful suicide – 23 year-old Evelyn McHale jumped from the 83rd floor of the Empire State Building and landed on a United Nations limousine, 1947
First morning after Sweden changed from driving on the left side to driving on the right, 1967
Home - Cool Old Photos
What did Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Betty Ford, Jackie Kennedy, and Eleanor Roosevelt look like as teenagers? Take a look at these photos.
This stunning old photo from 1937 shows Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Source: Flickr
Sadly, this lovely building was destroyed by fire in 1919. But this lovely photo shows it in glorious detail as it stood in the 1880s. Source: Library of Congress
Perth Markets opened on September 1, 1897, on the corner of William and Wellington streets. By 1937, the building was deserted.
What a great photochrom of Norway’s parliament building in Oslo, also known as the Storting building (Stortingsbygningen). The building’s construction began in 1860 and was completed in 1866. Click on the image for a terrific, larger version. This image is...
An incredible series of photos of Guns 'N' Roses in the early 1980s before the made it big.
This photo shows the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets. Source: Flickr user Jim Cagney Here’s the same street corder on Google Street View today.
How can we not post this photo of Raquel Welch from the 1960s? It’s a tough competition between Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Raquel Welch for the title of most beautiful. Raquel Welch in the 1960s
This beautiful view from 1879 shows Kyoto from Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera. If you haven’t been there or seen this, it’s one of the most stunning sites to see in Kyoto, if not all of Japan. Source: Smithsonian
1964 (technically 1964 1/2) was the first year for America’s iconic muscle car, the Ford Mustang. It has to be one of the most beautiful cars ever designed (I’m sure European sports car enthusiasts will turn up their noses at.
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These two photos show what it was like to watch a Pirates game back in the early 20th century when they were still playing at Forbes Field. Look at all the hats! Source: Library of Congress
This beautiful photo shows Marilyn Monroe in 1953, “playfully elegant at home.” Click on any of the images for a larger version to see it in detail. Source: Shorpy Here are two more images of her, this time in color....
This is a fascinating political map of the United States for the 1856 presidential election. Campaign obsessed folks in D.C. are probably going to love this, especially as we ramp up toward the 2016 election, a full 160 years after...
Powerful and macabre series of photos showing the hangings of the Lincoln conspirators: David Herold, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt.
Babe Didrikson never pitched in a Major League Baseball regular season game, but on this day, 81 years ago, she pitched a single inning in an exhibition game for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers. That’s a really big deal. Though,...
We love these old fire maps. Here’s a Sanborn Fire Insurance map of Camden, Maine from 1884.
This old image shows Philadelphia’s Delaware Avenue as it look well over 100 years ago in 1908.
Great old photo from 1939 in Gordonton, North Carolina. We’re looking at an old country store on a Sunday afternoon. A little Googling shows the building still standing today, which is just fascinating. Take a look at this image we...
This incredible map shows Delaware County in the Catskills back in 1856.
What a beautiful old map.
It’s been quite some time since we uncovered great old photos. Here’s a cool one from the Utah, showing Utah State University in 1892. Source: Wikipedia
Photo of the century: the best shots of all time according to Time magazine
Impressions
Philip Halsman. Dali Anatomikus, 1948
© 100photos.time.com
Author Anastasia Novikova
06 January 2017
In the fall of 2016, Time magazine named the 100 most significant photographs of all time. RBC Style carefully reviewed the pictures, which took the creators of the project three years to select, and tells the story of nine rare shots.
Skyscraper Dinner
1932
© 100photos.time.com
Eleven men dine, chat and smoke. Everything would be fine, but they do it, sitting on a steel beam at the level of the 69th floor above Manhattan.
It was this scene that was captured by an unknown photographer in the Lunch at the Skyscraper image. The shot was taken on September 29, 1932 as staged, but with real workers, and a couple of days later it was published in the Sunday supplement to the New York Herald Tribune. The photo was taken during the Great Depression, when desperate people were ready for any job and climbed to gigantic heights without any insurance.
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Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother
1936
© 100photos.time.com
The famous shot was taken in March 1936, at the height of the Great Depression. Dorothea Lange, who worked as a reporter, captured Florence Thompson. “I saw a mother who had lost all hope, I was drawn to her like a magnet,” Lange recalled in 1960. “I took five pictures, each time getting closer to her, but I didn’t even ask her name.
She said that she was 32 years old and that she and her children ate frozen vegetables from the fields and birds, which they sometimes managed to shoot. That day, she just sold the tires from her car to buy some food.” 10 March 19For 36 years, the San Francisco News printed a photo of Florence in the article "Degraded, Hungry, Hopeless—Crop Harvesters Live in Poverty." A picture of a strong unknown woman instantly spread throughout the country, and soon around the world. And the original photograph went under the hammer in 2005 for $296,000.
Yevgeny Khaldei "Victory Banner over the Reichstag"
1945
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“This is what I have been waiting for 1400 days,” Soviet photographer Yevgeny Khaldei admitted. The war correspondent took his world-famous photograph on May 2, 1945. By that time, street fighting had already ended in Berlin, and the city was completely occupied by Soviet troops.
Khaldei asked the first soldiers he met to help take photographs. Soon he filmed two cassettes with them. The banner depicted in the picture, Yevgeny Khaldei brought with him. It is curious that it was sewn from a red tablecloth, which the photographer "borrowed" on one of his visits to Moscow in the dining room of Photochronicles.
Alfred Eisenstadt Victory Day over Japan in Times Square
1945
© 100photos.time.com
In the summer of 1945, photographer Alfred Eisenstadt took a random shot that was destined to become iconic. A sailor who found out about the end of the war with Japan got into his frame. “He ran all over the street, grabbed all the women he saw - it didn’t matter if they were old, portly or slender. I ran in front of him with my Leica, turning around and trying to take a picture, but I didn’t like any of them.
And then, suddenly - like a flash - I saw that he grabbed something white. I turned and pressed the button at the very moment when he kissed the nurse, ”the photographer later said. A week later, Eisenstadt's picture was published in Life magazine, where it took up a whole page. The frame has become iconic, and for many Americans has become a symbol of peace.
Philippe Halsman Dali Anatomikus
1948
© 100photos.time.com
Philippe Halsman is called the founder of surrealism in photography. His famous "Jump" series has become a classic of photography. It includes more than 200 portraits of famous people who jumped in the frame. One of the heroes of the series was Salvador Dali. Halsman took six hours to complete the Dali Anatomikus shot. An easel and a painting were suspended from a fishing line from the ceiling, a chair in the foreground was held by the photographer's wife, and two assistants tossed cats and splashed a bucket of water.
“When a person jumps, his attention is mainly directed to the act of jumping, the mask falls off and his true face appears,” Philippe Halsman explained the choice of subject for the photographs.
Richard Avedon Dovima and the Elephants
1955
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In 1955, Richard Avedon filmed an advertisement for the new Christian Dior collection. As a model, he chose his favorite Dovima and decided to capture her against the backdrop of elephants. Avedon wanted to convey the symmetry of fragility and power, light and dark. The photograph of "Dovima and the Elephants" was taken at the Cirque d'Hiver. And the dresses of the model were created by a young and then little-known designer Yves Saint Laurent, who worked as an assistant to Christian Dior.
Harry Benson Pillow Fight
1964
© 100photos.
time.com
On the evening of January 16, 1964, photographer Harry Benson took one of the most famous pictures of the Liverpool Four. He captured the members of The Beatles at a pillow fight in a Paris hotel room, Hotel George V. In general, Benson did not plan to photograph the Beatles. He wanted to shoot a "serious story" in Africa. “I saw myself as a serious journalist and didn’t want to make a rock and roll story,” Benson said. But the case nevertheless brought him to Paris, where at that moment the Liverpool Four were located. The "pillow fight" caught on film began spontaneously. Such was the reaction of the musicians to the announcement that their single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” had reached number one on the American pop charts.
Neil Armstrong Man in the Moon
1969
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The 1969 photograph was taken by Neil Armstrong himself.
The first man to walk on the moon captured his Apollo 11 crewmate, astronaut Buzz Aldrin. “Most of the time, Neil had the camera, and I was the subject of these wonderful shots, because each of his shots was simply magnificent,” Aldrin later recalled. Photographing was not among the priority tasks of the astronauts, however, the pictures became historical and remained in the memory of mankind.
Annie Leibovitz Demi Moore
1991
© 100photos.time.com
In 1991, Annie Leibovitz photographed Demi Moore nude for the cover of Vanity Fair when the actress was seven months pregnant. For the beginning of the nineties, the picture turned out to be a real shock and made a splash. The issue of the magazine went on sale in special packaging envelopes. They hid Moore's naked body, leaving only her eyes open. The cover of Vanity Fair with naked Moore became the most successful for the glossy magazine of all time.
And the audience of the issue amounted to more than 100 million readers. Annie Leibovitz herself, however, was quite strict with her photographic work. “I don't think it's a good photo in and of itself. This is the cover of a magazine. It would be a great portrait if Moore had not covered her chest, ”Leibovich noted.
Star Selfie from the Oscars
2014
© 100photos.time.com
One selfie was named one of the best shots of all time by Time. This is a shot taken by TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres during the Oscar ceremony in 2014. The picture "noted" Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities. The frame was posted on Twitter, and more than two million people retweeted it.
top 10 best muscle cars with photo
The term muscle cars arose among collectors a little later than cars of this class began to be produced - in the late 1970s.
Mid-size cars with powerful V8 engines peaked in the mid-1960s, and yes, you can say that few cars surpass muscle cars in the combination of beauty and power. Today we will tell you about the top American muscle cars of the 1960s and 70s, and we will also touch on a couple of models from the 1980s.
Natalya Polytsya
American muscle cars appeared on the roads in the 1960s. Literally, the name of these cars is translated as "muscular cars". So American muscle cars were nicknamed because of their huge engines. Today we take a look at the best American muscle cars from three decades: the 60s, 70s and 80s.
1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Mustangs, modified by American racing driver and designer Carroll Shelby, were the dream of every true Mustang fan. Released at 19In 1965 and 1966, the Shelby GT350s were not only powerful, but sleek and light, perfect for travel. Thus began the story of this classic American muscle car.
After a couple of years, Shelby's philosophy changed: now his cars actively participated and won in sprint races of racing competitions. So, under the hood of the Shelby GT 500 of 1967 and 1968 was a 355 hp engine. and a volume of 428 cubic inches. The increased body length and more aggressive appearance of the car distinguished the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, this American muscle car in the photo, from the GT-350 model 1965 years old.
A little-known fact: 1967 American Ford Mustang Shelby muscle cars used Mercury Cougar parking lights, while 1968 models used '66 Ford Thunderbird parking lights.
1984 Chevy Corvette
The third generation of scale models of the American Corvette muscle car has come a long way, which actually lasted from 1968 to 1982. Therefore, the launch of the C4 Corvette caused a huge stir and a real storm of rumors and speculation. Some argued that the car would have a rotary engine, like the Mazda, and someone predicted a central engine, like the Italian "exotic".
In the end, the new model of the American muscle car of the 80s was not so revolutionary. The first 1984 Chevy Corvette was equipped with a 205 hp V8 engine. With. But by changing the fuel injection system, the power increased, and with it the performance. In 1990, based on the C4, the Corvette ZR1 was released, equipped with a 375 hp V8 LT5 engine.
A little-known fact: despite the fact that 1982 was the last year of the production of the third-generation American muscle cars Corvette, it was decided not to release a new model in 1983, but wait until 1984. Why? Some claim that it took longer to develop, others talk about production failures. In any case, all 1983 Corvette prototypes were destroyed except for one, a white car that can be seen at the National Corvette Automobile Museum.
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
This model, like its fellow 1970 Plymouth Superbird, is perhaps the most radical old American muscle car of the 60s and 70s.
But the Daytona was not born for street racing. Her goal was much higher: Nascar races on super-fast oval tracks. To increase speed, the Daytona worked on improving the aerodynamics by adding various “noses” to the Dodge Charger 500. As a result, the Dodge Charger Daytona has an 18-inch nose cone and a 23-inch wing at the rear of the car, which provides additional stability and downforce. The result was impressive: the Daytona became the first car to exceed 320 km/h in a Nascar race. After Daytona's numerous victories, Nascar's regulation change forced them to retire from racing. Cars equipped with the legendary 440 or 426 Hemi engines are popular to this day - collectors buying them at auctions are ready to part with the amount of $150,000.
Little-Known Fact: The Daytona's aerodynamic modification helped bring the drag coefficient down to 0.28 (compared to other Charger models) - an excellent figure even by the standards of modern American muscle cars. But the question is: does the rear wing really have to be that big to increase downforce? It is considered not.
And the size of the Daytona wing is due to the need to open the trunk lid in the production version.
Oldsmobile 442 1970
Oldsmobile's 442 gets its name from its four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and dual muffler. The Oldsmobile 442 was based on the Oldsmobile Cutlass and became a popular American muscle car in the Oldsmobile family. Its platform was adopted by two other GM vehicles, the Chevy Chevelle SS and the Pontiac GTO. Like the GTO, at first the Oldsmobile 442 differed only in equipment levels. But at 19In 1970, the Oldsmobile 442 offered an impressive 455 cubic-inch V8 engine, especially for those who wanted to get the most speed out of the car. Equipped with W30 elements, the engine produced 360 hp. and allowed to accelerate to 100 km / h in just 6 seconds.
Little known fact: Actor James Garner entered the NORRA Mexican 1000 in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, finishing second in class.
This American muscle car was built by the legendary Victor Hickey especially for James Garner, it was called the Goodyear Grabber. The 410 cubic inch (6.7 L) engine was an aluminum block and developed more than 500 horsepower, and a 50 gallon sports gas tank was installed in the body (189liters). Today the car has been restored and put up for sale.
1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
The 1970s for American muscle cars were a pale imitation of previous decades: rising fuel prices and insurance forced manufacturers to tone down their zeal for super-powerful cars. This has affected almost all car brands. But not Pontiac! Their Trans Am has become a favorite of the public since the release of the film "Cop and Bandit" (1977). In 1978, the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am increased power from 200 to 220 hp. A special WS6 package added wider 8-inch wheels, new tires and quicker steering to the car. As a result, the Pontiac Trans Am became much more agile and faster on the track than the Chevy Corvette.
A little-known fact: in 1976, Pontiac Firebird Trans Am muscle cars began to be produced in the USA with a T-top body. At first, the roofs were made by the Hurst company, and they bore the name Hurst Hatch. But there was a problem: the roofs were leaking. Then Pontiac, together with Fisher (GM), developed their own roofs for the T-top, which were put into production in the middle of 1978 years old. So some 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams have Hurst T-top roofs and some have Fisher roofs. To differentiate, know that Fisher roofs have larger glass panels than Hurst Hatch roofs.
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
Nascar's golden years were in the late 70s and early 80s of the twentieth century. Automakers took racing seriously and, for the purpose of homologation (for a model to participate in races, a serial analogue had to be produced in a batch of at least 500 copies), they often produced models that were extremely dangerous for the streets.
The American muscle car Mustang Boss 429 was known as a real beast: Its 429-cubic-inch V8 produced 375 hp. and 6000 rpm. But the engine was so massive that it didn't fit into the classic Mustang engine bay. Then Ford signed a contract with Kar Kraft to eliminate all interference. Kar Kraft specialists had to redo half of the elements to make room and literally squeeze in the engine. Today, the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 sells for over $200,000 at auction. But S-Code had warranty issues, possibly due to a faulty build process. It was replaced by T-Code with lighter parts. Latest version of A-Code for Boss 429appeared already at the very end of the production of these American muscle cars.
1970 Chevy Chevelle LS6
When GM relaxed its previous regulations that prohibited engines larger than 400 cubic inches from being fitted to medium-sized cars, the American automotive industry experienced a boom in scale muscle cars.
Oldsmobile installed a 455 cubic inch engine in its 422, and Chevy fitted the Chevelle SS with a unique 454 cubic inch V8.
The most conservative estimate of the LS6 was 450 hp, but due to the high compression ratio (11.25:1) and the huge Holley 780 CFM carburetor, the real power of the LS6 was close to 500 hp according to some experts. Car and Driver magazine tested the car in 1970 and claimed it hit 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds and run 400 m in 13.8 seconds. Think how much faster this American muscle car would be today with modern tires. Among all passenger cars, the LS6 produces the most horsepower.
Little-known fact: the American LS7 muscle car with 465 hp was planned for release, but never officially went on sale, and the power of the LS6 Corvette, released in 1971, was reduced to 425 hp.
1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
Pontiac was the leader in American muscle cars in the early 60s - the GTO is often referred to as the first muscle car.
But by 1968, the car had too many competitors. Then the idea came up to create a cheaper version of the GTO with a small 350 cubic inch engine. Chief engineer John De Lorean did not approve of this idea - in his opinion, the GTO could not have such a small engine. As a result, the new model differed from the traditional GTO: the Judge was equipped with a 360 hp Ram Air III engine, but buyers could also choose a 370 hp Ram Air IV. The rarest were the GTO Judge Ram Air IV convertibles - only 5 of them were produced in 1969 year.
A little-known fact: Paul Revere & the Raiders took part in the filming of the official commercial for the American muscle car Pontiac GTO Judge. The musicians, being fans of the car brand, dedicated a song to him.
1969 COPO Camaro
COPO (Central Office Production Order) is a special order system that was created for the sale of special vehicles in large quantities, such as police cars with heavy-duty suspensions or taxi cars with special interiors.
But enterprising car dealers with the right connections managed to order American Camaro muscle cars in the same way. So, according to production order No. 9561 cars were produced with large eight-cylinder V8 engines with a displacement of 7 liters and developed a power of 425 hp.
Little known fact: The aluminum ZL-1 engine in America's previous muscle car, the 9560 COPO Camaro, was essentially a race car - it was designed for Chaparral Cars to compete in Can Am. Curiously, there are no external signs on the ZL-1 engine that would distinguish it from others, only the Camaro logo.
Buick GNX 1987 years
In the 80s, classic American muscle cars seemed to have outlived their usefulness. But Buick took an unexpected step forward in muscle car development with the launch of the Buick GNX with a turbocharged V6 engine. The power of the Grand National (from which the Buick GNX "grew") increased from 245 to 276 hp.
