Rare Photographs of Bruce Springsteen Performing With His Early Band Steel Mill

Steel Mill was one of Bruce Springsteen’s most important pre-E Street Band groups, active from late 1969 to early 1971. The band served as a key stepping stone in Springsteen’s musical development, giving him his first taste of a loyal following, extended live performances, and a tighter, heavier rock sound that foreshadowed his later success.

Steel Mill emerged from Child, a Jersey Shore band Springsteen had been playing with after his time in The Castiles and Earth. When they discovered another group was already using the name Child, they adopted Steel Mill in late 1969. Other members of the band included three future members of the E Street Band, Vini Lopez, Danny Federici, and Steve Van Zandt.

As well as playing on the Jersey Shore, Steel Mill also played regularly in Richmond, Virginia and played gigs in California and a festival in Nashville, Tennessee. They opened for acts such as Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Grand Funk Railroad, Roy Orbison, Ike & Tina Turner, and Black Sabbath. Steel Mill played their final show in January 1971. After the band’s dissolution, Springsteen went on to form other short-lived bands before signing with Columbia Records in 1972 and forming what would eventually become the E Street Band.

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The Casket for Three: The Story Behind the Three-Person Suicide Coffin at National Museum of Funeral History

In the mid-1930s, a young couple experienced the devastating death of their infant daughter. Overcome by unbearable grief, the parents felt they could not continue living without her. Together, they formed a tragic pact: the father would murder the mother and then end his own life so the family could be reunited in death.

Before executing their plan, they wanted their final arrangements secured. They approached a local funeral home and commissioned a custom, triple-wide casket designed to accommodate both adults side-by-side, with space reserved in the middle to lay their disinterred child.

Because of its non-standard dimensions and custom interior, building the oversized wooden casket took several months. During that period, the acute shock of their loss began to fade. The passage of time allowed the couple to move through the worst of their acute grief, and they ultimately decided against ending their lives. They relocated, moving out west toward California, and abandoned the murder-suicide pact, leaving the completed custom casket behind at the mortuary without picking it up. 

Nearly two decades later, in the 1950s, the funeral home received a letter from the mother. Her husband had recently passed away from natural causes, and she was writing to request a refund for the custom casket they had paid for decades earlier. The current funeral director had to decline: the business had changed ownership twice since the 1930s, and there was no accounting record allowing for a payout. He requested that she arrange to have the casket removed from storage, but she never replied or contacted them again.

The custom casket, the only known three-person casket in existence, remained in storage until it was eventually donated to the National Museum of Funeral History. Today, it is exhibited not as a morbid curiosity, but as a poignant artifact showing that even the most overwhelming grief can soften over time.

Fascinating Photos of Downtown Somerset, Kentucky in 1980

These fascinating photos capture downtown Somerset, Kentucky, as it appeared in September 1980. The images show the streets, storefronts, local businesses, and everyday activity that defined the heart of the town at the start of the decade.

From parked cars and shop signs to pedestrians and familiar architecture, the photos preserve a clear snapshot of small-city life in south-central Kentucky more than forty years ago. They offer a valuable visual record of how Somerset’s downtown looked and felt in that moment in time.

Central Avenue looking north from E. Mt. Vernon Street, Somerset, Kentucky, September 1980

Downtown Somerset, Kentucky, September 1980

E. Mt. Vernon Street looking east from Central Avenue, Somerset, Kentucky, September 1980

E. Mt. Vernon Street looking west from Central Avenue, Somerset, Kentucky, September 1980

E. Mt. Vernon Street, looking east from Fountain Square, Somerset, Kentucky, September 1980

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34 Stunning Portraits of a Very Young Romy Schneider as Empress Elisabeth of Austria on the set of “Sissi”

Romy Schneider was only 16 years old when director Ernst Marischka cast her as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Sissi (1955), followed by Sissi – The Young Empress (1956) and Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (1957). On set, her presence was defined by a striking contrast between the opulent visual spectacle on camera and the intense physical and personal pressure behind the scenes.

Filming took place in authentic imperial settings across Austria, including Schönbrunn Palace, Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl, and the Hofburg in Vienna. Schneider moved through real palaces surrounded by hundreds of extras in period dress, filmed in rich Agfacolor. Schneider had to wear massive, heavy ballgowns complete with steel crinolines, structured corsets, and intricate wigs adorned with star-shaped hair jewels to mirror Sisi’s famous cascading floor-length hair. The wardrobe was so unwieldy that moving between set setups required constant assistant support.

Schneider’s real-life mother, Magda Schneider, co-starred in the trilogy as Sisi’s mother, Duchess Ludovika. Magda exercised tight control over Romy’s career during production, managing her schedule, press appearances, and onset interactions.

Production moved rapidly to capitalize on the massive success of the first film, churning out three major feature films in just over two years. Schneider worked grueling hours under heavy studio lighting while balancing international press tours.

While the films catapulted Schneider to international superstardom, she quickly began to feel trapped by the overly idealized, fairytale image of “Sissi.” The sugarcoated portrayal bore little resemblance to the actual, complex historical Empress, nor did it reflect Schneider’s own ambitions as an actress. By 1958, director Ernst Marischka offered Schneider 1 million Deutsche Marks to return for a fourth installment, an extraordinary sum at the time. Schneider flatly refused, choosing instead to break away from West German cinema and move to France to pursue dramatic, modern roles with directors like Luchino Visconti and Claude Sautet.

Decades later, in 1972, Schneider returned to the role of Empress Elisabeth one last time in Visconti’s masterpiece Ludwig, this time insisting on playing Sisi as the complex, melancholic, and reclusive figure she actually was in life, stripping away the fairytale glamor of her teenage set days.

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Candid Photographs of a Teenage Joan Jett Taken by Neil Zlozower in 1976

In 1976, acclaimed rock photographer Neil Zlozower captured a series of candid portraits of a 17-year-old Joan Jett on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Taken during the early days of her pioneering all-female punk/hard rock band, The Runaways. The session famously captured a raw, rebellious teenage Joan Jett giving the camera the middle finger while posing in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The photographs prominently feature her iconic razor-blade necklace and signature shag haircut.

Formed in late 1975 by rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West (alongside producer Kim Fowley), The Runaways released their self-titled debut album in March 1976. Zlozower was among the key Los Angeles photographers capturing the Sunset Strip rock scene as the band gained momentum. Renowned for his candid, raw, and visceral music photography (later photographing major rock acts like Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Guns N’ Roses), Zlozower captured Jett’s intense, rebellious demeanor before her solo success with the Blackhearts.

These early 1976 sessions feature Jett with her distinctive shag haircut, embodying the raw proto-punk and hard rock energy that defined the mid-1970s L.A. music scene.

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35 Lovely Studio Portraits of Dogs in the 1980s

These lovely studio portraits capture dogs of various breeds posed in formal photographic settings during the 1980s. Taken against typical studio backdrops of the era, the images showcase everything from small companion dogs to larger purebreds, often carefully groomed and positioned for the camera.

The photos reflect both the popular styles of professional pet portraiture at the time and the enduring appeal of dogs as beloved subjects. They offer a charming and nostalgic look at canine portraits from the decade.

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Eva Peron’s Embalmed Body and Its Strange Afterlife

On July 26, 1952 when Eva Peron died, her husband was at her bedside along with Dr. Pedro Ara. Ara was a well known anatomist and very skilled at the preservation of the body. He came to Argentina in 1925 to organize the anatomy museum for a medical college. He had learned embalming from some of the best physicians in Europe. It is believed he had preserved through embalming hundreds maybe thousands of human remains.

Eva Peron was embalmed in the room she died in. President Peron gave him complete control and privacy while engaged in the operation. At the completion of the preparation the President expressed his satisfaction. She was washed, dressed, her hair prepared by her own hair dresser. Her nails were polished by her personal maid. The casket was a fully open mahogany with a glass top. Her remains were moved to the Ministry of Labor where she would lie in state until her state funeral on August 9. Millions of people came to pay there respects to her during the interval. For his final treatment Dr. Ara had her remains moved to a laboratory the day after her funeral. He immerses the body in a chemical solution in the belief that it would provide a permanent preservation. It would remain there until the construction of her monument was complete.

The embalmed body of Argentinian politician Eva Peron, 1952

Political unrest gripped Argentina and President Peron was forced to flee to Paraguay on September 20, 1955. However, the new President believed he must rid the country of the Peron’s affection. He ordered the military with the help of a famous German commando leader to seize her remains.

The story continues, that her remains were sent to Bonn, Germany in 1956. Pope Pius XII gives consent for it to be buried near Rome but was moved one more time to Musocco Cemetery in Milan in 1957 under the name Maria Maggi.

Back in Argentina during this time it was not clear where her remains were taken. Those loyal to the Peron’s would begin a long search for it. The Peron loyalist, kidnapped the current president of Argentina in 1970 with the hopes of having him to tell them where she was. He was found dead several days later.  The end came in September 1971 when a “man” appears at the Milan cemetery claiming Maria Maggi was his sister and he wished to have her disinterred. This was accomplished with extraordinary speed. The remains arrived at the residence of Juan Peron in Madrid a few days later.

The embalmed body of Argentina’s Eva Peron is seen in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires after it was returned from Italy in 1974. The body was taken out of Argentina three years after her death from cancer following a 1955 military coup which ousted her husband Juan Peron.

Dr Ara wiith the preserved corpse of Eva Peron.

Dr. Ara also lived in Madrid and the following day began repairs of the body that was now 16 years since being viewed and 19 years since embalming. A new coffin held Evita with it being placed in the Peron home dining room, where the current Mr. and Mrs. Peron ate dinner each evening. Juan and his wife returned to Argentina to lead the country but without Evita in 1973.

Political unrest there led to the return of her remains the following year and she was placed next to her husband in the Presidential residence. Her coffin was open for viewing while his was closed. Evita’s post death travels end in October 1976 when she returned to her family in Recoleta Cemetery. Her husband was buried in his family cemetery in Buenos Aires.

(via The Morte Girls)