Fascinating Vintage Photos of People Having Fun in Snow-Covered Central Park

Take a look back at people enjoying their time in a snow-covered Central Park in the past through 20 fascinating vintage photographs:

People ice skating on a frozen pond, 1894. (MCNY)

Children sledding, 1897. (Bettmann)

Children sledding, circa 1900. (Bettmann)

Two men race ice skating, circa 1900. (Buyenlarge)

A group of men playing curling, circa 1900. (Detroit Publishing Company)

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Pictures of Sophia Loren at the Venice Film Festival in 1958

The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival is the world’s oldest film festival and one of the “Big Three” film festivals, alongside the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. The Big Three are internationally acclaimed for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.

Founded in Venice, Italy in August 1932, the festival is part of the Venice Biennale, one of the world’s oldest exhibitions of art, created by the Venice City Council on 19 April 1893. The range of work at the Venice Biennale now covers Italian and international art, architecture, dance, music, theatre, and cinema.

The festival is held in late August or early September on the island of the Lido in the Venice Lagoon. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. The festival continues to be one of the world's most popular and fastest-growing.

These vintage photos captured a young and beautiful Sophia Loren at the 19th annual Venice International Film Festival which was held from 24 August to 7 September 1958.

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The Jersey Lily: 40 Glamorous Photos of Lillie Langtry in the Late 19th Century

Born 1853 as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on the island of Jersey, British-American socialite, actress and producer Lillie Langtry moved to London in 1876 upon marrying. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses, and she was celebrated as a young woman of great beauty and charm.

By 1881, Langtry had become an actress and starred in many plays in the UK and the United States, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Lady of Lyons, and As You Like It, eventually running her own stage production company.

In later life, Langtry performed “dramatic sketches” in vaudeville. She was also known for her relationships with noblemen, including the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was the subject of widespread public and media interest.

Langtry was nicknamed “The Jersey Lily”. She died of pneumonia in Monte Carlo in 1929, aged 75.

Take a loo at these glamorous photos to see the beauty of young Lillie Langtry in the late 19th century.

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On Dec. 30, 1930, the First-Ever Photo of the Earth’s Curvature Was Taken

The first photograph ever made showing the division between the troposphere and the stratosphere and also the actual curvature of the Earth.

(Image: National Geographic/Albert William Stevens)

This photo was taken by Lieutenant Colonel Albert William Stevens, who was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and an aerial photographer. He also happened to be a balloonist, and he once broke a world record for a high-altitude balloon flight.

The image, taken from 72,395 feet above the surface of the Earth from a point approximately 35 miles south of Murdo, South Dakota, looks west towards the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Big Horn Mountains, and beyond. Notes rivers, mountains and some popular locations in the region.

He used infrared-sensitive film that worked well for long-distance aerial shots in which the subject was obscured by things like haze. The mountains he was photographing were more than 300 miles away, and he couldn’t see them with his own eyes. But his camera was sensitive enough! The photo was the first visual proof that our planet is, in fact, round.

Life of the Netherlands in the 1970s Through Amazing Black and White Photos

The 60s and 70s marked a period of great cultural and social change throughout the world, including the Netherlands.

Netherlands in the 1970s

Younger generation became engaged in things like rock and roll, sexual exploration, drugs, idealism, and informal clothes. They wanted to distinguish themselves from the past generation as much as possible. And they were successful.

As of result of this youth movement, religion began to fade into the background of Dutch society. Neighborhoods, cities, and countries became more secular, and religion was discussed less and less public – a practice that is still widely in affect to this day.

These amazing black and white photos were taken by Erik van Straten that show street scenes of the Netherlands, mostly Amsterdam in the 1970s.

Utrecht, 1971

Amsterdam, 1973

Amsterdam. Slotervaart, 1973

Netherlands, 1973

Utrecht, 1973

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Amazing Space Age Fashion Designs by Pierre Cardin From the 1960s

“The clothes that I prefer are those I invent for a life that doesn’t exist yet – the world of tomorrow.”

Pierre Cardin, who was known for his 1960s “Space Age” fashion designs, passed away on December 29, according to the Fine Arts Academy of France. He was 98 years old.

The designer was born in Italy and moved to France as a young teenager. He subsequently changed his first name from Pietro to Pierre, and pronounced his surname with a French accent, thus evolving into the Pierre Cardin many know today.

He began his career as a tailor’s apprentice, worked for Elsa Schiaparelli, and became the head of Christian Dior's workshop in 1947. In 1950, he founded his own fashion house and by the 1960s he was one of the biggest proponents of prêt-à-porter.

Not only was Cardin known for his retrofuturist fashion sense, but he was one of the first designers to license his name, setting the stage for the logomania craze we still see today. In the 1970s and 1980s, the designer embossed his signature into thousands of items from watches to sunglasses.

R.I.P Pierre Cardin!

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40 Fabulous Portrait Photos of African American Women in the 19th Century

American women have participated in defense of this nation in both war and peacetime. Their contributions, however, have gone largely unrecognized and unrewarded.

African American women in the 19th century

While women in the United States Armed Forces share a history of discrimination based on gender, black women have faced both race and gender discrimination. Initially barred from official military status, black women persistently pursued their right to serve.

During the Civil War, black women’s services included nursing or domestic chores in medical settings, laundering and cooking for the soldiers.

A set of fabulous photos from mj aux that show studio portraits of African American women in the 19th century.

Close-up portrait of a woman with huge shouldered dress, Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Conkling and Savitsky, 213 N. 16th St., Omaha)

Close-up portrait of a woman in high-collared dress, St. Joseph, Missouri. (Photo by Lozo, 420 Felix Street, St. Joseph, Mo.)

Portrait of a bright-eyed young woman, Fort Scott, Kansas. (Photo by Williams, First and Main Sts., Fort Scott)

Portrait of a serious-looking woman, Waelder, Texas. (Photo by McCallum, Waelder, Texas)

Portrait of a smiling young woman, Canandaigua, New York. (Photo by Finely and Sons, Main Street, Canandaigua, N.Y.)

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20 Black and White Photos of Marianne Faithfull in the 1970s

Marianne Faithfull (born December 29, 1946) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single “As Tears Go By” and became one of the lead female artists during the British Invasion in the United States.

From 1966 to 1970, she had a highly publicized romantic relationship with Mick Jagger. Her popularity was further enhanced by her film roles, such as I’ll Never Forget What’s‘isname (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), and Hamlet (1969). However, her popularity was overshadowed by personal problems in the 1970s. During that time she was anorexic, homeless, and a heroin addict.

Faithfull ended her relationship with Jagger in May 1970, and she lost custody of her son in that same year, which led to her attempting suicide. Faithfull’s personal life went into decline, and her career went into a tailspin. She made only a few appearances, including an October 1973 performance for NBC with David Bowie, singing Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe”.

Faithfull lived on London’s Soho streets for two years, suffering from heroin addiction and anorexia nervosa. Friends intervened and enrolled her in an NHS drug program, from which she could get her daily fix on prescription from a chemist. She failed at controlling or stabilizing her addiction at that time. In 1971, producer Mike Leander found her on the streets and made an attempt to revive her career, producing part of her album Rich Kid Blues. The album was shelved until 1985.

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15 Vintage Portraits of a Young Harry Belafonte in the 1950s

Harry Belafonte (born March 1, 1927) is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, activist, and actor. One of the most successful Jamaican-American pop stars in history, he was dubbed the “King of Calypso” for popularizing the Trinidadian Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s.

His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. Belafonte is known for his recording of “The Banana Boat Song”, with its signature lyric “Day-O”. He has recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He has also starred in several films, including Otto Preminger’s hit musical Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).

Take a look back at the “King of Calypso” during the ‘50s through 15 vintage portraits: 

1952. (John Swope)

1954. (Mondadori)

1956. (Michael Ochs)

1956. (Richard Miller)

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35 Glamorous Photos of Israeli Actress Gila Golan in the 1960s

Born 1940 in Kraków, Poland, Gila Golan was hidden from the Nazis at a young age, a Catholic family found her left in a bundle at a train station during the Holocaust, and adopted her during the war. Her adopted family named her Zoshia Zavatski.

Arriving in Israel in 1951, with the name Zusia Sobetzcki, she became Miriam Goldenberg and continued her schooling in an Orthodox girls’ boarding school. Within a few years she had joined a Kibbutz and was studying to be a teacher.

Golan was spotted by an American photographer and later appeared in the Israeli women’s magazine LaIsha. Her new fame landed her a spot in the 1960 national fashion competition, where she won first place and was crowned as Na’arat Israel—“Israel’s Maiden of Beauty” (not Miss Israel).

After receiving second place in that year’s Miss World competition as Israel’s representative, she was sent to the United States to raise funds. While modeling in New York, she won a contract with Columbia Pictures.

Director Stanley Kramer started her film career with the role of Elsa Lutz in his 1965 film Ship of Fools. She continued to establish herself in Our Man Flint (1966), I Dream of Jeannie (1966), Three on a Couch (1966), Catch as Catch Can (1967), and The Valley of Gwangi (1969).

Gila lives in Florida with her third husband and now runs an investment business.

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