Vintage Photographs From the Wedding of Cornelia Vanderbilt and John Cecil in 1924

Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976) was born at the famous Biltmore Estate, a large (8,000 acre) private estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House, the main house on the estate, is a Châteauesque-styled mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet (16,622.8 m2) of floor space (135,280 square feet (12,568 m2) of living area).

Cornelia Vanderbilt was the only child of George Washington Vanderbilt and Edith Dresser Vanderbilt. She inherited the Biltmore Estate from her father.

Cornelia was married first to Hon John Francis Amherst Cecil in 1924. About 1932, Cornelia found life at Biltmore too dull to endure and moved to New York briefly to study art. After a few months she moved to Paris, divorced Cecil in 1934, changed her name to Nilcha and dyed her hair bright pink. That phase passed, and while living quietly and modestly in London, she met and married Vivian Francis Bulkely-Johnson about 1950.

At some point she adopted the name Mary. Her last marriage was in 1972 to William Goodsir, 26 years her junior. They lived very quietly; Cornelia never spoke of her past. Her sons with Cecil, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (b. 1925) and William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (b. 1928), eventually inherited the Biltmore Estate and land.

Strange German New Year’s Postcards, circa 1910

People have always been weird!

These vintage cards from 1910 illustrate a German phrase: “Jemandem Hörner aufsetzen” (Someone alia put on horns). That means cheat your spouse or lover.

“When you’re as lovely as you, your husband brings you easy to horns.” That said: You’re so ugly, no wonder your husband is cheating on you.

“Oh No, is there something like that, no! My old wife has now put me a few horns.” That means: How can it be that my ugly old woman has found someone to cheat me.

30 Vintage Portrait Photos of John Cassavetes in the 1950s and ’60s

Born 1929 in New York City, American actor, film director, and screenwriter John Cassavetes became a pioneer of American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from his acting work. AllMovie called him “an iconoclastic maverick,” while The New Yorker suggested that he “may be the most influential American director of the last half century.”

As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Edge of the City (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary’s Baby (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature Shadows and followed with independent productions such as Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), and Love Streams (1984). He intermittently continued to work on studio projects such as Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky (1976) and his own Gloria (1980).

For his role in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. As a filmmaker, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Faces (1968) and the Academy Award for Best Director for A Woman Under the Influence (1974). The Independent Spirit Awards named the John Cassavetes Award in his honor.

A long-term alcoholic, Cassavetes died in 1989, at the age of 59, from complications of cirrhosis of the liver. Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of a young John Cassavetes in the 1950s and 1960s.

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25 Interesting Photos of New Year’s Eve Parties in the 1920s

New Year’s Eve celebrations are as old as the holiday itself, and it’s hard to believe that we’re so deep into the 21st century already.

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Eve (also known as Old Year’s Day or Saint Sylvester’s Day in many countries), the last day of the year, is on 31 December. In many countries, New Year’s Eve is celebrated at evening parties, where many people dance, eat, drink, and watch or light fireworks. Some Christians attend a watch night service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.

The Line Islands (part of Kiribati) and Tonga, are examples of the first places to welcome the New Year, while Baker Island (an uninhabited atoll part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands) and American Samoa are among the last.

Check out these interesting photos to see how people celebrated the New Year’s Eve in the 1920s. Wishing you all a very happy New Year!

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Jayne Mansfield Posing for New Year’s Eve Publicity Photos, circa 1956

Jayne Mansfield celebrates New Year’s Eve with champagne! Although her career spanned only a little more than a decade, Mansfield certainly left her mark on Hollywood.

A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Jayne Mansfield was known for her well-publicized personal life and publicity stunts. During a period between 1956 and 1957, there were about 122,000 lines of copy and 2,500 photographs that appeared in newspapers.

Atora Made Great Steak Pudding Cups From the 1930s

You will be charmed with these dainty little puddings —so wonderfully light and digestible when made with ‘Atora.’ The novelty of a small pudding for each person makes a refreshing change; and not only that — you are able to prepare just the right quantity without risk of running short or having wasteful left-overs.

Atora is a British brand of pre-shredded suet (the hard fat around the kidneys) first introduced in 1893. As suet most commonly needs to be shredded in its typical uses in British cuisine (e.g. in pie crusts, steamed puddings, and dumplings), Atora can be seen as a labor-saving convenience item. Here’s the recipe of steak pudding cups made by Atora from the 1930s:

4 oz. Self-raising Flour or 4 oz. Plain Flour & 1/2 tea-spoonful Baking Powder.

2 oz. fine Breadcrumbs. Pinch of Salt.

3 oz. Shredded “ATORA.”

Mix these ingredients. Add cold water to make a moist paste, firm enough to handle. Cut 9 oz. steak into thin strips and 3 oz. ox kidney into pieces. Roll in a tablespoonful flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then wrap each piece of steak around a piece of kidney. Grease 4 breakfast cups (or bowls of similar size) and line them with paste. Put in filling (3 oz. per cup), fill with water or stock, cover with paste, then with buttered paper. Tie cloths over and steam for 3 hours.

30 Lovely Vintage Photos of People Posing With Their Dachshunds

The dachshund, also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. They may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired. The name dachshund is of German origin and literally means “badger dog.”

The standard-sized dachshund was developed to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was bred to hunt small animals such as rabbits and other smaller animals.

Here below is a set of lovely vintage photos that shows people posing with their dachshunds in the past.

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Beautiful Vintage Color Photos of Beirut in 1965

These photographs were taken by amateur photographer Charles Weever Cushman during his holiday in the capital city of Lebanon. One of Phoenicia's most prominent city states, Beirut is one of the oldest cities in the world. Playing a central role in the Lebanese economy, Beirut remained a regional intellectual capital, a major tourist destination and a banking haven, especially for the Persian Gulf oil boom.

Take a look at life in the capital city in May 1965 through these beautiful vintage color pictures taken by Cushman:

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32 Cool Photos Defined Fashion Styles For Men in the 1970s

Fashion in the 1970s was about individuality. In the early 1970s, Vogue proclaimed “There are no rules in the fashion game now” due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing. Common items included mini skirts, bell-bottoms popularized by hippies, vintage clothing from the 1950s and earlier, and the androgynous glam rock and disco styles that introduced platform shoes, bright colors, glitter, and satin.

Most men simply wore jeans, sweaters, and T-shirts, which by then were being made with more elaborate designs. Men continued to wear flannel, and the leisure suit became increasingly popular from 1975 onwards, often worn with gold medallions and oxford shoes. Vintage clothing, khaki chinos, workmen’s clothes, sweatshirts, leather coats, and all-denim outfits were also desired among young men. Other trends include printed shirts, zip-up cardigans, western shirts marketed to capitalize on the nostalgia for 1950s fashion, Birkenstocks, mood rings, and raincoats.

Generally the most famous silhouette of the mid and late 1970s for both genders was that of tight on top and loose on bottom. The 1970s also saw the birth of the indifferent, anti-conformist casual chic approach to fashion.

Take a look at these cool photos from Flickr members to see what fashion styles for men looked like in the 1970s.

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20 Vintage Photos of Ugly Restaurants in the U.S From the Mid-20th Century

The 1950s was a truly unique moment in time. Fresh out of World War II, the world – and North America in particular – were embracing prosperity and a strong economy, built and spurred on by the war. More and more people were able to access the finer things in life in the 1950s. The times were also a period of conflict – and therefore, of thought and reinvention. The ongoing war on communism in the United States, as well as the Civil Rights Movement, exposed a division in American society.

The world was embracing automation, efficiencies, and simplicity, all with roots in nostalgia, old school familial values, and a distinct pining for prosperity. In the retail and hospitality industries specifically, the 1950s cemented itself as a vibrant time in consumer culture. Restaurants and eateries began to develop their own unique culture and way of doing things – all dependent on the year-to-year pulse of greater society.

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Marianne Faithfull Photographed by Doreen Spooner, October 1964

Doreen Spooner was probably the first female photographer to have a staff job for a popular British newspaper. Due to an alcoholic husband and a distinct lack of money she joined the Daily Mirror in 1962. In a career stretching from the late 1940s to the 1990s, she became something of a feminist icon.

These fascinating black and white photographs of Marianne Faithfull at her flat in London were taken by photographer Doreen Spooner on October 31, 1964.