On February 21, 1958, the Peace Symbol Design Was Completed by Gerald Holtom

The symbol now known internationally as the “peace symbol” or “peace sign”, or alternatively as the nuclear disarmament symbol, or the CND symbol (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) originates as a symbol representing the threat of nuclear annihilation used in British anti-nuclear activism from 1958. It was widely adopted in the American anti-war movement in the 1960s and was re-interpreted as generically representing world peace. It was still used, however, in its original anti-nuclear context by activists opposing nuclear power, in the 1980s.

The symbol was designed by Gerald Holtom (1914–1985) for the British nuclear disarmament movement. Holtom, an artist and designer, presented it to the Direct Action Committee on February 21, 1958 where it was “immediately accepted” as a symbol for a march from Trafalgar Square, London, to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire on April 4. Holtom’s design was adapted by Eric Austen (1922–1999) to ceramic lapel badges. The original design is in the Peace Museum in Bradford, England.

The symbol is a super-imposition of the flag semaphore for the characters “N” and “D”, taken to stand for “nuclear disarmament”. This observation was made as early as April 5, 1958 in the Manchester Guardian.

Gerald Holtom’s preliminary sketches to incorporate semaphore letters into his anti-nuclear protest symbol.

The “N” and “D” semaphore signals that inspired the lines of the peace signs.

Gerald Holtom’s original sketches for his anti-nuclear protest symbol.

In addition to this primary genesis, Holtom additionally cited as inspiration Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808: “I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalized the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.”

The reference is to Goya’s The Third of May 1808 (1814), although the peasant shown in this painting has his arms stretched upwards, not downwards.

Ken Kolsbun, a correspondent of Holtom’s, says that the designer came to regret the symbolism of despair, as he felt that peace was something to be celebrated and wanted the symbol to be inverted. Eric Austen is said to have “discovered that the ‘gesture of despair’ motif had long been associated with ‘the death of man’, and the circle with “the unborn child’”.

The symbol became the badge of CND, and wearing it became a sign of support for the campaign urging British unilateral nuclear disarmament. An account of CND’s early history described the image as “a visual adhesive to bind the [Aldermaston] March and later the whole Campaign together ... probably the most powerful, memorable and adaptable image ever designed for a secular cause”.

Peace campaigner Pat Arrowsmith (right), with a marcher holding one of the first signs depicting the Peace Symbol, during the seminal 1958 antinuclear march from London to the nuclear weapons facility at Aldermaston, UK.

Handsome Portrait Photos of John Ericson in the 1950s and ’60s

Born 1926 as Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes in Düsseldorf, Germany, German-American actor John Ericson made a number of films for MGM in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in Teresa (1951), and also appeared in Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green Fire (all in 1954), in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). He co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in Forty Guns (1957). In 1958 he appeared as Sheriff Barney Wiley in the Western Day of the Badman which starred Fred MacMurray.

For the next 30 years, his career continued mostly on television. Ericson was known primarily for his co-star role with actress Anne Francis on the ABC television series Honey West in the 1965-66 season.

Ericson played the title role in Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), and his other film appearances included roles in Under Ten Flags (1960), Slave Queen of Babylon (1963), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), Operation Atlantis (1965), The Money Jungle (1968), The Bamboo Saucer (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Crash! (1976), and The Far Side of Jericho (2006).

Ericson died of pneumonia in 2020 at the age of 93. These vintage photos captured portraits of a young and handsome John Ericson in the 1950s and 1960s.

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Shirley Bassey: One of the Most Popular Female Vocalists in Britain

Born 1937 in Cardiff, Welsh singer Shirley Bassey began performing as a teenager in 1953. In 1959, she became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. In the following decades, Bassey amassed 27 Top 40 hits in the UK, including 2 number-ones. She became well-known for recording the soundtrack theme songs of the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979).

Bassey is best known for her career longevity, powerful voice. In 2020, she became the first female artist to chart an album in the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart in seven consecutive decades with her album I Owe It All To You.

Bassey has also had numerous BBC television specials and she hosted her own variety series Shirley Bassey. In 2011, BBC aired the television movie Shirley, based on Bassey’s life and career.

Bassey received the first award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1st Brit Awards in 1977. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts in 1999. In 2003, she was ranked among the “100 Great Black Britons”. Her song “Goldfinger” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of a young and beautiful Shirley Bassey in the 1950s and 1960s.

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40 Gorgeous Photos of American Actress Vera Miles in the 1950s

Born 1929 in Boise City, Oklahoma, American actress Vera Miles moved to Los Angeles in 1950 and landed small roles in television and film, including a minor role as a chorus girl in Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), a musical starring Janet Leigh, with whom Miles co-starred nine years later in the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho, reprising the role in the 1983 sequel Psycho II.

Other films in which Miles appeared include Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955), The Searchers (1956), Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), A Touch of Larceny (1959), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Follow Me, Boys! (1966), Sergeant Ryker (1968), and Molly and Lawless John (1972).

Miles appeared alongside James Belushi in the film Separate Lives (1995), before retiring from the industry. She has been married four times. Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of young Vera Miles in the 1950s.

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Miss Atomic Energy Competition, circa 1955

Throughout the 1950s, during the Cold War, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) developed atomic energy projects in the U.S.

The AEC initiated a domestic uranium production program that triggered a uranium boom in western Colorado as much of the mining and processing of uranium took place on the Colorado Plateau in western Colorado and eastern Utah.

The western Colorado town of Grand Junction was at the center of uranium production. The community even hosted a “Miss Atomic Energy” competition, a contest sponsored by the Uranium Ore Producers Association and the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce.

In 1955, the second Miss Atomic Energy contest was held in downtown Grand Junction. The winner that year was Karen Keeler of Denver, who is shown here holding her crown. She is touching her winnings, which included a truckload of uranium ore, amounting to 11.2 tonnes worth $523.54. (about $5,000 in today dollars).

The caption on this image from the Museum of Western Colorado reads: (third from left) Karen Keeler of Denver is crowned Miss Atomic Energy, winning a truckload full of uranium ore. Left to right: Shirley Riggs, Eugene H. Sanders, Karen Keeler, Cathy Gordon, Jo Reva Beane, and Barbara Talarico.

Vintage Snaps of People Sitting on Their Couches From the 1950s

The 1950s were a decade filled with exuberance, radiating a positive outlook from the United States triumphant post-war recovery. The emphasis of a ’50s household was on comfort and leisure, with the decade being a prosperous time for most middle class families.

More and more families were flocking to the suburbs, abandoning their city slicker lifestyles for a cozy home in a neighborhood and a big backyard for Fido. And because there was more time allocated for recreation and relaxation, interior design and décor became vibrant and fun.

Here below is a set of vintage snaps that shows people sitting on their couches at home from the 1950s.

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22 Strange Asian-Themed Valentine’s Day Cards From the Mid-20th Century

Valentine’s Day traces its roots back to the ancient Roman fertility festival, Lupercalia, and to legends about St. Valentine, a 3rd century A.D. priest executed for continuing to wed couples despite a prohibition on marriage. In the centuries since then, lovers, friends, and sometimes even foes have exchanged valentine cards.

Valentines, like other vintage ephemera, often reflected attitudes of the day that may not be comfortable viewing today. The cards shown here reflect the cultural and racial prejudices of their day employed as comic fodder and light entertainment. Some cards may be more problematic than others. It is easy to forgot how pervasive this type of stereotypical imagery was in popular culture in the last century.

Items like these as mundane, everyday, fare are not that far in our past, nor entirely vanquished. As relics that tell the story of our past, warts and all, we present these images so we cannot forget how we got to the place we are now.

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Vintage Pictures of Post-War London in the 1950s

These amazing pictures were taken by Allan Hailstone on various visits to London in the 1950s, back when the city was bouncing back from the horrors of the Second World War.

Piccadilly and Piccadilly Circus, February 1956

These images show a busy and vibrant post-war capital city at a time that Hailstone recalls as being 'magical'. From the bright lights of the West End to the lost theatres and smog in the air, the very essence of London was clearly captured by Hailstone's keen eyes. 

These fascinating photographs below are a selection from the 120 that feature in Hailstone's book 'London: Portrait of a City 1950-1962'. For more amazing vintage pictures, visit Hailstone's brilliant Flickr site.

Prince Monolulu, Petticoat Lane (Middlesex Street), 11 July 1954

Petticoat Lane, 25 July 1954

In a London park, 31 July 1954

Leicester Square, 11 April 1955

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Amazing Color Photos Show Life of African-Americans in the 1950s

The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The United States was the world’s strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity–new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods–were available to more people than ever before.

While the white working class saw their wages and status improve, blacks were largely excluded from the prosperity of the 1950s. Segregation in housing and education made for some serious inequality for African Americans.

A growing group of Americans spoke out against inequality and injustice during the 1950s. African Americans had been fighting against racial discrimination for centuries; during the 1950s, however, the struggle against racism and segregation entered the mainstream of American life.

These amazing color photos were found by Vieilles Annonces that show what life of African-Americans looked like in the 1950s.

Some girls just can't leave those cheerleading days behind

Frolicking in the park

Ain't love grand

All the good magazines like Seventeen and Ebony

And Baby Makes Three

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30 Vintage Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Tina Louise in the 1950s and 1960s

Tina Louise (February 11, 1934) is an American actress best known for playing movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy Gilligan’s Island. She began her career on stage during the mid-1950s before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God’s Little Acre for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

Louise had starring roles in The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. She also appeared in The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, and The Stepford Wives (1975). Upon the death of Dawn Wells in December 2020, Louise became the last surviving original cast member of the Gilligan’s Island TV series.

Following the news of Dawn Wells’ passing, Tina Louise denied any longtime rumors that she resented the role of Ginger Grant, “Never true – I loved doing my part, especially after they really started writing for my character, originally billed as a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ type of character. A different director took over and really started to write for my character. I really loved my character.”

She also said that she was very grateful to the show’s fans for their continued support especially during the COVID-19 pandemic: “We were part of the wonderful show that everyone loves and has been a great source of comfort, especially during these times. We brought a lot of joy to people and still do. This show is an escape from so many things going on. Fathers share it with their children now. I get letters all the time about that.”

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