Amazing Then and Now Photographs of Machu Picchu After Excavation in 1911

In 1911 American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham traveled the region looking for the old Inca capital and was led to Machu Picchu by a villager, Melchor Arteaga. Bingham found the name Agustín Lizárraga and the date 1902 written in charcoal on one of the walls.

Though Bingham was not the first to visit the ruins, he was considered the scientific discoverer who brought Machu Picchu to international attention. Bingham organized another expedition in 1912 to undertake major clearing and excavation.

“In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead, gigantic precipices of many-colored granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids; it has also, in striking contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and the mysterious witchery of the jungle.” — Hiram Bingham III

Bingham was a lecturer at Yale University, although not a trained archaeologist. In 1909, returning from the Pan-American Scientific Congress in Santiago, he traveled through Peru and was invited to explore the Inca ruins at Choqquequirau in the Apurímac Valley. He organized the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition in part to search for the Inca capital, which was thought to be the city of Vitcos. He consulted Carlos Romero, one of the chief historians in Lima who showed him helpful references and Father Antonio de la Calancha’s Chronicle of the Augustinians. In particular, Ramos thought Vitcos was “near a great white rock over a spring of fresh water.” Back in Cusco again, Bingham asked planters about the places mentioned by Calancha, particularly along the Urubamba River. According to Bingham, “one old prospector said there were interesting ruins at Machu Picchu,” though his statements “were given no importance by the leading citizens.” Only later did Bingham learn that Charles Wiener also heard of the ruins at Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu, but was unable to reach them.

The ruins of Machu Picchu are covered in jungle growth in this 1911 photograph taken when Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham first came to the site in 1911. (National Geographic)

Today the buildings at Machu Picchu are free of the vines and jungle growth that covered them when Bingham first arrived in 1911. (National Geographic)

Armed with this information the expedition went down the Urubamba River. En route, Bingham asked local people to show them Inca ruins, especially any place described as having a white rock over a spring.

At Mandor Pampa, Bingham asked farmer and innkeeper Melchor Arteaga if he knew of any nearby ruins. Arteaga said he knew of excellent ruins on the top of Huayna Picchu. The next day, 24 July, Arteaga led Bingham and Sergeant Carrasco across the river on a log bridge and up the Huayna Picchu mountain. At the top of the mountain, they came across a small hut occupied by a couple of Quechua, Richard and Alvarez, who were farming some of the original Machu Picchu agricultural terraces that they had cleared four years earlier. Alvarez’s 11-year-old son, Pablito, led Bingham along the ridge to the main ruins.

Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 with a team to begin excavation of the site, and then briefly visited again in 1915. (National Geographic)

Machu Picchu’s ruins are seen neatly excavated in 1997. The unique beauty and historical importance of the site led UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage site in 1983. (National Geographic)

The ruins were mostly covered with vegetation except for the cleared agricultural terraces and clearings used by the farmers as vegetable gardens. Because of the vegetation, Bingham was not able to observe the full extent of the site. He took preliminary notes, measurements, and photographs, noting the fine quality of Inca stonework of several principal buildings. Bingham was unclear about the original purpose of the ruins, but decided that there was no indication that it matched the description of Vitcos.

The expedition continued down the Urubamba and up the Vilcabamba Rivers examining all the ruins they could find. Guided by locals, Bingham rediscovered and correctly identified the site of the old Inca capital, Vitcos (then called Rosaspata), and the nearby temple of Chuquipalta. He then crossed a pass and into the Pampaconas Valley where he found more ruins heavily buried in the jungle undergrowth at Espíritu Pampa, which he named “Trombone Pampa”. As was the case with Machu Picchu, the site was so heavily overgrown that Bingham could only note a few of the buildings. In 1964, Gene Savoy further explored the ruins at Espiritu Pampa and revealed the full extent of the site, identifying it as Vilcabamba Viejo, where the Incas fled after the Spanish drove them from Vitcos.

A local man sits on stairs in the entrance to Machu Picchu in this undated photograph taken by Hiram Bingham. (National Geographic)

The same gateway stairs are cleared of jungle growth and debris in a 2007 photograph. (National Geographic)

Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 under the sponsorship of Yale University and National Geographic again and with the full support of Peruvian President Leguia. The expedition undertook a four-month clearing of the site with local labour, which was expedited with the support of the Prefect of Cuzco. Excavation started in 1912 with further excavation undertaken in 1914 and 1915. Bingham focused on Machu Picchu because of its fine Inca stonework and well-preserved nature, which had lain undisturbed since the site was abandoned. None of Bingham’s several hypotheses explaining the site held up. During his studies, he carried various artifacts back to Yale. One prominent artifact was a set of 15th-century, ceremonial Incan knives made from bismuth bronze; they are the earliest known artifact containing this alloy.

Although local institutions initially welcomed the exploration, they soon accused Bingham of legal and cultural malpractice. Rumors arose that the team was stealing artifacts and smuggling them out of Peru through Bolivia. In fact, Bingham removed many artifacts, but openly and legally; they were deposited in the Yale University Museum. Bingham was abiding by the 1852 Civil Code of Peru; the code stated that “archaeological finds generally belonged to the discoverer, except when they had been discovered on private land.”

Hiram Bingham at his tent door near Machu Picchu in 1912.

Local press perpetuated the accusations, claiming that the excavation harmed the site and deprived local archaeologists of knowledge about their own history. Landowners began to demand rent from the excavators. By the time Bingham and his team left Machu Picchu, locals had formed coalitions to defend their ownership of Machu Picchu and its cultural remains, while Bingham claimed the artifacts ought to be studied by experts in American institutions.

There are disputes as to whether Bingham was in fact the first to “discover” Machu Picchu, as others have claimed to have been there before, and the native Quechuan people who led him to the city clearly knew it was there. However, he is credited with being the official discoverer of Machu Picchu and bringing the city to the attention of the world.

The Story of Pat Stewart, the Blackpool Belle in the Polka Dot Dress, 1951

When Pat Stewart posed with her friend Wendy on the railings of the Blackpool promenade one blustery day in 1951, she had no idea that the subsequent photograph would become famous.

Pat Stewart became known as the girl in the spotty dress.

The photo, taken by Bert Hardy for the magazine ­Picture Post, has since become a hugely popular and cherished image, a carefree snapshot of a postwar world that has long since gone.

For much of her life, though, Pat had all but forgotten about the photograph. Then in 2006, the mystery of the girl in the Polka Dot dress surfaced when a woman called Norma Edmondson came forward after friends had shown her the picture.

Norma Edmondson with the picture taken by Bert Hardy in Blackpool in 1951.

Mrs Edmondson remembered being in Blackpool and recognized the dress and believed she was the girl in the photo. She even appeared on BBC’s The One Show to explain how she came to be at the centre of one of the most memorable images of 20th Century. But the one thing she couldn’t recall was the exact moment the picture was taken.

The story then took a twist when Pat came forward, after Mrs Edmondson’s appearance, to say that she was actually the girl in the picture. She vividly remembered the day Bert took the picture in Blackpool and had the original contact sheet to prove it. Mrs Edmondson admitted she had made an honest mistake and Pat was then invited on The One Show to claim the credit.

Pat Stewart holding a 1951 copy of the Picture Post that helped launch her career in showbusiness.

The story sparked a flurry of media interest that has prompted Pat to write her memoir. “I realized that my grandchildren knew nothing about this story and I wanted them to know about this part of my life.”

Her book, The Girl in the Spotty Dress, co-written with author Veronica Clark, charts her story from humble beginnings in Yorkshire, to showbusiness memories from the 1950s and that famous photograph.

The cover of the Picture Post showing the picture of Pat Stewart, right, at Blackpool Promenade in July 1951.

Pat was born in Featherstone into a hard-working, but poor, family. “My father was a miner and during the General Strike to make some money he did bare-fist fighting at a fairground,” she said.

When she was growing up her parents scrimped and saved to pay for her to have dance lessons. “Money was very tight and my mum pulled pea to help pay for my classes,” she said. “My dad took me to my first dance class when I was little, it was at a studio in the Crescent Cinema on Ropergate in Pontefract.”

At the age of 12 she was taken on by Lilyman’s Dance School in Leeds, which had a reputation for being one of the best dance schools in Yorkshire. “I used to get the bus from Featherstone to Leeds, it took about an hour and I would sit and eat my peas,” said Pat.

See more»

The Story Behind the ‘Tennis Girl’ by Martin Elliot, the 70s Picture That Made Tennis Interesting

In September of 1976 aspiring photographer, Martin Elliot convinced, his then-girlfriend, Fiona Butler to pose for a series of cheeky pictures in hopes of creating the next big pinup poster. He took a couple of shots and sold this image to publishing giant Athena. The picture – called Tennis Girl – went on to sell more than two million copes in Athena shops and continued to sell millions after the firm went bust in the 1990s.

The photo was taken at the University of Birmingham’s tennis courts (formerly Edgbaston Lawn Tennis Club) in Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, England. The dress was hand-made by Butler’s friend Carol Knotts, from a Simplicity Pattern with added lace trim. Knotts also supplied the tennis racquet, with all of the borrowed items later returned by Butler to Knotts after the shoot with a box of chocolates. Butler borrowed the plimsolls from her father, whilst the tennis balls were those used as playthings by her family’s pet dog.

The image was first published as part of a calendar by Athena for the 1977 Silver Jubilee, the same year Virginia Wade achieved the Wimbledon ladies’ singles title. Athena then negotiated a licence to distribute the image as a poster, where from 1978 it achieved widespread distribution, selling over 2 million copies at £2 per poster. Although Athena went into administration in 1995, the picture remains a popular print to buy and can be found at other retailers like Amazon, AllPosters & King and McGaw.

The iconic Tennis Girl picture featuring Fiona Butler. (Photo by Martin Elliot)

Originally from Oldbury, Martin Elliot was in the Birmingham School of Photography program and after graduating had a successful career with a studio in Birmingham’s Jewelry Quarter; living in Stourbridge and Portishead.

“I can remember it was an afternoon in September at the end of the long hot summer,” he recalled in an interview. “It was over very quickly. I only took one roll of film, which is pretty feeble for a photographer and I just hoped I’d got the shot.”

In 1999 he retired and lived in Cornwall before losing a 10-year battle to cancer in April 2010.

Fiona Butler, who broke up with Elliot three years later, said in retrospect that she was not embarrassed about posing, nor bitter that she did not receive any royalties from the photo. Butler (now Walker) is a mother of three, who works as a freelance illustrator in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire.

Speaking in 2007, she said that, despite not being paid, she was proud of her iconic status.

“I can remember the day quite clearly. When the picture got so popular I was quite amused that something taken that afternoon could get so big,” she said. “It became one of those pictures that everyone knows and everyone’s seen. I like the fact that it’s got a bit of an air of mystery about it. I think that’s what helped with its longevity, because people kept wondering if it was anyone famous.”

Fiona Walker, the model in the famous Athena poster (left) poses with an original copy at Christie’s (King Street, London) in March 2011. (Photo: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts)

“I remember going to a party with my husband and people were saying ‘is that the girl in the photograph?,’” she added. “They looked me up and down and said ‘I don’t think so’. My son’s headmaster once said to me that he used to have it on his wall at university. I’ve got no objections to it whatsoever.”

“My children have never been upset about it. It’s really nothing that anyone could be offended by. It’s just a bit of fun. I think it was banned in a couple of countries but really I don’t think there was anything to get upset about.

“It was just a picture of a very sort of ordinary girl and there’s something in that that appeals to people.”

Carol Knotts, now a barrister living in Gloucestershire, put the dress and racquet up for sale at an auction on 5 July 2014, the day of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships – Women’s Singles final.

“As I played tennis at the local club in Stourbridge, I bought a ‘Simplicity’ pattern and made my own dress, complete with lace trim. Fiona was a friend and one day asked if she could borrow my dress and racquet,” she said before the auction. “When she returned them, she gave me a big box of chocolates as a thank you.”

“I’ve had the dress tucked away in a cupboard for all those years,” she said. “It’s a little piece of tennis history and I hope someone might find it an interesting novelty item to buy.”

The Tennis Girl’s racquet and dress.

The dress was sold for £15,000, while the racquet went for between £1000-£2000. Athena Tennis Girl poster dress is now part of the Wimbledon Museum collection.

In February 2015, Peter Atkinson from Marsh Gate, Cornwall, came forward to insist the photo was actually of his ex-wife, producing in evidence two items, one showing the same image and the other a close variant (seemingly taken on the same occasion), both of which were dated 1974, two years before Fiona Butler’s photo shoot.

Peter Atkinson of Marsh Gate, Cornwall, with his collection of memorabilia of the famous ‘Tennis Girl’ photograph. He claims an old postcard and calendar cast doubt on whose behind is featured on the famous poster. (Photo: SWNS)

Over the years the picture has been parodied by various people as diverse as former tennis star Pat Cash, comedian Alan Carr and singer Kylie Minogue, with actor Keith Lemon featuring his parody in his 2012 calendar. It was also imitated in an advertisement for a tennis video game called Davis Cup World Tour for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.

Amazing Then and Now Photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Betty Weider

Arnold Schwarzenegger has lived a long life in just 72 years. An immigrant who grew up poor, he came to the United States to achieve his goals and succeed. As a bodybuilder, he took a quirky culture and helped turn it into an internationally recognized sport.

As an Austrian who could hardly speak English, Schwarzenegger somehow rose to fame in Hollywood, landing blockbuster roles and making millions. And once he conquered the silver screen, he became a politician who sought to apply his own life lessons to the public sphere.

Betty Weider is one of the leading pioneers in the field of women’s health and fitness. Her foresight and unwavering dedication to bringing the truth about diet, fitness and nutrition to women has resulted in popularizing the health and fitness lifestyle that is considered the norm today.

During the 1950s, she was a popular commercial model and pin-up girl. After marrying entrepreneur Joe Weider in 1961, she began a lengthy career as a spokesperson and trainer in the health and bodybuilding movements. She has been a longtime magazine columnist and co-authored several books on fitness and physical exercise.

In 1972, Joe Weider and his brother Ben found themselves a target of an investigation led by U.S. Postal Inspectors. The investigation involved the claims regarding their nutritional supplement Weider Formula No. 7. The product was a weight-gainer that featured a young Arnold Schwarzenegger on the label. The actual claim centered on consumers being able to “gain a pound per day” in mass. Following an appeal wherein Schwarzenegger testified, Weider was forced to alter his marketing and claims. Also in 1972, Weider encountered legal problems for claims made in his booklet Be a Destructive Self-Defense Fighter in Just 12 Short Lessons.

Weider was ordered to offer a refund to 100,000 customers of a “five-minute body shaper” that was claimed to offer significant weight loss after just minutes a day of use. The claims, along with misleading “before and after” photographs, were deemed false advertising by a Superior Court Judge in 1976.

Then and Now Photos of Carole Hersee, the Test Card Girl on BBC Television for 30 Years

Do you remember Carole Hersee? She was on TV for 30 years, several hours per day, every single day! As of now, she remains the most aired face in British television history.

The BBC test card, known as Test Card F, which shows Carole Hersee wearing a red shirt and red hairband, and Bubbles, the clown, surrounded by color scales and test graphics, was transmitted from 1967 to 1998.

Designed by Miss Hersee’s father, George Hersee, a BBC engineer, it is being broadcast again on the BBC's high definition (HD) channel to help viewers tune their HD sets, and is currently shown for 90 seconds every two hours when programmes are not on air. Technicians have rescanned the card in HD to allow viewers to set the color, contrast and sharpness on modern televisions.

“I think it [the record] is staggering, and now it has been brought back, there is no hope for anyone else to get anywhere near that record,” she told The Telegraph in 2009. “When we did it, nobody thought it would last for more than a few years, because none of the other test cards had.”

The most famous test card of all, Test Card F, still in use today by the BBC and used in 30 other countries. Designed by George Hersee and featuring his daughter Carole Hersee, it made its first appearance on BBC2 in 1967.

Above is the original version of Test Card F, BBC2. Did you know that the X on the noughts and crosses board was included to indicate the approximate centre of the card? The key differences between the original and today’s version are the labels for the frequency grating and the addition of a color bar at the top.

In 1984, Test Card F was converted to an electronic version. However this example pre-dates this, and is a strange hybrid from 1981. The Test Card is generated by a slide scanner, but the identification is electronically overlaid, as the slide says “BBC2”. The color bars have been introduced at the top, and in this example have been poorly superimposed.

Test Card F has been broadcast for an estimated 70,000 hours since it was first shown on BBC 2 in 1967, and Hersee is thought to hold the record for the most TV appearances by a single person. Carole’s younger sister Gillian also attended the shoot, but wasn’t used for the final shot as she’d recently lost two of her front teeth.

“My father was helping to design the color test card and took some photographs at home of my sister and I to give them some ideas of how they could use it,” she recalled. “And the committee decided in the end that they would use a child in order to get facial colors for the television. And they decided to use me!”

Original transparency of the central image created for Test Card F.

Talking about the shoot, she added: “I think I got irritable, apparently. Because every time they wanted to take another photograph, I was eating a biscuit or something!”

Carole was paid £100 for her picture, and she still owns the famous clown, called Bubbles, that was posed with her in the shoot.

Carole poses for another recreated shot, July 1979. (Getty Images)

Carole poses with Bubbles for a new version of the shot, photographed in 2008. (Rex Features)

Portrait of Carole in 2016. (PA)

“Never Forget Who Helped You!” – Amazing Then and Now Photos of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Coach John Wooden

Eager for any advice on how to succeed in the classroom and the court at the college level, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then a UCLA freshman known as Lew Alcindor, had already established a bond with then-UCLA basketball coach John Wooden before the two visited a local restaurant for a dinner out.

The accomplished teacher from Indiana planned to spend their time advising the lanky 7-foot-2 center from New York City on how best to handle the looming attention from physical opponents and inquisitive reporters. Instead, it was the then-middle-aged Wooden who learned something that evening when he was exposed to the racism his 18-year-old dinner guest often endured.

As they left the restaurant, an elderly white woman marveled at Abdul-Jabbar’s height before addressing him with a racial slur. Though Wooden’s face turned red, Abdul-Jabbar remembered Wooden “was too much the Midwestern gentleman to verbally attack an old woman.”

UCLA coach John Wooden introduces new UCLA player Lew Alcindor at the Bruins’ picture-day in Los Angeles on Oct. 14, 1966. (AP Photo)

“It’s just like that for any white person in America. They don’t know what it’s like to be a black person being discriminated against,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “How are they going to find that out?”

Wooden soon did. He then apologized to Abdul-Jabbar and pleaded with him not to think all white people are racist.

“It really bothered him. It really affected his worldview,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “For someone like him that felt like he had the hands on the reins of everything, that must’ve been a humbling experience.”

Lew Alcindor towers over coach John Wooden, who has some words of advice for the UCLA star during a pre-NCAA title game workout on March 21, 1969 in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo)

It was one of many experiences Abdul-Jabbar shared in his book, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-year Friendship On and Off the Court. In the book, one of more than a dozen he’s written, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer reflects plenty on Wooden’s record 10 NCAA championships with UCLA, his famed Pyramid of Success and how he helped Abdul-Jabbar develop his skyhook. The former UCLA and Lakers center also details complicated events that tested and strengthened his relationship with Wooden.

“Coach didn’t get it all right,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “But I talked about that so people didn’t think he was some kind of perfect person. He made mistakes, but the way he dealt with them was first rate.”

In this Feb. 24, 2007, file photo, former UCLA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar assists former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden off the court after celebrating the 40th anniversary of 1967 national championship team. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, File)

Since Wooden’s passing in 2010, Abdul-Jabbar said he has developed a greater understanding of the strength of their bond. It centered on basketball but included passion for literature, history and music and a mutual respect of their different backgrounds. It took Abdul-Jabbar seven years to write that story.

“I had to think about what Coach Wooden meant to my life,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Then I had to think about how much did I want to share with the public? Some of it is private. But it is very meaningful.”

Splitting Image of a Woman and Her Grandmother, Both at Age 20! That’s Amazing!

This image of a granddaughter and her grandmother’s face mirrored side by side (both at age 20) drew a lot of attention on Reddit. The two women look exactly alike, down to the arch of their eyebrows.

It’s more than just a family resemblance — these two could have been twins. (Image courtesy of Maggie Patterson)

Maggie Patterson, the granddaughter in the photo (that’s the one on the right), told HuffPost the story behind the photo of her and her grandmother, “Tita.”

“One day while I was at my grandmothers house, I saw an old newspaper that she had out on the table. The image was one of her at 20 for her wedding announcement. As I looked at the photo, the more I realized we look alike. It was almost eerie, I felt as though I was looking at myself in that wedding dress.

“I [took] a picture on my phone, [then] snapped a photo of myself making the same face as her, edited it to black and white and added my grandmother’s photo. I only had to take one photo, and aligned our facial features. Needless to say, my grandmother was so surprised and happy once I showed her the photo of our two faces. I printed and framed it for her and now she keeps it right next to her in her living room!

“The fact that we look alike is such a compliment to me. She is 84 and just gorgeous. My mother also looks just like the two of us, so I know that I have great chances of aging well! They are beautiful women and I feel very lucky.”

30 Amazing Then & Now Portraits of Famous Actors Posing With Themselves in the Pictures of Past

Imagine that you can go back in time and meet with yourself at a young or young age. What advice would you give yourself? What words would say?

Artist Ard Gelinck, though not invented a time machine, but made a series of brilliant works, looking at which a feeling that he is away from us still hiding something.

Ard has created images of iconic artists (mainly actors and musicians) in a ‘then and now’ series that is blowing our minds. Each image is a look at a well-known face hanging with their younger selves, either at the pinnacle of their careers, when they first started out in childhood or at an important point in time.

These images are so flawlessly done and will make you feel more than a little nostalgic, particularly about those we’ve lost. Enjoy!

See more»

Meet Ralph C. Lincoln From Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 11th Generation Lincoln, 3rd Cousin of Abraham Lincoln

Ralph C. Lincoln, the assistant manager at Vitamin World in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, looks strikingly similar to a very famous American – the 16th U.S. President – Abraham Lincoln. Many people have told him “you look just like Abe.” He smiles and replies, “Which one? There are several Abrahams in the family.”

Meet Ralph C. Lincoln from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 11th generation Lincoln, 3rd cousin of Abraham Lincoln.

(Photo by Steve Mellon / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Can you see the resemblance?

Ralph C. Lincoln writes on his website:

“My name is Ralph C Lincoln and I am honored to be an 11th generation Lincoln. Who also shares the same Great-Grandfather as one of America’s greatest Presidents. If you visit Fayette County in Pennsylvania, you will find a small, obscure cemetery where members of the Lincoln family are buried, including Abraham Lincoln’s great uncle Mordecai, who served in the revolutionary war, and his son Benjamin. Mordecai Lincoln is my 5th generation great grandfather, which makes me a third cousin of the President.

I have continued to live and work in the ancestral home of Southwestern Pennsylvania where, as a Lincoln Presenter, I can pay tribute to these great men in my family who have shaped the history of our country

I am proud member of organizations dedicated to bringing Abraham Lincoln to life, to educate, entertain, inspire and honor his words and works.”

These Portraits of Musicians Posing With Their Younger Selves Are Brilliant!

Ever wished you could travel back in time and meet your younger self?

Dutch artist Ard Gelinck has been working on an ongoing Then & Now project in which he uses Photoshop to create portraits of famous people posing with their younger selves. Among these stars are Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Elton John, Rob Lowe, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Phil Collins, and just to name a few.

His images are often quite convincing since he takes the time to find very good source photos where it appears to be credible that they are posing with each other. He then takes time to carefully match the colors and tones creating the illusion of a portrait actually taken together.

In some cases, decades have passed since the original photos, the comparisons are something really special. Take a look at the images below!

Freddie Mercury

Bono

Cyndi Lauper

Debbie Harry

Madonna

See more»

Incredible Then and Now Pictures That Show What Popular Dog Breeds Looked Like Before And After 100 Years of Breeding

They may be man’s best friend, but man has also changed them beyond all recognition, these incredible pictures of dog breeds reveal.

A hundred years ago, dogs like the Bull Terrier, Boxer, English Bulldog, and Dachshund were well-proportioned, generally healthy, and physically active. Today’s versions of these breeds are markedly different.

Over the years, several breeds have been bred to exaggerate certain physical traits at the expense of their health, longevity, and quality of life. The Science of Dogs blog put together a side-by-side comparison of several popular dog breeds from the 1915 book Dogs of All Nations by Walter Esplin Mason showing what they look like today.

1. English Bulldog

Few dogs have been as artificially shaped by breeding as the English bulldog. In Great Britain, the dogs were used for bull-baiting - a bloodsport where dogs were used to bait and attack bulls - until it became illegal in 1835. In 1915, the bulldog already had some of the characteristic features we see today, like saggy jowls and a squat stance.

Today, breeders have bred the bulldog to have more pronounced facial wrinkles, and an even thicker and squater body. The AKC describes the ideal dog as having a “heavy, thick-set, low-swung body, massive short-faced head, wide shoulders and sturdy limbs”. Sadly, bulldogs suffer from a number of health issues, such as breathing problems and overheating.


2. Bull Terrier

The bull terrier was first recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1885. In 1915, it appears to have been a fit, good-looking dog, with a well-proportioned head and slim torso. Dogs of All Nations called it “the embodiment of agility, grace, elegance and determination”, and the “gladiator of the canine race”.

But today, bull terriers are bred to have a football-shaped head and thick, squat body - a far cry from the lean and handsome dog of 1915.

The AKC now states that the dog's face “should be oval in outline and be filled completely up giving the impression of fullness with a surface devoid of hollows or indentations, ie, egg shaped”. According to Science of Dogs, it also developed extra teeth and a habit of chasing its tail.


3. German Shepherd

German shepherds have come to symbolise everything from loyalty and companionship to police brutality. The AKC first recognised is as a breed in 1908. In 1915, Dogs of All Nations describes it as a “medium sized dog” weighing just 55 lbs (24 kg), with a “deep chest, straight back and strong loins”.

But today’s German shepherds are bred to be considerably larger (75 to 95 lbs or 34 to 43 kg), with a more sloping back. The AKC describes the ideal specimen as “a strong, agile, well muscled animal, alert and full of life”.

However, they are also prone to health problems, such as hip dysplasia, where the leg bones don't fit properly into the hip socket, and bloat, a condition in which the stomach can expand with air and twist, which can sometimes be fatal.


4. Airedale Terrier

Though you can’t tell from this photo, Dogs of All Nations described the coloring of the Airedale’s head and ears as a rich tan, as well as the legs up to the thighs and elbows. And the dog’s coat was “hard and wiry”, but not long enough to be “ragged”.

Today, the color appears not to have changed much, but the fur of modern Airedales definitely looks longer and more “ragged” than it was in 1915. Airedales are considered the largest of all terriers, and are sporting and playful.


5. Shetland Sheepdog

The Shetland sheepdog, or Sheltie, wasn’t recognized by the American Kennel Club until 1911, just four years before the book this image is from was published. At that time, the book reports that it weighed just 7 to 10 lbs (3 to 4 kg), and appears to have had medium-length fur.

Today, the dogs have been bred to be larger, weighing at least 20 lbs (9 kg), though still sleight. And their fur has become unmistakably longer than in 1915. The AKC now describes them as “small, alert, rough-coated, longhaired working dog”. They are also very intelligent, and good at herding.

See more»