Vintage Everyday

January 8, 2016

Vintage Photos of Children Working at Home

January 08, 2016 children & youth, life

Little girl washing eggs

A little girl irons her clothes

Picking beans on the family farm, Fort Kent, Aroostook County, Maine, 1942

Twelve-year-old girl who keeps house in a trailer for her three brothers who are migrant workers, near Harlingen, Texas, February 1939

Two girls wash and spin clothes to clothesline, 1907

Here Are 21 of the Very First Photographs of the World That You May Never See Before

January 08, 2016 1800s, event & history, photography

The history of photography has roots in remote antiquity with the discovery of the principle of the camera obscura (a dark room) and the observation that some substances are visibly altered by exposure to light.

As far as is known, nobody thought of bringing these two phenomena together to capture camera images in permanent form until around 1800, when Thomas Wedgwood made the first reliably documented although unsuccessful attempt.

In the mid-1820s, Nicéphore Niépce succeeded, but several days of exposure in the camera were required and the earliest results were very crude. Niépce's associate Louis Daguerre went on to develop the daguerreotype process, the first publicly announced photographic process, which required only minutes of exposure in the camera and produced clear, finely detailed results. It was commercially introduced in 1839, a date generally accepted as the birth year of practical photography.

Here's a gallery of 21 photographic ‘firsts’ from over the past two centuries.

1. The world's first photograph taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, 1826.

2. This is believed to be the oldest photograph taken in the USA; Central High School in Philadelphia, by Joseph Saxton, 1839.

3. Born 1746, photo from 1840, Hannah Stilley is probably the earliest born person photographed.

4. First color photograph taken by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, 1861.

5. First gay couple photographed together.

January 7, 2016

Street View, Then & Now: New York City’s Fifth Avenue From a Century Ago vs. Today

January 07, 2016 1910s, New York, photography, street, Then and Now, traffic & transport

The New York Public Library has recently released even more digitized images from their vast collection, including more than 180,000 in the public domain. With this public domain remix, you can compare the photos from the 1911 Fifth Avenue from Start to Finish collection with 2015’s Google Street View.

Near Washington Square Park, looing west from 5th Avenue, down West 8th Street. In the 1911 photo, the building at left is a private residence, at right, an office of the Edison Company. (Top: New York Public Library, Bottom: © Google, Inc.)

West 20th Street, where the corner building remains intact, just a change of tenants from a store to buy trunks, and a publisher, to a sporting goods store and clothing store. (Top: New York Public Library, Bottom: © Google, Inc.)

Looking down West 36th Street, the private residences and shops at right have been replaced by a modern building, while most of the arches of the building at left remain visible, despite a new facade on the 5th Avenue side. Note the heights of the newer buildings looking down 36th. (Top: New York Public Library, Bottom: © Google, Inc.)

A workman stands in front of a distinctive set of 3 arched windows on 5th Avenue, between East 38th and East 39th Street. In 1911, the shops were, from left, Knabe Piano Co., Benson and Hedges Tobacconists, Hardman Piano Co., John M. Crapo Linens, Ludwig Schultze Interior Decorations, and Siebrecht, a florist. In the 2014 view, from left, Payless Shoes, a new bakery under construction, Prima Donna clothing, GNC nutrition store, and a Sleepy's mattress store. (Top: New York Public Library, Bottom: © Google, Inc.)

At West 40th Street, the brand new New York Public Library Building. The building opened to the public for the first time on May 23, 1911. The 2014 view has become obscured by trees. (Top: New York Public Library, Bottom: © Google, Inc.)

Vintage Photos of Bill Clinton Before Becoming President

January 07, 2016 celebrity & famous people

President Bill Clinton was born August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas

Bill Clinton, 1947

Bill as a child

Homosexuality & Homoromanticism During the Victorian Era: 28 Vintage Portraits of Gay Couples From the 19th Century

January 07, 2016 1800s, dating & love, LGBT, life & culture, male, portraits

The Victorian Era marked a huge shift in the treatment of homosexuality. Prior to the 19th century, the theory had been that if no one discussed it, it would disappear altogether. An individual's sex life was also treated as a very private matter, so people were reluctant to speak discuss it outside of courtrooms. The British had been in complete denial about the presence of homosexuality within their country

During the 19th century the silence in England was broken, and police began actively fighting the "problem" of homosexuality. The witch hunts and mass hangings began, and the number of convictions rose. However, the laws were selectively applied and thus were not a great threat to gay men, as long as they were discreet and avoided scandal.

Gay men were commonly seen by society as perverts who had chosen their sexuality, or as diseased individuals whose sexuality was caused by their upbringing and biology, and not something they were born with. Doctors and psychologists, believing that homosexuality could be cured, tried methods such as hypnosis and aversion therapy.

A late 19th century gay couple

A middle-aged gay couple in the late 1800s

Young men in the 1880s

An affectionate pair from the late 19th century

Gay couple in the 1850s-60s

Stunning Black and White Fashion Photography by Eugene Vernier From Between the 1950s and 1960s

January 07, 2016 1950s, 1960s, fashion & clothing, photography

Eugene ‘Gene’ Vernier (1920–2011) worked as a fashion photographer for British Vogue from 1954 to 1967, during one of the most exciting periods in fashion history. Shooting of-the-moment looks from the likes of Christian Dior and Emilio Pucci and top models including Celia Hammond, Jean Shrimpton, and current Vogue creative director Grace Coddington, Vernier worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. Yet he was relatively unconcerned with celebrity. Interested only in bringing out the very best in each frame, Vernier was a true craftsman in the fashion photography trade.

Featuring more than one hundred of Vernier’s own favorite photographs drawn from Vogue’s extensive photo archive, these images reveal remarkable innovation in the use of props, backdrops, and location. Whether he was photographing his subjects by the sea, with a canine companion, or perfectly positioned atop a pale pink convertible, Vernier’s careful composition enhanced the essence of his subject.

Vernier shot mostly in black-and-white, and his trademark “look” is one of classic femininity. He sought to capture models when they were relaxed, enjoying the clothing, and confident that their photographer would show both only at their best.