Packing up the Obelisk in Alexandria, Egypt to send to New York, 1880. The last photo is what became to be known as Cleopatra’s needle, in place in Central Park in 1903
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March 23, 2014
25 Vintage Pictures of Smoking Camel Signs in Times Square From Between the 1940s and 1960s
Before Times Square was all flat LCD panels its signs were far more textural. Bent tin, neon, flashing light bulbs, and all manner of mechanical contraptions animated the signs that covered the walls of the great canyon of advertising. One of the most famous signs from the 1930s through the ’60s was the Camel Cigarette sign.
The makers tapped into the boiler system in the Con Ed Building, routing plumbing up to a hole in the sign, which every 4 seconds would release a “smoke” ring of steam through a ring shaped diaphragm and out of the hole. A rotating cast of faces were painted around the hole throughout the years to represent an assortment of Camel smokers, from WWII fighter pilots, to movie stars, to plain old businessmen.
Another point of interest is what lay behind the sign. Ames Billiard Academy, the once-great billiards room, was located behind the sign. Ames is perhaps most well known as being the location where much of The Hustler was filmed, starring Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman. 1966 was the last year for both the sign and the pool hall. Billiards and big mechanical signs were decidedly no longer en vogue by the mid 1960s.
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The makers tapped into the boiler system in the Con Ed Building, routing plumbing up to a hole in the sign, which every 4 seconds would release a “smoke” ring of steam through a ring shaped diaphragm and out of the hole. A rotating cast of faces were painted around the hole throughout the years to represent an assortment of Camel smokers, from WWII fighter pilots, to movie stars, to plain old businessmen.
Another point of interest is what lay behind the sign. Ames Billiard Academy, the once-great billiards room, was located behind the sign. Ames is perhaps most well known as being the location where much of The Hustler was filmed, starring Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman. 1966 was the last year for both the sign and the pool hall. Billiards and big mechanical signs were decidedly no longer en vogue by the mid 1960s.
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Amazing Vintage Photos of Paris From the 1860s
An official photographer for the city of Paris during the mid-1800s, Charles Marville was tasked with documenting the medieval streets of old Paris during the time that Haussmann, an urban planner under Napoleon, was demolishing chunks of the city to make way for larger boulevards and structures. Many of these streets have been destroyed and rebuilt.
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| Passage Saint-Guillaume, looking toward the rue de Richelieu, 1863-65. |
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| Looking down the banks of the Bièvre River at the bottom of the rue des Gobelins (5th Arrondissement) in 1862. |
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| Top of the rue Champlain in the 20th Arrondissement, 1877. |
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| Here is a view of a spire of Notre Dame, facing Ile St. Louis. |
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| Urinal in the 10th, 1876. |
March 22, 2014
37 Beautiful Portraits of the 70s Fashion and Style Icons
As a 70s revival stomps ahead for summer, rifle through our definitive list of the decade's style icons for inspiration a-plenty.
1. Farrah Fawcett
From the naïf, buttoned-down shirts to the high-waisted denim flares, not only did Fawcett set the small screen alight but her look came to define a generation. The ‘Farrah Flick’ became the first must have celebrity hair style and the image of the actress in a swimsuit, head tilted back and grinning broadly, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. She is consistently name-checked by designers when a 70s revival rolls round.
2. Bianca Jagger
This Nicaraguan-born activist rewrote the fashion rule book when she wore a white suit by Savile Row tailor Tommy Nutter to marry her Rolling Stone in St Tropez in 1971. Jagger not only wore 70s fashion, she lived it; a Studio 54 stalwart, she was friends with the likes of YSL and Halston, playing model and muse alike. From turbans to tube tops, nothing was off limits for this original fashion risk-taker.
3. Iman
When someone with the fashion clout of the late, great Yves Saint Laurent singles out someone as his “dream woman”, it’s time to pay attention – and Iman was the recipient of that prestigious accolade. First shot for Vogue in 1976, this Somali glamazon had her pick from the 70s catwalks as all the top designers of the day – think Halston, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Issey Miyake and Donna Karan – courted her beauty.
4. Debbie Harry
When Blondie’s Heart Of Glass burst onto the airwaves in 1979, a whole army of teenage girls started emulating lead singer Harry’s insouciant, laid-back disco style: mussed hair, red lips, funked-up maxis, leopard print. A great piece of trivia: in the now-iconic music video for the single, Harry wears an asymmetrical silver dress designed by Stephen Sprouse, which was photo-printed with television scan lines then sandwiched between two layers of chiffon to create an optical illusion. Groovy.
5. Diane Von Furstenberg
Diane Von Furstenberg lived a fashion fairytale – literally. Having married her first husband Prince Egon of Furstenberg in 1969, she launched her own-name fashion label in 1970. "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career,” she has said. “I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her desserts." She achieved her dream in spectacular style, launching her signature wrap dress in 1973 – fast forward almost 40 years, and there is still no wardrobe that’s considered complete without one.
1. Farrah Fawcett
From the naïf, buttoned-down shirts to the high-waisted denim flares, not only did Fawcett set the small screen alight but her look came to define a generation. The ‘Farrah Flick’ became the first must have celebrity hair style and the image of the actress in a swimsuit, head tilted back and grinning broadly, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. She is consistently name-checked by designers when a 70s revival rolls round.
2. Bianca Jagger
This Nicaraguan-born activist rewrote the fashion rule book when she wore a white suit by Savile Row tailor Tommy Nutter to marry her Rolling Stone in St Tropez in 1971. Jagger not only wore 70s fashion, she lived it; a Studio 54 stalwart, she was friends with the likes of YSL and Halston, playing model and muse alike. From turbans to tube tops, nothing was off limits for this original fashion risk-taker.
3. Iman
When someone with the fashion clout of the late, great Yves Saint Laurent singles out someone as his “dream woman”, it’s time to pay attention – and Iman was the recipient of that prestigious accolade. First shot for Vogue in 1976, this Somali glamazon had her pick from the 70s catwalks as all the top designers of the day – think Halston, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Issey Miyake and Donna Karan – courted her beauty.
4. Debbie Harry
When Blondie’s Heart Of Glass burst onto the airwaves in 1979, a whole army of teenage girls started emulating lead singer Harry’s insouciant, laid-back disco style: mussed hair, red lips, funked-up maxis, leopard print. A great piece of trivia: in the now-iconic music video for the single, Harry wears an asymmetrical silver dress designed by Stephen Sprouse, which was photo-printed with television scan lines then sandwiched between two layers of chiffon to create an optical illusion. Groovy.
5. Diane Von Furstenberg
Diane Von Furstenberg lived a fashion fairytale – literally. Having married her first husband Prince Egon of Furstenberg in 1969, she launched her own-name fashion label in 1970. "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career,” she has said. “I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her desserts." She achieved her dream in spectacular style, launching her signature wrap dress in 1973 – fast forward almost 40 years, and there is still no wardrobe that’s considered complete without one.
March 21, 2014
Beautiful Portraits of Marilyn Monroe in 1947
Newly signed 20th Century-Fox contract girl Marilyn Monroe poses for a portrait in 1947 in Los Angeles, California.
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(Photos by Earl Theisen)
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(Photos by Earl Theisen)
Amazing Color Photographs of Everyday Life in Lima, Peru in the 1970s
Chris Protopapas is a Greek-Belgian who came to the United States at age 12, in 1967 and became an American in 1975. He got his first camera in 1974, an antique Nikon rangefinder, and has been photographing his home (New York City) and the world ever since.
These amazing color photos were taken by Chris, they documented everyday life of Lima, Peru in 1974.
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These amazing color photos were taken by Chris, they documented everyday life of Lima, Peru in 1974.
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Rare and Amazing Color Photographs of London’s “Peace Day” on 19th July 1919
As preparations were made for the Victory Parade in London, a huge military camp grew up in Kensington Gardens, with large numbers of Allied troops bivouacking there. The population of London swelled, with thousands of people coming into the capital on Friday’s overnight trains.
Hundreds of people spent the night in the parks or streets to be sure of a good place. Women climbed on top of the high wall round the Victoria memorial gardens and sat there for fifteen or sixteen hours.
The rush for places on the processional route was in full swing by six in the morning, and by eight o’clock it was almost impossible to cross Trafalgar Square.
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On the morning itself King George V issued a message to the wounded:
To these, the sick and wounded who cannot take part in the festival of victory, I send out greetings and bid them good cheer, assuring them that the wounds and scars so honourable in themselves, inspire in the hearts of their fellow countrymen the warmest feelings of gratitude and respect.
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The crowds continued to pour in looking for vantage points on the route of the parade. The official programme (price 1 penny) sold in hundreds of thousands. Pubs near the main route ran dry very early on and had to close.
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(London - Musee Albert-Kahn/Aftermath WW1, JULY 1919)
Hundreds of people spent the night in the parks or streets to be sure of a good place. Women climbed on top of the high wall round the Victoria memorial gardens and sat there for fifteen or sixteen hours.
The rush for places on the processional route was in full swing by six in the morning, and by eight o’clock it was almost impossible to cross Trafalgar Square.
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On the morning itself King George V issued a message to the wounded:
To these, the sick and wounded who cannot take part in the festival of victory, I send out greetings and bid them good cheer, assuring them that the wounds and scars so honourable in themselves, inspire in the hearts of their fellow countrymen the warmest feelings of gratitude and respect.
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The crowds continued to pour in looking for vantage points on the route of the parade. The official programme (price 1 penny) sold in hundreds of thousands. Pubs near the main route ran dry very early on and had to close.
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(London - Musee Albert-Kahn/Aftermath WW1, JULY 1919)
