The Otter: The 1950s Amphibious Caravan That Time Forgot!

Ever wanted to combine your love of caravanning with life on the ocean - well, river - waves? Watch to find out how these people did exactly that with the help of an amphibious caravan.

The caravan you are about to see, the Otter, is unlike any other caravan you’ve seen before. This caravan is the latest invention of designer Alan Eckford who refused to accept the existing limitations of caravans. He created the unique, new, ingenious ‘amphibian caravan car’ - one that sails.

Billed as a “caravan just as much at home in the water than on land” in 1955, the Otter is quite possibly the first ever amphibious caravan. The caravan was so light that a car with just eight horsepower could tow it anywhere, and once you hit the water with it using the help of small team of three friendly individuals, anything from a 1.5 horsepower two-stroke to a 4 horsepower racing engine could turn it into the ultimate river cruiser.

A amphibious caravan for dream holiday – a week in the countryside and a week at sea (or river). Great!

Amazing Colorized Photos Show What People Wore in the 19th Century

What did people often wore in the 19th century? Just check out these amazing colorized pics to see.

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Gorgeous Photos of an American Girl Taken by Her Then Husband in the Mid-1950s

These gorgeous photos of an American girl named Martha were taken by her than husband Emil Dell'Aquila in 1954 and 1955. Martha was born in November 1935. She is probably an American model and actress. They married on June 4, 1955.

Martha looking cute on the sands of S.F. with the Cliff House restaurant, Seal Rocks, and the Pacific ocean in the background, October 1954. She not quite nineteen years old yet

Martha at S. F. Ocean Beach, October 1954

Martha at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Nov. 1954

Martha at G.G. Park, S.F. She celebrates her ninetieth birthday this month, Nov. 1954

Another lovely pose of Martha at the Chinese Gardens, G. G. Park, San Francisco, Nov. 1954

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Pretty, Thin, Young and Single: Here Are Some Bizarre Requirements for Stewardess in the 1950s

To be an airline stewardess — you know, what we call a flight attendant now — back in the early part of the jet age, you didn’t need technical skills, geography knowledge, safety know-how or travel experience. What the airlines were really looking for was simple: women who were pretty, slim, young and single.

Here’s a look at the some of the requirements and preferences that put you in the running for a coveted stewardess job back in the 1950s.


1. Soft and Feminine Hairstyle

Back in the 1950’s, one requirement was that the women had to have a soft and feminine hairstyle to make them look as much of a woman as they could. Their hair had to be short but lady-like.


2. Delicate but Flattering Makeup

The flight attendants in the 1950s had to wear makeup but it had to be light. In other words, they had to be pretty but not too pretty.


3. Hands Soft and Manicured

They had to make sure their hands were soft and manicured lightly. Light enough to look as natural as possible.


4. Light Jewelry

Although they were allowed to wear some jewelry, it had to be light. They were allowed one strand of pearls with one charm and maybe a pair of stud earrings.


5. Maximum Weight: 135 Pounds

Back in the 1950s, the female flight attendants were actually weighed before they started each shift. If they were over 135 pounds even by a little, they weren’t allowed to work. However, they did away with this requirement decades ago, thankfully.

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Extraordinary Promotional Movie Art by Jacques Kapralik From Between the 1930s and 1950s

Jacques Kapralik was born in Romania in 1906, and immigrated to the United States in 1936. He was a commercial artist and caricaturist whose art was used in the promotion of motion pictures throughout Hollywood’s Golden Era of the 1930s-1950s.

Kapralik was fortunate to work during a time considered the Golden Age of Hollywood and a zenith for celebrity caricatures. Movie studios were putting increased focus and publicity on their stars, attempting to make them household names. Kapralik’s output of celebrity caricatures increased as he left the newspaper world and began working for movie studios such as RKO, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Universal, and MGM, creating likenesses of Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, and Lucille Ball, among many others.

He developed a distinctive and highly recognizable style for his studio publicity work, much of which was shown primarily in press kits and trade magazines such MGM’s Lion’s Roar Magazine, as well as the weekly Pictorial Review newspaper insert. While heralded as a master of Hollywood caricature by industry insiders of the time, due to the nature of his work, today he remains relatively unknown to the general public.

The caricature style Kapralik became most well-known for involved the creation of miniature models from paper and balsa wood. The models were then photographed and used as promotional posters for motion pictures, predominantly MGM films. These 3-D caricature scenes were incredibly elaborate and detailed, taking up to six weeks complete.

Kapralik also created title sequences for films in the 1930s-1950s, an early innovator at a time when title sequences were just starting to evolve from simple text. His title sequence work included 20th Century Fox’s The Three Musketeers (1939) with the Ritz Brothers and MGM’S Presenting Lily Mars (1943) with Judy Garland. Aside from movie publicity, Kapralik also did advertising work for companies such as Nutrilite, S&W, and Squirt.

Jacques Kapralik died in 1960. Kapralik’s cousin, a fellow refugee from Bucharest, donated his materials to Wyoming’s American Heritage Center.

When Ladies Meet (1941)

Best Foot Forward (1943)

Honky Tonk (1941)

The Philadelphia Story (1941)

The Chocolate Soldier (1941)

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Natalie's Younger Sister: 40 Beautiful Photos of Lana Wood in the 1960s

Born 1947 as Svetlana Gurdin in Santa Monica, California, American actress and film producer Lana Wood made her film debut in The Searchers (1956). She is younger sister of film star Natalie Wood.

In her early career, Wood usually played in films in which Natalie appeared. Starting in the 1960s, her own career took off. After appearing on the short-lived drama series The Long, Hot Summer, she landed the role of Sandy Webber on the soap series Peyton Place. She played the role from 1966–67.

In 1970, Wood was approached by Hugh Hefner and asked to pose for Playboy to which she agreed. The Playboy pictures appeared in the April 1971 issue, along with Wood's poetry. She was cast as a Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, in the James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Wood has more than 20 other films and over 300 television series to her credit, including The Fugitive, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, Police Story, Starsky & Hutch, Nero Wolfe, Fantasy Island, and Capitol. After appearing in the horror film Satan's Mistress (1982), she retired from acting, concentrating on her career as a producer, but she has since returned to acting in a number of low-budget films since 2008.

Lana is a character in the Steve Alten book Meg: Hell's Aquarium (2009). Wood wrote a memoir, Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister (1984).

Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of Natalie's younger sister Lana Wood in the 1960s.

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Lovely Pics of Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone Together in the 1930s

In 1935, Franchot Tone married actress Joan Crawford; the couple divorced in 1939. They made seven films together – Today We Live (1933), Dancing Lady (1933), Sadie McKee (1934), No More Ladies (1935), The Gorgeous Hussy (1936), Love on the Run (1936), and The Bride Wore Red (1937).

During the time they were married, they tried to have children, but Crawford had several pregnancies that ended in miscarriages. Tone took their split hard, and his recollections of her were cynical — "She's like that old joke about Philadelphia: first prize, four years with Joan; second prize, eight".

However, many years later, when Tone was dying of lung cancer, Joan often cared for him, paying for his food and medical treatments. At one point during this period, Tone suggested they remarry, but she declined the offer.

These  pics captured lovely moments of Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone together in the 1930s.

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