28 Amazing Vintage Photographs of American Stores From the 19th Century

In Victorian era, it was very difficult to keep perishable food fresh. People in the Victorian period would go shopping everyday and bought small amounts of groceries.

There were no supermarkets in the 19th century, but little stores of different kinds. The Victorian stores opened six days a week and would stay open in the evening until the last customer left.

Poor people would often buy from street vendors as there were cheaper than the stores. They would often buy from markets or street sellers as these were cheaper than shops.

Take a look at these amazing vintage photos to see what stores of the United States looked like in the 19th century.

Exterior of Hardie & Darling store and auctioneer store, circa 1860s-1870s

Exterior of J.S. Lytle & Son's horse furnishing goods store, circa 1870s-1880s

People outside of general store, New York, circa 1870s

People outside of tinware store, New York, circa 1870s

Three women outside general store, circa 1870s

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12 Vintage Photos of Donut Queens From the Mid-20th Century

The popularity of the Miss America pageant led to a variety of beauty contests — many during the 1950s, a golden age for pageants. Some events were more important, politically and socially, than others. The crowning of the National Doughnut Queen held less social significance. But contestants in every beauty pageant shared one thing — the sincere desire to be chosen queen — or king, in some cases — and to represent a community ideal...

Below are 12 amazing vintage photographs of Donut Queens from between the 1940s and 1950s:

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Candid Photographs of The Rolling Stones Performing at the Alexandra Palace in London, 1964

The Rolling Stones’ All Night Rave took place at the Alexandra Palace in London on June 26, 1964. Organized by The Rolling Stones’ fan club, the show coincided with the release date of the band’s hit “It’s All Over Now”. The Stones joined a blues-rich bill that featured John Lee Hooker, John Mayall, Alexis Korner, and Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions.

While the Fab Four were still fresh-faced and fancy-free, The Rolling Stones represented the darker side of the pop invasion of the sixties. Founders Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards found themselves in front of a huge crowd, willing to go to war for the band. Brian Jones said in a statement after the rave: “As the excitement mounts girls surge down to the footlights, their screams swamping our amplifiers.”

The band unwittingly held one of the first ever raves in London, and with it, sealed their reputation as one of the most unruly and uncompromising artists of rock and roll history. In the images, there are candid shots of sixties teens dancing their night away as well as perfect shots of Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in front of the baying crowd.

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40 Portrait Photos of Robert Stack in the 1940s and ’50s

Born 1919 as Charles Langford Modini Stack in Los Angeles, California, American actor, sportsman, and television host Robert Stack had his first film in First Love (1939), produced by Pasternak. This film was considered controversial at the time, as he was the first actor to give Durbin an on-screen kiss.

Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the ABC television series The Untouchables (1959–1963), for which he won the 1960 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series, and later hosted/narrated the true-crime series Unsolved Mysteries (1987–2002). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Written on the Wind (1956).

In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. Stack died of heart failure at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles in 2003, at the age of 84. Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of young Robert Stack in the 1940s and 1950s.

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Ancient Pirate Gun Reclaimed From Sea, 1934

Weighing 150 pounds and resembling a cannon more than a firearm, a huge, brass-barreled, portable field piece has been recovered from the sea where a pirate lost it, and added to a collection of ancient guns in Pasadena, California, in 1934.

Left, long-barreled gun used by Spanish for long-range hunting. Right, heavy field piece recovered from sea where pirates lost it.

The gun was one of those used by the pirate, Hippolyte de Bouchard, when he and 400 followers sacked Monterey in 1818. In returning to their ship, the men lost this gun when a small boat overturned. In later years it was recovered by fishermen who saw it on the ocean floor at low tide.

Another firearm almost as remarkable is a gun with a very long barrel used by Spanish settlers in hunting. They believed that the longer the barrel, the further the ball would carry, and so used long-barreled guns to kill game at long range. The long gun has an over-all length of about ten feet.

Elegant Photos of ’20s Ladies in Robe de Style Dresses

The robe de style describes a style of dress popular in the 1920s as an alternative to the straight-cut chemise dress.

The style was characterized by its full skirts. The bodice could be fitted, or straight-cut in the chemise manner, with a dropped waist, but it was the full skirt that denoted the robe de style. Sometimes the fullness was supported with petticoats, panniers, or hoops.

The robe de style was a signature design of the couturier Jeanne Lanvin. Other couture houses known for their versions of the robe de style included Boué Soeurs, Callot Soeurs, Doeuillet and Lucile.

Here below is a set of elegant photos that shows beautiful ladies wearing robe de style dresses in the 1920s.

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25 Fascinating Vintage Photos of Elizabeth Tallchief, One of America’s Most Popular Ballerinas

Elizabeth Marie Tallchief (January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American ballerina. She was considered America’s first major prima ballerina. She was the first Native American (Osage Nation) to hold the rank, and is said to have revolutionized ballet.

Almost from birth, Tallchief was involved in dance, starting formal lessons at age three. When she was eight, her family relocated from her birth home of Fairfax, Oklahoma, to Los Angeles, California. The purpose of the move was to advance the careers of Maria and her younger sister, Marjorie.

At age 17, she moved to New York City in search of a spot with a major ballet company, and, at the urging of her superiors, took the name Maria Tallchief. She spent the next five years with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she met choreographer George Balanchine. When Balanchine co-founded what would become the New York City Ballet in 1946, Tallchief became the company's first star.

The combination of Balanchine’s difficult choreography and Tallchief’s passionate dancing revolutionized the ballet. Her 1949 role in The Firebird catapulted Tallchief to the top of the ballet world, establishing her as a prima ballerina. Her role as the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker transformed the ballet from obscure to America’s most popular.

She traveled the world, becoming the first American to perform in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater. She made regular appearances on American TV before she retired in 1966. After retiring from dance, Tallchief was active in promoting ballet in Chicago. She served as director of ballet for the Lyric Opera of Chicago for most of the 1970s and debuted the Chicago City Ballet in 1981.

Tallchief was honored by the people of Oklahoma with multiple statues and an honorific day. She was inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame and received a National Medal of Arts. In 1996, Tallchief received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievements. Her life has been the subject of multiple documentaries and biographies.

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