Photos taken at the McConnell Air Hostess School which trained air hostesses for TWA in the 1940s. The training included learning the correct way to serve drinks, dealing with inebriated passengers and even learning how to change nappies (did Air Hostesses used to do that?). Even more surprisingly they are also pictured having chewing gum(…)
Curious photos from a Beautiful Legs Contest from 1949. The pictures raise lots of questions in my mind – aside from why you’d want to enter a ‘beautiful legs contest’ in the first place.
You must have heard people say that the 1950s was a time of simpler pleasures, and these pictures of Disneyland in the 50s show that perfectly. This was a much more low-tech world of stagecoaches and steam paddle boats and serious people riding on carousel horses wearing suits (if these pictures are anything to go(…)
Nose art on airplanes first became popular during WW1 when German airmen (or rather their ground-crews) started painting a mouth and teeth onto nose cones, rather like Moby Dick below. In fact a shark-face design is still painted on nose-cones of military aircraft today. During World War II the military didn’t allow nose-art, but was(…)
More and more smokers are becoming social pariahs. They have to stand on the street in the rain outside restaurants, bars, pubs and even their own cars (if their kids are inside). And while I don’t mind this, being a non-smoker, it does strike me as strange that in years gone by smoking was seen(…)
So, who knew there was a trend for body jewelry in the 50s? These photos are from 1951 of ‘Cling’ jewelry, which presumably was somehow stuck to your skin rather than pierced into your skin! Frankly I suspect these twinkling baubles would be uncomfortable, would probably fall off after a short time and also leave(…)
What better way to start off the new year by seeing how they celebrated in years gone by! These are some of my favourite vintage new year pin ups from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. I love the Myrna Loy one – I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles to stay up till(…)
If you think you need a steady hand to apply eyeliner, then try drawing straight seams up the backs of your legs! During WW2 when stockings were in short supply women were encouraged to use liquid stockings instead, and to draw the seams using eyeliner (or to get a friend to do it for you!).(…)
You thought zumba and ashtanga yoga were torture enough in the pursuit of youth and fitness? Be grateful you didn’t live in the 1940s when young women were encouraged to visit slenderizing salons in the pursuit of perfection. These photos show poor Pat Ogden being pummeled by a Wooden Barrel Massager and a Roaler Massager(…)
It was the lovely Armi Kuusela from Finland who won the first ever Miss Universe contest in 1952*, with Miss Hawaii, Miss Greece, Miss Hong Kong and Miss Germany in the runner up positions. Interestingly Miss United Kingdom, Aileen P. Chase, who was a runner up in Miss World the previous year didn’t even make(…)
These publicity photos of young 1940s Hollywood starlets seem slightly odd to me. Sure, they all look beautiful and happy and like screen stars of the future, but there’s something reminiscent of the Playboy mansion about the photos! The pictures were taken at the home of publisher and media magnate William Randolph Hearst Sr (who(…)
The can-can dancers of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, probably taken some time in the 1950s judging by the hair and make-up styles. Those flying leaps into the splits look really painful! The backstage photos showing them warming up before a performance are really interesting too, they were all so bendy!
I love this series of photos. Some of them could have been taken anywhere during the Sixties: the Mary Quant fashions and girls with their heavy eye-makeup and bouffant hair (even on the ballerinas). But then there are some uniquely Parisian photos too: the street scenes, the elderly couple snoozing in the Louve, the stamp(…)
London was a very different city in 1941. Alongside the landmarks we all recognize there were clear signs of the Blitz and the toll that war was taking on the city. From schools, to Trafalgar Square to bomb shelters and shop fronts, these photos give you an insight into the way London had to change(…)
The forecast heatwave seems to have arrived in full force today and it’s far too hot to actually dance, so here are some vintage photos of people dancing their socks off to keep us all entertained. Thinking about doing exercise is almost as good as doing it, right? Oh, and I’d like to know your(…)
1930 bridged the gap between the decadent 1920s and the introduction and enforcement of the Hayes Motion Picture Code which cracked down on immorality, nudity and general fun at the movies*. Here are some of the films released in this year. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous and from racy to glamorous not(…)
I love the idea of collating images which give a real flavour of what a place was like at a point in time. All of the photos below were taken in Paris in 1926. They range from Josephine Baker dancing at the Folies-Bergère, to photos of buildings, shop windows, fashions and bridges along with some(…)
Wow, you’d certainly need a head for heights to do this job! Back in 1908-9 when the Manhattan bridge was under construction there was no such thing as health and safety. You could wander the boards of the half-built bridge with your camera snapping photos of the workers without any questions being asked at all…(…)