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(…)
I don’t profess to be any kind of historical costume expert, but I do have an interest in vintage fashions and I love a good wedding dress. Because of this I’ve spent hours both looking at old wedding photos and watching Downton Abbey, and it strikes me that they don’t seem to tally at all!(…)
Olga Spessivtseva was one of the foremost Russian ballerinas of the early 20th Century. She traveled the world to rave reviews in a career which spanned from 1913 to 1939 before succumbing to mental illness and becoming an inmate of the Hudson River Asylum for the Insane. Often billed as Olga Spessiva (her name was(…)
Even if you’re not a silent movie buff you’ve probably heard of ‘America’s Sweetheart‘ Mary Pickford. Here are some interesting facts you might not have known about the famous Blondilocks: She co-founded the movie studio United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, husband Douglas Fairbanks Sr and D.W. Griffith in response to the restrictive and controlling ‘Star(…)
Miss Fernande was arguably the very first photographic pin up star. Born during the 1890s in Paris, the lovely Fernande was a model and prostitute who posed for nude and semi-nude photographs for photographer Jean Agelou during the 1910s and 20s. Her exact identity remains a mystery. Only ever known by the moniker ‘Miss Fernande’(…)
Frankly, an artistic arrangement of dead snakes doesn’t really say Happy Christmas to me, but clearly it did to somebody. This photos if from a Christmas card back in 1910. I don’t have much information about it except that it was Harry Dewey’s Christmas card and the photo was taken in Big Cypress Swamp, Florida.(…)
Anna Q. Nilsson was a successful silent movie actress in 1920s America. Born in Sweden the enigmatic Q in her middle name stood for Quirentia – she was named for the obscure Saint Quirinius who was martyred by being beheaded in the year 116. Nilsson moved to America aged 17 and soon found work as(…)
I couldn’t find out very much about this beautiful girl, except that her name is Pearl Aufrere, a chorus girl and actress in the early 1910s in London. She seems to have made the news more for her illustrious engagements rather than her stage appearances. She was engaged to Viscount Dangan, an engagement which was(…)
Today is the 100th anniversary of the day Britain declared war on Germany at the start of World War 1. As it is mostly out of living memory now, the First World War has a tendency to seem a very distant conflict, but when you look at some of the photographs taken at the time(…)
I never stopped to wonder how Adolf Hitler spent the First World War, I certainly never imagined he was a soldier with a creased uniform and a flamboyantly-curled moustache.
My blog seems to have taken a decidedly Russian turn this week, what with clearing up the rumours about Rasputin and the last Tzar’s family photos! I’m continuing the trend today with the beautiful Vera Karalli, who was a successful ballerina at the Bolshoi in the 1910s as well as being a popular Russian silent(…)
I’m embarrassed to say that a great deal of what I knew about Rasputin came courtesy of Boney M (Lover of the Russian Queen, Russia’s greatest love machine etc.) and urban myth. After looking through the last Tzar’s family photos yesterday I was intrigued enough about Rasputin to try to find out more about him.(…)
It was fascinating to come across these family photos which make Tzar Nicholas II of Russia look like just a normal family, despite the Tzar constantly wearing a stiff impressive uniform and military hat regardless of whether he’s on a cruise, or playing tennis! On the subject of outfits, his daughters Anastasia, Tatiana, Olga and(…)
Mans Desire: A story of the clash of elemental passions in the depths of the forest primeval. Replete with exceptional snow and storm scenes. I just loved this movie poster from 1919 – the movie sounds cracking doesn’t it? I’ll have to try to track down a copy! Image source and copyright: This media file(…)
Alice Brady was a silent movie actress who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in 1937, and successfully made the transition into talkies. She started her career on the stage and made her silent movie debut in 1914 in As Ye Sow. Over the next 10 years she appeared in over 50 movies as(…)
When we think of silent movie stars we inevitably think of Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino as well as perhaps Lillian Gish (not forgetting the quintessential flappers Clara Bow and Louise Brooks). But for every movie icon there were hundreds of actresses who appeared in silent movies whose names haven’t stood the test of time(…)
We all know the story of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic. At least I assume we do, I can’t imagine there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know the story, but just in case here’s a brief recap of the tragic tale with a few facts you might not know. The RMS Titanic was(…)
Three fantastic posters from the 1918 silent move Salome starring Theda Bara. Sadly this movie has been lost so I can’t share a clip with you, but there is a photo from the movie which I’ve posted below. Doesn’t she look fabulous? How on earth did that happen to so many old movies?