In the early 1930s, groups of eager thrill-seeking stunt drivers would perform stunning acts in front of an audience. They performed an array of stunts such as wrecking cars, driving the car through a firewall, ramp to ramp style stunts where the stunt driv…
The history of the Soviet Union's automotive industry traces its origins back to the late 1920s and persisted until the nation's dissolution in 1991. It commenced with the establishment of significant car manufacturing plants and the restructuring of th…
Picture the early days of cars—a time of wild experimentation and bold ideas. From then till the mid-20th century, some truly outlandish vehicles hit the roads, breaking all the rules and grabbing attention like nothing else. At that time, technology in the…
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, affectionately known as "The Greatest Show on Earth," holds a remarkable place in American entertainment history. These fascinating Kodachrome photographs were taken by Charles Weever Cushman in the 1940s. …
Amidst the challenges and adversities brought by World War II, the realm of fashion in the 1940s remained an influential force, reigning supreme as women worldwide embraced a remarkable blend of utilitarian practicality and captivating elegance. Even during…
Gas stations have long been a familiar sight on American roadways, serving as crucial pit stops for motorists on their journeys. However, the gas stations we encounter today bear little resemblance to their early counterparts from the 1920s and 1940s. In…
Mining coal has always been a dangerous and challenging occupation, requiring workers to dig deep underground, often in cramped and dangerous conditions. In this article, we present a collection of vintage photos that offer a glimpse into the daily stru…
The history of coal smoke in Pittsburgh is one of the most well-known examples of environmental pollution in American history. At its height, the smoke produced by the city's industries was so thick that it was said to block out the sun. The scale of the pr…
In the early 20th century, companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co., sold tens of thousands of mail-order kit houses. Available in a variety of styles and at a range of price points, these DIY kit houses would arrive via railroad boxcar as precut and then t…
These amazing color photographs show the streets of Los Angeles between the 1940s and 1960s. During the early 20th century, Los Angeles continued to boom and by the early 1920s, it had overtaken San Francisco in size. By 1939 it had a population of over 1.5…
Bugatti was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars were known for their design beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugatti automobiles include the Type 35 Gr…
At the beginning of the 1900s, leisure travel in general was something experienced exclusively by the wealthy and elite population. In the early-to-mid-20th century, trains were steadily a popular way to get around. Through these vintage photos, we can s…
These incredible black and white photographs document everyday life in New York City in the 1940s and offer a glimpse into a long-gone era. From street peddlers selling fish or fresh ears of corn, to cars stalled under mounds of snow, scenes are both fa…
In 1942 and 1943, the Farm Security Administration photographer Jack Delano spent time in the rail yards of Chicago, documenting the busy freight hub and the workers’ everyday life. The photographs were made on Kodachrome color transparencies creating vibr…
Ever since the car was invented, man has dreamt of taking it to the skies. The idea of a flying machine that one can drive dates back further to the nineteenth century—the concept was first patented in 1910. Engineers returned again and again to the con…
Thirty vivid, oversize black-and-white photos from the Library of Congress show Detroit in the 1940s. Full-screen scenes show vintage vehicles, fashions, hairstyles, the Crowley-Milner department store, Cunningham's drugs, a streetcar, Chrysler's tank a…
For decades, rumors circulated in Russia that Joseph Stalin had a “twin” who replaced him during certain situations. Decades after Stalin's death, the decoy finally decided to talk. Felix Dadaev, a former dancer and juggler, had been ordered to work to …
Standing tall for centuries in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan, the colossal Buddha statues were awe-inspiring monuments to the region’s rich Buddhist heritage and its role as a crossroads of ancient civilizations. Carved directly into the cliffs during t…
From delicate snow showers to mighty blizzards, New Yorkers have danced with winter's icy tunes for decades. These historical snapshots, capturing snowfalls and blizzards from the 1900s to the 1980s, offer a peek into the city's frosty past. The images f…
Although the usefulness of asbestos has been known for centuries, it was not until the late 19th century when large deposits of asbestos were discovered in parts of Canada and the northern United States that the emergence of asbestos as a common constructi…