An album’s artwork represents the first impression to many fans and it creates an aesthetic vibe about its music. In the days before the internet, bands would have to rely on their covers to catch the eye of any potential fans. And many people discovere…
The Ericofon, created by the Swedish phone giant L.M. Ericsson in the 1950s was the lightest phone on the market at the time of its introduction. It revolutionized the look of this common household object by concealing its dial on the bottom of the base, ma…
Spurred by the instant nationwide success of blended cigarette brands such as Camel, Lucky Strike and Chesterfield cigarette companies spend millions on advertising and promotion to encourage smoking. Tobacco marketers featured healthy, vigorous, fun-loving…
These photos, taken from a book on phrenology, are packed with strange theories and a whole host of strange illustrations. Published by Chicago phrenologist L.A. Vaught in 1902, the book lays out the 42 known elements of human nature (including Acquisitiven…
Ry-Krisp, a brand of rye crisp bread, was founded by Arvid and Erik Peterson, who immigrated to the United States from Sweden, and brought with them a recipe for traditional Swedish “crisp bread.” Crisp bread or knackerbrod was a staple of the 19th-century …
These haunting mugshots show Victorian child criminals, some as young as 12, who faced cruel punishments for the most petty crimes. The pictures are taken in the 1870s and originate from Oxford Gaol, a prison that later became HMP Oxford. During this time…
These vintage advertisements, published in magazines and newspapers from the 1930s to the 1960s show how weight gain was aspired to then as firmly as we today aspire to weight loss. The ads tout scientific ways to "add attractive pounds and inches" (a compl…
This collection presents the most interesting advertising posters which were shown not only in the Soviet Union but also in other parts of the world. These types of advertising posters and cards were hung in offices, shops, hotels, and published in various …
These photos include old advertisements that preyed on women’s need for marital security in order to sell products in the mid-20th century and are collected by Andrew Heisel. It’s no surprise advertisers pay attention to consumers’ emotions in order to …
Advertising has always been an interesting way to trace how modern society has evolved. At the core, the marketing campaigns are based on what people want and what appeals to them. When you judge human history based on old advertisements, the past will …
In pre-war Germany in the 1930s, there was great interest in all kinds of rocket-propelled vehicles; cars, airplanes, boats, motorcycles, and skates (roller and ice). However, one of the strangest and least promising applications of rocket propulsion was …
Television was introduced to Americans in 1939 and began to gain a foothold after the Second World War. In the 1950s, the sale of TV sets and the boom in programming made TV America's favorite source of entertainment. In 1950, just under 20 percent of A…
Victorian mourning jewelry was popular during the late 1800s and was used as a tribute or memento to remind the wearer about their love for the person they had lost. Death was a regular occurrence in Victorian times, thanks to pervasive diseases like ch…
Early automobile manufacturers used a wide range of tests to prove a car's strength, endurance, capability, and worthiness. These tests were often adopted as selling points and to highlight the car’s performance and prowess in advertising brochures. In …
It’s quite fascinating to read the vintage magazine adverts because nothing gets old faster than technology news and ads. In this article, we’ve collected some retro computer ads to give you a hands-on look into what made the tech headlines before the age o…
Mug shot photography revolutionized crime investigations and enabled the police to keep visual records of the arrested criminals. Beginning in the mid-1800s, police photographed the faces of known criminals. Called "mug shots" (after the British slang w…
These magnificent color postcards from the late 19th century depict the breathtaking mountains, fjords, glaciers, and towns of Norway. The postcards were created by the Detroit Publishing Company using the Photochrom process. Photochrom produced coloriz…
From the 1960s to the late 1980s, New York City’s iconic Times Square was a difficult place to be. Felony and crime rates were high, despite heightened police existence. A plethora of go-go bars, sex shops, peep show establishments, and adult theaters becam…
These posters were published in the Soviet anti-religious magazine, Bezbozhnik (“The Godless”) from 1922 to 1941. The main purpose of the magazine was to thwart any religious beliefs that were supposedly too distracting for the working class. The magazi…
Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States seemed to be just about the safest place in the world to live. The nation hadn’t been attacked on its own soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor six decades before. War seemed like something t…