Godzilla, or Gojira, has been one of the most enduring and iconic kaiju (Japanese giant monsters) in popular culture. Undoubtedly, the monster created from the nuclear bomb blast has captured the imagination of people around the world. The rampaging ra…
These photographs show Chicago's African-American community, primarily the South Side, and are taken by photographer John H. White, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photojournalism in 1982. His portraits of everyday life stand the test of time,…
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was developed under the direction of famed explorer Admiral Richard Byrd and it was intended to facilitate transport in Antarctica during the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–41). His second-in-command, Dr. Thoma…
This collection of autochromes taken in the 1920s by Gervais Courtellemont and W. Robert Moore for National Geographic reveals the everyday life of Egyptian women, men, merchants, and children. They show familiar Cairo city locations and famous sites su…
These vivid photos from inside the 1972 Texas State Fair exhibition hall show people sampling a wide variety of the products of their state, from eggs and beef to pecans and spring water. The Dallas State Fair & Exposition, to which the present State Fa…
In these vintage photos, the LIFE magazine photographer Sam Shere captured the “indecent exposure” phenomenon at Rockaway Beach, New York in 1946. Starting with a sign that reads “wear robes to and from the beach,” Shere’s series shows women sunbathing …
The Sámi form an indigenous ethnic group that settled in wide areas of Norway, Sweden, northern Finland, and on the Kola peninsula in Russia. It is difficult to establish their number, because ethnic definitions may vary, and the choice of identifying o…
In 1908, photographer Lewis Hine was hired by the American Child Protection Council to report and document the working conditions and exploitation of children (or as they were called: underage laborers) across the United States. He traveled around the c…
‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ (the original title in Italian: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo), is an Italian western film, released in 1966, and was the third and arguably best installment in director Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy, which starred Clint …
Chariot racing was one of the most popular sports in the ancient Olympic Games and it was dangerous to both drivers and horses as they often suffered serious injury and even death. Two-wheeled carriages were drawn by horses and raced around a stadium ca…
On August 25, 1914, the German army ravaged the Belgian city of Leuven (Louvain). Virtually the entire city center was systematically destroyed by the German occupying forces. The fire destroyed more than two thousand buildings and 248 citizens were killed…
During the 1920s, car ownership exploded. Everyday consumers were making more money and families were able to afford vehicles. In turn, businesses such as drive-in movie theaters and restaurants became more popular. After all, if the notions that drove …
These instructional photos were shown as training materials for new hires at Krystal restaurants during the 1960s. They demonstrate examples for employees of how and how not to present themselves behind the counter. The brochure and orientational traini…
These photos from the Gulbenkian Art Library capture the men and women of Lisbon and the nearby towns of Ericeira and Nazaré as they haul in their boats, mend their nets and sell their catch. A visual testimony of a vanished way of life on the Iberian coast. …
The World Trade Center project was initiated in the early 1960s through the influence of David Rockefeller in part to reclaim a part of the city that had fallen on hard times. The vision was meant to use the trade facility and urban renewal as tools to clea…
These military portraits collected by Christopher B. Steiner, a professor of art history and anthropology at Connecticut College, capture moments of soldiers being goofy while posing with fake military props. Some images appear to be staged to accentuate si…
Spirit photography began in the late 19th century, around the time that the spiritualism movement was gaining traction across Europe and the United States. The photographers who practiced it claimed that they could capture images of portrait subjects and th…
As the consequences of the Great Depression, unemployment, poverty, and the effects of the Dust Bowl ravaged the country in the 1930s, government programs such as the Farm Security Administration (FSA) were established. American photographers were employed to …
During World War II, America’s railroads were an important part of the war effort and it’s estimated that from 1941 to 1945 trains transported close to 44 million American troops. Between the war years of 1942 and 1944, trains carried 98 percent of mili…
Fitness, as we know it today, may seem to be a relatively modern invention, but physical exercise obviously goes back much further than that. Starting from the early 20th century, people used elaborate contraptions, painful machinery, bizarre devices, a…