When societies industrialize, food systems expand and specialize to meet the new waves of customers. These amazing old photographs show Japan’s demae, or delivery men, who braved the crowded streets balancing towers of dozens of piping hot meals on their sh…
In 1953, the biggest vessel to travel the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway (at the time) managed to wind its way downtown on the Chicago River. This steel hull behemoth was nearly 634 feet long (193m) and 70 feet wide (21.3m) and according to a Chica…
These photos show bizarre vintage inventions that quite often never caught on, but sometimes, they actually did. The weird inventions demonstrate ingenious efforts from the first half of the 20th century (and later) that helped people manage the pressures o…
From doll masks to decorated bags over heads to specially crafted outfits, these fascinating and nightmarish photos capture random people donning their Halloween costumes. It has to be said that these vintage photos were taken using much less sensitive came…
This extended photo collection displays memorable old ads that run in gaming magazines in the 1980s and 1990s and show how radically different the video games were advertised 40 years ago. This was the time when people used to get the gaming news from magaz…
Known as onna bugeisha, these female samurai who fought beside and against male samurais are an important part of Japan's military history. They were members of the bushi (warrior) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect thei…
History is filled with unusual stories, and sometimes we're lucky enough to see them preserved forever in pictures. In this photo collection, you can see around 45 most unique and bizarre photographs in history. Photographs can give us a window into the p…
From the early days of flight and the "golden age of travel", to modern-day airlines, air travel has changed a lot over the past century. Through this photo collection, we take a journey through time to show you what air travel looked like from the 1930s to…
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…
By the early 1900s, household electricity and running water started to become a norm in the Western world. Industrialization brought the evolution of kitchen design to a new era. Factories mass-produced fixtures, ever-more modern appliances, cabinetry, li…
In the next few decades after Wright brothers' first flight, women aviators became increasingly common and attracted an increasing amount of attention, culminating with Amelia Earhart's flights in the 1920s and 1930s. With Earhart's death in 1937, women avi…
Genevieve Naylor, a photojournalist previously employed by the Associated Press and the WPA, was sent to Brazil in 1940 by Rockefeller’s agency to provide photographs that would support its need for propaganda wartime support from Brazil and adjacent countries…
In this collection, we will dive into vintage advertisements and take a look at car advertisements between the 1900s and 1950s. The very first and simple car ads were a sign of times that emphasized the fact that cars were the ultimate luxury. The first…
The allure of Christmas transcends time, but few eras have captured its true essence quite like the enchanting decades of the 1940s and 1950s. In those post-war years, the festive season was steeped in a kind-hearted spirit and simple joys, creating end…
These vintage photographs of Snow King chairlifts taken between the 1950s and 1970s show people riding in a very unsafe way without deploying any safety bars or other protections. While these chairlifts were actually dangerous, there's also a forced persp…
Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and one of the most prestigious seaside resorts in all of France. As the closest seaside resort to Paris, the city and its region of the Côte Fleurie (Flowery Coast) has long been home to French hig…
American photographer Harry Whittier Frees created novelty postcards with his photographs of animals placed in human situations. This photo collection from the 1910s features bizarre but adorable animals dressed and posed as humans with props, often with ca…
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 pictures of Las Vegas strip in the 1950s were taken by LIFE photographer Loomis Dean and capture the nightlife and the long-gone sights of Sin City. The 1950s were a defining era for Las Vegas. It was the decade that saw the rise of the Riviera, the S…