Historical Photographs Of Contemplative Bygone Eras

I've always been fascinated with the art of photography. I have countless albums full of family photographs including those I've taken on trips along my winding path. I still spend time enjoying them on occasion. They document the past and I love to view that from the perspective of the present.  I find it makes you think of things you were not aware of when 

the photos were originally taken. 

Below is a group of historical photos an old friend sent me, one of those email send arounds I sometimes enjoy, sometimes not. Included are the captions that came with them. These did grab my attention so I'm sharing them, feeling most will find them interesting also. Some are funny, some sad, some peculiar, and all  reminders of our unique and varied past.

Animals being used as a part of medical therapy in 1956

Smallpox victim-New York 1881

I feel polio and smallpox vaccines were
 two of the greatest advances in medicine ever.

A mom and her son watch the mushroom cloud after an atomic 

                     test 75 miles away, Las Vegas , 1953

1928 fashion show at the beach

A space chimp poses for the camera after a 

                                successful mission to space in 1961

Abraham Lincoln's hearse, 1865

Advertisement for Atabrine, an anti-malaria drug. Sign was put up

at the 363rd station hospital in Papua ,  New Guinea during WWII

A penniless mother hides her face in shame after 

putting her children up for sale, Chicago , 1948

This era was around the end of the Great Depression
and a few years after WWII that left a lot of widows desperate. 

Annette Kellerman promoted women's right to wear a fitted one-piece

bathing suit, 1907. She was arrested for indecency.

My...how time changes fashion and minds.

Artificial legs, United Kingdom , ca. 1890

Annie Edison Taylor (1838-1921), the first person to 

survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She

did it in 1901 because she needed money, and after 

doing it said she wouldn't recommend it to anyone!

Sounds like good advice to me.

A most beautiful suicide - 23 year old Evelyn McHale

leapt to her death from an observation deck (83rd floor)

of the Empire State Building , May 1, 1947.  She landed

on a United Nations limousine.

Austrian boy receives new shoes during WWII

Bookstore ruined by an air raid, London 1940

Only known authenticated photo of Billy the Kid,ca. 1879

Charlie Chaplin in 1916 at the age of 27

Children eating their Christmas dinner during the

Great Depression: turnips and cabbage

I heard "horror" stories from my parents and grandparents about this era growing up and never realized, until I was an adult, I lived through a decade of The Depression. Dad had a job and my parents raised beef and a variety of vegetables 
so food was always plentiful.

Construction of the Berlin Wall, 1961

The Cold War was just as scary, at times, as WWII that 
preceded and instigated it, because by then we were well 
aware of what atomic bombs could do and knew the Russians 
found out from spies how to build them.

 

 Construction of the Manhattan Bridge , 1908

Former slave showing whipping scars

Frozen Niagara Falls , 1911

Hotel owner pouring acid in the water when black people 

swam in his pool, ca. 1964

How could parents ensure that their children were getting 

sunlight and fresh air when living in apartment buildings? 

The baby cage, ca. 1937

Illegal alcohol being poured out during Prohibition, 

Detroit 1929

Martin Luther King Jr. with his son by his side removing a burnt 
cross from his front yard, 1960

Jesse James, approximately 16 years old

Measuring bathing suits in the early 1920s. If they 

were too short,the women would be fined

I bet a lot of guys applied for the "measuring" jobs.

New York City fire station, ca. 1912

Operation Babylift: Vietnamese orphans transported by 

airplanes to America in 1975

Polish children examined by German officers to see if 

they qualify as Aryan, and would be allowed to live

President Richard Nixon trying to use chopsticks while 
visiting China in 1972

Santa Claus in New York, ca. 1900

Sharing bananas with a goat during the Battle of Saipan , ca. 1944

Suntan vending machine, 1949

Talk about turning orange in a hurry.

Testing new bulletproof vests, 1923

I suppose it hadn't occurred to law officers yet
they could use test dummies.

The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861

The original Ronald clown of McDonald's in 1963

The real Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, ca. 1927

Unknown soldier in Vietnam , 1965

 

Putting on a crinoline (skirt support), 1855

Oh Wow...I'm sure happy this painful heavy  looking  
fashion  went out of style. I imagine the
guys back then were too.

The Traveling Photographer

My son, Stephen Mullins, was in the photography business for years. He now travels quite frequently all around the world as a computer specialist training companies how to use business software his employer sells and maintains. 

He always takes his camera and roams the countryside and cities where his travels take him on his off time and he has taken some beautiful and interesting photographs of whatever catches his artistic eye. Below are a few of  his wide variety of photos. They are from all over the United States, Europe, and Australia. 

All images are copyrighted...if you are interested in using any of them, or would like a professional print, his

contact information is on his website. 

Be sure and visit...there are hundreds

of great photographs there.

 http://concordtraveler.com/

***

Thank you Steve for allowing Mom to

share your beautiful photographs. 

I LOVE YOU! 

This is a photo Steve took of his wife, Nancy, setting up her camera for a shot under a covered bridge in New England. They live there and have taken some beautiful

 photographs of the fall foliage.

 Nancy has her own studio and takes portraits and assignments in a variety of locations. Her

website is:

http://tomorrowsmemoriesstudio.com/

                         Stephen and their two children 

                           taking a New England stroll.