Some More Random Historical Photographs

~ beetleypete

Abraham Lincoln, before and after the US Civil War. 1860 on the left, 1865 on the right.

A mountain of American Bison skulls after a mass killing of the animals for meat and skins, 1870.

A 1920s ‘Flapper’ in America, and a beautiful car.

A giant Manta Ray, caught in the 1930s.

Women during WW2 painting each other’s legs to look like they are wearing stockings.

A WW2 ‘Sweetheart Grip’ on a service pistol. A photo would be placed under an acrylic cover.

An early analogue computer, 1960s.

Experimental portable television, 1960s.

Economy Class on Panam airlines, 1960s.

45 thoughts on “Some More Random Historical Photographs”

  6. (1a) Looking at the two Abraham Lincoln photos I honestly can’t tell the difference. (Okay, that’s a lie.)
    (1b) I’m trying to remember who Abe was. Was he the CEO of Lincoln Sausage?
    (2) Fortunately, bison were saved from extinction. Today, they thrive in a number of western states. I’ve yet to try a bison burger. but I hear they taste good.
    (3) Today, you’d see a ‘Rapper’ sitting on a pimped out car.
    (4) Ray’s last name is Bradbury. It’s not the tallest creature in the sea, but it’s fair in height.
    (5) After painting stockings, she painted panties.
    (6) “I like your pistol, honey. Now service me!”
    (7) A photo of Chip Packard and his analogue computer.
    (8) Dr. Strangelove III: “I crossbred a human with a cruise missile! It can think on the fly!”
    (9) Overheard:
    Stewardess: “Is that the First Class or the Economy section?”
    Capt. Carville: “It’s the Economy, stupid.”

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  7. my favorite is the last photo, Pete. i was a flight attendant in the late 70s and passengers were well groomed and dressed back then. very polite too. plenty of leg room even in economy section. 🙂

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  10. Gotta love the fish eye lens on Pan Am. Lincoln got scragglier and lenses got better. I wonder if it was the war or his wife… and the TV! Can you imagine – that poor guy getting his brain cooked with electron beams just to watch a tiny TV. Even i the “old days” computers and synthesizers resembled each other. Great stuff.

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      1. You are probably right because while the “front end” kept being improved, the back end was being diminished. It was one of my pet peeves. I had a few.

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  14. Lots of leg room on that Pan-Am flight! I remember visiting Woolwich Polytechnic in the mid 1970s to see a computer, which at that time took up the whole room! My mum once told me how her and a friend painted their legs like that during the war.

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  16. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo of Lincoln as a child, but to me, he had the sort of face that always looks old, whatever his age! Anyway, the stress of the war didn’t cause him to lose his hair, but it definitely shows in his face. For ’60s ‘economy’, the passengers seem to have had plenty of leg room. Cheers, Jon.

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      1. The change in Lincoln because of the Civil War is an old image of course, but always worth seeing again. He was 51 in 1860, and looked younger to me. US presidents today have the benefit of cosmetics and photoshop to help their image.
        Best wishes, Pete.

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