This touching NewYorkTimes Interactive Feature documents some of the athletes who represented the United States at the 1948 London Games.
Above you see Alice Coachman, the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, and the only female American athlete to win gold in track and field at the 1948 Games.
(Thank you Yoko)
Beautiful vintage cigarette cards from the impressively large digital collection at the NYPL. In honor of the Olympic Games.
(via Melissa)
I am wondering how I would react. Interesting post over on Brain Pickings: Elevator Groupthink: A Psychology Experiment in Conformity, 1962.
A quite magical collection of over 4,000 photographs of vintage typographic Viennese storefronts by Herbe Marker. Beautiful.
(Thank you Anina Rehm)
Anyone remember this easter egg in QuarkXPress, when deleting a text box with the shortcut Cmd+Alt+Shift+K? (Keep watching the video until you see the big giant green mama monster come out… Patience!)
The Art of Coffee: A Mad Men Era Short Film. A wonderful find by Maria of Brain Pickings.
I love the internets for various reasons, but especially when I stumble upon sites like this one, dedicated to Garages. Definitely love their post on Mid Century Garage Doors.
(via Jen Bekman)
Richard Feynman’s Key to Science in 63 Seconds, via Brain Pickings.
We need to get this Retro Wall Decal to hang above our studiomate Larry Legend’s desk.
(via bblinks)
This Vintage Egg Box makes me want to boil a bunch of eggs and take them for a walk. Stylish!
Being a graphic designer back in the days, when Letraset was King, was a whole other ballgame. After having read this article, I bow to my iMac and the design apps I use in respect!
(via coudal)
My friends Cameron and Tyler organized a movie night at The Invisible Dog Art Center last night. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a movie that dates back to 1941. I admit, I was afraid it would be a tad bit too slow for my taste. But boy, was I wrong.
Sullivan’s Travels is a fantastic movie, that kept me on the edge of my seat and made me want to rewind a few times so I can write down some of the dialogues.
About the movie: Sullivan is a successful, spoiled, and naive director of fluff films, with a heart-o-gold, who decides he wants to make a film about the troubles of the downtrodden poor. Much to the chagrin of his producers, he sets off in tramp’s clothing with a single dime in his pocket to experience poverty first-hand, and gets some reality shock. Written by Bob Doolittle.
In 1990, Sullivan’s Travels was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked it as the #61 Greatest Movie of All Time, the first inclusion of this film on the list. In addition, the movie’s poster was ranked as #19 of “The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever” by Premiere.
If you have a chance to watch it, please do. It’s time well spent.
“The first characteristic of New York, which impresses the stranger from abroad, and in a less degree from other American cities, is its atmosphere of breathless hast, its pervading sense of life keyed to an abnormal tension.”
…
“One direct consequence of this unending hurry, which the visitor is quick to feel, is a certain brusqueness and lack of civility as compared with other cities. Not that the great, motley, democratic middle class is deliberately rude to strangers; it simply lacks the time for the little courtesies of life, and grudges two words where one can be made to answer.”
Excerpts from a New York City guidebook from 1916.
(via Kottke)
This Antique Double-Sided Lithography Stone is quite the example of how far technology has brought us since the turn of the century. Long live vintage printmaking!
I see beauty (and humor) in this Vintage Wood Road Side Produce Sign. Rhubarb!
I just rediscovered the wonderful photographs of James and Karla Murray’s book The Disappearing Face of New York over on the Retronaut.
This revolving self-portrait by Felix Nadar is fascinating. See it animated over at the Retronaut.
In 1974 Arthur C. Clarke told the ABC that every household in 2001 will have a computer and be connected all over the world. (Hello there, Internet!)
(via explore)
Mrs. Easton has this unbelievable talent to find beauty in the ordinary. Pictured above are Cigarette Cards she dug up in the NYPL digital archives.
originally uploaded to Flickr by moose_greebles
This old-school LEGO ad from 1981 makes me happy!
(thank you Saha)
A LEGO patent drawing form 1958, discovered by the lovely Mrs. Easton.
“When Mr. Moore Junior decided to retire, around 13 years ago, he simply stopped trading. He didn’t clear the window display, but left it just as it was on the last day of business.” Peter Berthoud tells the story of a store and its contents left to rot, but in the most artistic way possible: “The Most Interesting Underpants in London.”
(via coudal)
Legs: From the Peculiar Snapshots Set on Flickr.
The New York Times has a new Tumblr featuring their archival photo collection, it’s called The Lively Morgue. They will be publishing several photographs each week, some of which will be available for purchase and some of which will be accompanied by a more extensive back story posted on the Lens blog. They will gradually digitize the tip of the iceberg of this enormous trove, guaranteeing its continued utility and accessibility in the future. Wonderful.
(via @helena)