A selection of interesting and unusual photos from the USA (21 photos)

All the pictures were taken during the 20th century and allow you to take a different look at the life of another country.





A woman and her dog in their one-room house. Texas, 1938.

The furnishings are quite nice for those difficult times: a bed with "bumps", a cast-iron stove, a chest of drawers, a foot-operated sewing machine next to the bed.

There is linoleum on the floor. During the Great Depression, it was common to cover wooden floors with linoleum. I think it also kept the cold air from getting in through the cracks in the floor. Some houses had no underlayment underneath the wood floors.

Her smile is what touched me. She looks happy and, yes, proud!



Photographer: Сarl Mydans

Teenager Kerry Grange (3rd from right) shows off her used 1951 Mercury to her friends for $365.

In 1955, the American feature film in the genre of teenage drama "Rebel Without a Cause" was released, where the "icon" of all teenagers of the 50-60s, actor James Dean, starred. In the film, he drove a Mercury car. And after the premiere of the film in 1955, the Mercury Coupe became a cult model, which all young fans wanted to buy.





Photographer: A. Y. Owen

American physicist and a nuclear bomb, 1945.

Physicist Norris Bradbury sits next to the Gadget, a nuclear device created by scientists to test the world's first atomic bomb, at the Alamogordo Proving Grounds in New Mexico, 1945.

The Gadget was one of the first three atomic bombs created as part of the American Manhattan Project.



Women on the beach in Atlantic City, circa 1905.

In the early 20th century, people wore dresses to the beach because that was the standard attire for women at the time. Knee-length bathing dresses and no corsets were considered nudity beyond the pale.



Photographer: William Vander Everywhere

Scooters of the 50s. San Francisco, 1952.

When you live in a city between hills, why not ride. The city of San Francisco is located on 74 hills (it is claimed), of which 47 have names.



The Spanish flu pandemic. An officer grabbed one man without a mask. San Francisco, 1918.

The pandemic began in 1918 and lasted until 1920. As a result, about 550 million people fell ill and, according to various estimates, 17.5 million to 100 million people died.

Wearing masks is a highly controversial phenomenon, but it is possible only to prevent everyone from getting sick at the same time, but gradually. That would be a big deal for the entire healthcare system.



Morning at the food market. March, 1939. San Antonio, Texas, USA.

The photo shows a conversation between the wives of vegetable sellers, who sometimes accompany their husbands.

These are farmers' wives, and they came to the market, most likely located within the city limits, from their farms in cars, and they are sitting in the back of one of them. But yes, it's a small holiday - to get out of some wilderness into civilization.



Mrs. Coleman doing laundry. Georgia, 1938.

The washing machine is pretty used, but the missus looks cheerful. And, I must say, pretty. In the USSR, the "Belka" machine had the same spin.



VS-300 – the first practical helicopter, created and piloted by Igor Sikorsky on May 13, 1940.

Igor Sikorsky. He went to the States and became the founder of helicopter manufacturing in the USA.



Young nature lovers, Clarksville, Arkansas, 1953.



Photographer: Yale Joel

R. Elwood Ranch, near Kearney, Nebraska, 1903.



American actress and dancer Wanda Stevenson, 1928.

Damn, that dress is daring even by today's standards. Women had just won the right to vote in the 1920s. Time for liberation and experimentation.



Women racing Harley-Davidsons. USA, 1948.

Wearing light-colored clothing to such an event is definitely not a good idea.



Parking lot on a hill. San Francisco, 1940s-1950s.



Photographer: Fred Lyon

The winners of Mickey Mouse Week at Russells, Leicester Square, as featured in the Sunday Photo Magazine, May 1930.

If you look at Mickey Mouse from the 30s, he looks exactly like this! The "round" Mickey Mouse that we know was drawn much later.



Tourists drive along a dirt road along the Yellowstone River, USA, 1920s.

It's funny that the photo is clearly staged, because such a water effect is achieved only with a long exposure (but the current was very fast, so it probably wasn't very long). I wonder how the people turned out not blurry.



Teenagers pose in front of a car in Chicago, 1941.

The children are likely from well-to-do families, possibly musicians. Dressed to the nines...



Vineyards. California, 1947.

Pictured Fountain Grove Winery is a winery in Santa Rosa, California, USA. It is known for producing high-quality wines.



Worker, Empire State Building, 1930s.

What I like about these photos is their shoes. This guy and everyone else you see in a similar photo is wearing leather-soled shoes. The soles don't have rubber treads. They're slippery, flat, and slide right over the metal hundreds of feet up in the air.



Photographer: Lewis Hine

A woman drinks a magnum of champagne, 1954.

A woman sits on the floor of her hotel room in her underwear, leaning against the bed and holding a bottle of champagne. A very funny staged photo.