History in Color: 15 Photos That Bring the Past Closer (16 photos)
The distant past usually seems black and white or brownish to us. Colorize old photographs and the past becomes clearer and closer.
1. Tourists at the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza (1920s). Photo by George Rinhart
I wonder how they got to the top in heels?
2. Paul McCartney (15), Ivan Vaughan (center), and George Harrison (14), Liverpool, 1958
Ivan Vaughan, born on the same day as Paul, played a key role in the history of rock music: on July 6, 1957, he introduced Paul to John Lennon at a celebration at St. Peter's Church. Paul amazed John by playing Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock," and the creative partnership between Lennon and McCartney was born.
By 1958, Paul had recruited George to join the band. Fourteen-year-old George auditioned for John on a bus, impressing him with his witty interpretation of Bill Justice's instrumental hit "Raunchy." John was initially hesitant due to George's age, but his talent overcame any hesitation, and the classic trio was formed.
Ivan never joined the Beatles, but he remained a lifelong friend and even contributed to the song "Yellow Submarine," writing the whimsical line "Sky of blue, sea of green." He later worked in education, while Paul, George, and John formed a band that revolutionized music and culture.
3. Fireman L. Pavlov at the boiler furnace
Expedition on the icebreaker "Joseph Stalin" to rescue the icebreaking steamship "Georgy Sedov" from the ice in the Greenland Sea. December 1939
4. Leningrad, USSR, 1945
Poster calling for the restoration of the city after the lifting of the siege.
5. An American couple rides an Autoped scooter, circa 1918
While most of these scooters, known as Autopeds, were gasoline-powered, electric versions were also available to the Edwardian public.
6. A lone soldier stands at a mass grave in Galicia where the bodies of fifty Austrians are buried. September 1914
7. Woman testing a new vacuum cleaner, 1899
8. A nurse administers an injection to a British soldier, World War I, 1914 1918
9. 1935, London: A gas flare helps a policeman direct traffic in the London fog
For some reason, these devices did not become widespread.
10. Anna Swan, the Nova Scotia giantess, with the King of the Lilliputians
She was considered the tallest woman in the world (243 cm). Photo taken around 1870.
11. Vladimir Arsenyev, Dersu Uzala, soldier Fokin, and Zhang Bao (left to right) on a campaign along the Takema River basin
Photo from the 1907 expedition.
12. The Chief of the Yakima Indian Tribal Council visits his son
He trained in an armored unit of the Army at the Yakima Infantry Center, Washington, USA, in 1954.
13. A young inventor from Tarvastu, Estonia, on a homemade wooden bicycle, 1912
14. Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, ca. 1913
15. Soba noodle vendor in Tokyo, 1935