Gay Couples From The Past

During his travels around the world, French screenwriter and director Sébastien Lifshitz has been collecting old photos of gay couples that he found at flea markets or in antiquarian shops. Then he decided to put them together in a book. It's called The Invisibles: Vintage Portraits of Love and Pride, and it's a collection of photos of gay people openly showing their affection for each other in a time when being homosexual was a lot more taboo than it is now.

Of course it's impossible to say all the people in these pictures actually are gay, but, as Lifshitz says himself; "I don't know these people - they are anonymous to me. I can't even really say that each person photographed into the book is gay, except when it's obvious. What I like is that there are different levels of reading these photos - I would say three levels to be exact. The first one is the pictures of obviously gay single people or couples, the second is the pictures of people which can be seen as 'undefined' (we're not sure) and the third level is the ones that are obviously not gay but playing with a gay attitude (cross-dresser, some 'garconnes,' etc.) I love the ambiguity and diversity of these pictures. These photographs ask questions."

Here are some of the photos from the book.

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Pornography!

I feel this blog needs some more porn! Or...well...antique porn that is! I love these really old photos of naked/half naked women, taken during a time when showing too much leg - i e your calves - was seen as provocative. These images look so soft and innocent, but still sexy and beautiful. No fake tans, spread-your-legs, or bleached anal parts. Just soft femininity. Hope you like these photos. They were taken between 1915 and 1930.

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Must See Photos From The Past

I love seeing photos from a long time ago, and sometimes what the camera has caught can be both funny, interesting and/or a bit shocking. Here is a collection photos like that!

The oldest known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius, in 1839.

A portrait on a woman in the middle of a sneeze, 1900.

A "knocker-up", waking people up in the morning. The early version of alarm clocks.

A police officer on his Harley, with a holding cell attached to it, 1921.

The 1920s version of planking. This was called "horsemanning".

Two winners of a beauty pageant in 1922. A bit different from today's beauty queens...

In the 1920s bathing suits were not allowed to end more than 6 inches above the knee. Here a beach official makes sure the ladies stick to the rules!

There's nothing like a ride on the zipline in the afternoon! 1923.

For people who has difficulty concentrating, I can highly recommend The Isolator! The helmet will help you focus on what you're doing by closing out all sound while pumping you full of oxygen, at the same time it limits your vision to a tiny slit. You also don't have to worry about bad hair days... 1925.

This is also a fantastic thing to own! A full face swimming mask from the 1920s, that was designed to protect women's faces from the sun. Not scary at all...

And here we see Hitler practicing a speech in front of the mirror in 1925. He seems very into it.

This shows off LA Public Library's bookmobile program for the sick. 1928.

A zookeeper giving his penguins a shower. 1930.

This is The One Wheel Motorcycle, invented in 1931, and capable of reaching a top speed of 93 mph.

When families who lived in apartments in the 30s wanted their children to get enough sunlight, they simply built these cages outside their windows. For some reason I don't think this would be allowed today...

Another exceptional invention - Face Cones! This was a fashionable way to protect your face during snowstorms. 1939.

A bike from 1939, that fits a family of four. As you see it includes a sewing machine. Very safe in traffic...

This is not a picture of small aliens. It's just normal babies wearing the gas mask hood system during a London bombing drill. 1940.

WWII soldiers getting their last kiss before heading out to fight in the war. I wonder how many of them were able to return for more kisses...

A little puppy safely sleeping between Russian soldiers. 1945.

I have seen this photo several times before, but I still love it! The joy of this Austrian boy when he receives his first new pair of shoes in years is so lovely to see. 1946.

This is a dog who has been dressed in a suit by his owner. He also has a cat on his lap. 1950s.

This is something you cold find in some offices in the 50s - an ice-cold whisky dispenser. I wonder why it doesn't exist nowadays...

The winner of the 1950 Miss Atomic Bomb is being crowned. Ah, that crown...

The TV celebrity, Fritz the bulldog, is being groomed by a barber. 1961.

A woman taking her lobster for a walk.

The TV Glasses from 1963 didn't really become so popular. But I can imaging people wearing these on the subway or the bus. Haha!

A utility worker getting mouth-to-mouth after being electrocuted in 1967. He survived.

A young Osama Bin Laden (second from the right, wearing a green shirt) with his family in Stockholm in the 70s.

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