India in 1912 was still a colonial possession of the British Empire, the jewel in its crown. Its vast population, strategic position and resources made the subcontinent one of the Empire’s greatest possessions. But compared to other up and coming British colonies such as Canada and Australia, India was economically backwards and undeveloped. There were few industries, and most people lived an agrarian lifestyle, their traditions largely undisturbed by the British or other Europeans.

Not that the British and North Americans did not try to remake India in their own image. The late 1800s and early 1900s saw a wave of Christian missionaries from America and Great Britain go to India.

The pictures below were published in a book entitled India and Daily Life in Bengal by Reverend Z.F. Griffin, a Baptist missionary in India for 15 years. The pictures record the way life was in India in 1912. Some things have not changed that much in some of the more rural areas, while in many other ways the India of today would be hardly recognizable to Reverend Griffin.

An Indian Boy Herding Cattle

Bringing Pottery to Market

Hand Powered Saw Mill

A Sweeper

Day Labourers in Calcutta

The Bank of the Ganges, the Holiest River in India

Temple on Bank of the River at Benares

The Faithful by the Ganges

Boat used by the Christian missionaries

Cremation on the banks of the Ganges

Hindu Devotee With Arms Rigid

Hindu Pilgrim Preparing Cakes by the Way Side

This devout man is traveling a great distance to a holy shrine by prostrating himself, rising, and then prostrating himself again.

A person of means being transported in a litter on the backs of two men.

These men are returning from the river where they have washed the clothes.

A wandering holy man: note the leopard skin.

You might think that this annoying phenomenon was the product of the Age of infomercials, but you would be wrong.

Perhaps as further proof that there is really nothing new under the sun, I recently came across an example of the cash for gold business model in an ad published in the 1916 edition of the World Almanac.

Here it is:

Send unwanted gold, jewelry, false teeth, wedding gifts and get money!

The text reads: TURN INTO CASH.  Your old gold, silver, platinum, duplicate wedding gifts, diamonds, etc which you don’t use; also discarded false teeth, broken or otherwise, with or without gold; will send you cash same day that goods are received and hold your shipment for 15 days. If the amount sent is not satisfactory will return your goods at my expense.  ALEX LOEB. Jeweler and Smelter.

Note the striking similarities to today’s version of the same business model. As with the modern TV ads, this ad 1) asks you send gold by mail 2) pays you immediately 3) will return the items if you are not satisfied. Note also that the advertiser claims to be a smelter of gold. This is similar to certain ads now on tv where the advertiser says they operate their own refinery.

The only difference, in 1916 if you did not like the price they offered you for the gold, they would ship it back at their cost. Today, if you don’t like what they offer you you have to pay for the shipping, and because most people don’t want to be bothered with the extra shipping cost they usually agree to the price offered to them.

There is not much new in the world of advertising or money for gold.

With the advent of the industrial revolution, smoke stacks began to dot the sky line, spewing thick unfiltered smoke and chemicals throughout the city. The smog was so severe that when the atmospheric conditions concentrated the thick soup rather than dispersing it, visibility was reduced to zero and people were known to have died in accidents or from actually suffocating from the smoke.

This unhealthy situation continued well into the 1950s. Below are two pictures taken during the 1920s that illustrate just how bad the smog and pollution problem was in London.

This picture of London taken from an airplane shows the smog covering the city.

London Chimneys Spewing Pollution

Immigrants on the Deck of Ship

These immigrants were mainly European, but not from Britain. The majority were Italians or East Europeans from Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Among the East Europeans were many Jews and Roman Catholics, whose faiths were often the targets of discrimination and contempt from the established Protestant majority.

Ellis Island Immigration Station

The influx of immigration caused problems of assimilation and accomodation. Many immigrants found themselves relegated to crowded and unsanitary apartments in inner city slums. Still, for many fleeing persecution and dead end poverty in their own country, the living conditions in the worst inner city slums were better than what they had left behind.

This is a pictorial history of some of the people that passed through Ellis island during the heyday of immigration.

Receiving Hall at Ellis Island

Once the immigrants landed at Ellis Island they had to wait hours and hours in different lines while their applications for entry were processed. There were questions, and more questions, and medical examinations. For the lucky, the process ended with permission to board a ferry to New York. For those rejected, the process led to detention and deportation.

In the picture above, you can see the masses of people that went through the screening process every day. The letters in the photograph explain what each line was for:

(A) Entrance stairs; (B) Examination of health ticket; (C) Surgeon’s examination; (D) Second surgeon’s examination; (E) Group compartments; (F) Waiting for inspection; (G) Passage to the stairway; (H) Detention room; (I) The Inspectors’ desks; (K) Outward passage to barge, ferry, or detention room.

Below is a picture of some immigrants who were detained for special examination. It is not known if they were eventually let through:

Immigrants at Ellis Island

In the picture below, an immigrant rejected for admission appeals to a special tribunal.

appealing a deportation order

The lucky ones that made it through the immigration screening were then allowed to take a ferry that landed them in New York. Below is a picture of the newly arrived immigrants landing at Battery Park.

Immigrants arriving in New York after passing through Ellis Island

The immigrants were now in America, but their struggles were far from over.

Next Article: Life in America for New Immigrants

The First Automobile

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he revolutionized the production of the car by using assembly lines and standardized parts. His famous line, that” people can have the Model T in any color as long as it’s black” was said only half in jest: the secret of his success was indeed standardization

in order to achieve uniformity of quality and speed of assembly.  Before the rise of the Ford Motor Company,  early automobiles were hand crafted, expensive, and used unique improvised parts so that maintenance was difficult and replacement parts hard to come by.

Before Ford developed his assembly line system, he was like many other inventors experimenting with the new combustion engines. In 1893 Ford built his first automobile.  The technology was so new at the time that the word “automobile” (which literally means self-moving) had not yet been invented. Ford called his first automobile “a wagon driven by gas.”

This first automobile design was not a commercial success. People laughed at the inventor and said that the contraption was useless. Horses were afraid of it.

Traditional Dutch Dress

Not long ago clothing was based on local traditions and customs. There were no national brands or fashions. The clothing that one wore reflected the culture of the place: their village, their region.

While there may have been less individuality within any given group, there was more diversity between nations and regions; each area had its own costume.

The following is a collection of traditional Dutch costumes, showing the regional differences between different parts of this small country. The photos were taken in 1916 and the photographer pointed out that

The individuals pictured are not dressed extras, but the actual and usual wearers of their costumes, so these images, therefore offer an authentic  impression of the national dress.

The first set of pictures document the national dress worn by the inhabitants of North Holland. There were three main areas of cultural dress. There were:  Marken and Volendam, West Friesland, and the Gooi.

A woman from Marken Island, North Holland, wearing traditional costume. The elaborate breast plate is called "construction".

Woman in Full Costume

Wedding Dress

The picture above is of a wedding procession on Marken Island. Everyone is wearing traditional dress. This in itself is a sharp contrast to the modern Western practice of the bride wearing a white wedding dress and the groom wearing a tuxedo.  It is hard to imagine but just over a hundred years ago,  what we consider tradition was anything but.

Child's Costume from Marken

Girl's Costume

Sunday Best Clothes: A Man and Woman from Voldam in their Sunday Clothes

Boy and girl of Volendam.

Young Dutch Woman

The picture above is of a young Duct woman from the Voldam area.  She is wearing her Sunday best.

West Friesian Costume: Young Woman Wearing aLace Cap

Older woman from West-Friesland in Holland Hull and boat hat.

The so called “boat hat” was named after its hull-like shape.  Made from very fine straw, this hat was typically worn by peasants. On Sundays the peasants would wear a hat with a white side edge, and if they were in mourning, they would put on a black border.

Two women from the island of Terschelling.

A young man and woman wearing traditional Dutch costume.

Around the House

Man and woman in Laren, (in the Gooi).

Dutch Woman With Square Cap

Two Children in Traditional Dress

Ducth Bride and Groom in Traditional Dress. The top hat seems to be a foreign influence.

Ducth Fisherman and His Wife

Young Ducth girl waring a hat.

Man and Woman

Two young women from Soest wearing square hats.

I hope that these pictures have provided you with a vivid look into the past and a way of life that has been lost to modern consumerism and the global economy: a culture were clothes were unique, prized objects, that confirmed the wearer’s identity and pride in their culture and roots. Think about that the next time you buy a mass produced t-shirt sewn in a sweat shop in some third world country.

For more images like these visit http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20665/20665-h/20665-h.htm

Despite the primitive quality of the early films, their novelty captivated the American public and the world.  Movies led to a common culture of fashion and behaviour across the United States as fans in different cities watched their favorite screen idols and then emulated their style of dress, makeup and mannerisms.

Although these silent movies were primitive by today’s standards, they nevertheless pioneered many movie making techniques which are still used today, including the use of camera angles and camera movement.

The photographs that follow offer a glimpse into  the early movie studios was set up, and the techniques used by the actors and pioneer film makers.

The Lasky Studio of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, Hollywood, California

A movie scene being filmed in the open. The cameras and lights are mounted on a platform on the right of the picture. Note the large number of extras.

The Film Drying Room

The picture above shows workers feeding the newly printed copies of the film, which literally consisted of thousands of still photos arranged in sequence on a large roll of film, through equipment designed to dry the film so that it could be made ready for shipment and use in the movie projectors.

Building a Movie Set

Movie Actors Waiting on Set to Go On Stage

Print Frame Where Movie Scenery is Painted

Checking "Extras" Used in Rex Beach's Photodrama, "The Brand." Produced for Goldwyn at its Culver City Studios

Filiming a Movie on a Sound Stage

Wardrobe Room in a Movie Studio

Many of the first movies were based on historical incidents or characters. This made it easier for the studio writers to churn out movies quickly since the plot did not have to be created from scratch.

This picture depicts the same scene as above but viewed from a different angle. Here you can see the camera men and other technicians.

Film Makers

A Movie Director

Movie Lighting

A Dressing Room

Preparing to Shoot a Scene

Although a lot has changed since these early silent movies, it is interesting to see that a lot is still recognizable. In fact, many of the film making techniques developed at the beginning of the 20th century are still in use today.

Gondolas Near the Rialto Bridge, Venice

There is no city in the world quite like Venice. For centuries Venice’s unique architecture,  canals, and rich history have drawn tourists and visitors from around the world.

Venice today is one of the top tourist destinations. It may be easy to believe that Venice is a sort of living museum that has not changed much since the Renaissance, but in fact the Venice of today with its motorized water buses, throngs of tourists, and souvenir shops is very different than the Venice of the 1800s.

These wonderful photos document beautiful Venice as it appeared in the 1870s. The first picture shows a gondola traffic jam on the Grand Canal. There must be hundreds of the little boats crowded into the waters around the Rialto bridge. Today, there are still Gondolas but they are only for the tourists; most Venetians get around by private boat or water taxis or most often water buses. There are only a few gondolas left, and only one shop where these beautiful craft are still made by hand.

Gondoliers Rowing A Gondola In Front of St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Square. Venice, Italy

A Map of Amundsen's Journey to the South Pole

Antarctica is the coldest and most inhospitable continent on earth. There are no permanent human settlements; the entire population of Antarctica consists of several million penguins and a few hundred scientists.

But while the continent is still incredibly harsh and isolated, it is much closer to the rest of the world than it once was. Regular air links allow personnel to cycle in and out, without fear of being locked in by ice for months or even years.  And cruise ships now bring tourists to this far off land.

It is perhaps difficult to imagine that only a few decades ago, most of Antarctica had not yet been explored, and any trip to the continent required explorers to be separated from their families for years, living off unhealthy diets of canned food, and facing the ever resent risk of death from cold and starvation.

Below is a collection of photographs of Antarctica taken by the Norwegian expedition to the South Pole in 1910-1912 led by Roald Amundsen. This expedition was better equipped and planned than its predecessors and succeeded in reaching the South Pole first; another expedition by the British explorer Scott also reached the Pole but did so a few days after the Norwegians. The Scott expedition perished attempting to return to its base camp.

The Antarctic Expedition

In his book about the expedition to the Antarctic, Roald Amundsen wrote that he had originally planned an expedition to the Arctic ocean aboard his ship the Fram.  The preparations were already far advanced, even the date of departure was established in early 1910, when suddenly the news spread of the arrival of Peary to the North Pole.Amundsen wrote that “Immediately I understood that the future of my plan in danger. Only a quick decision could yet bring salvation, and so I immediately decided to change my plan to turn the South.”

Given the logistics of changing the expedition from the North Pole (which is not that far from Norway) to the South Pole which required an enormous journey from Norway to Antarctica and then an extremely long overland journey across the unmapped frozen fields of Antarctica, it is amazing that Amundsen would make such a decision on the spur of the moment; it is perhaps even more amazing that he succeeded in reaching his destination.

Members of the Antarctic Expedition: Human and Sled Dogs

Life on Board Ship

During the long journey south to Antarctica, the men and sled dogs of the expedition enjoyed a leisurely life, which would be in sharp contrast to the hardships that they would soon face. Amundsen spent encouraged his team members to learn about the conditions they would face by reading books about arctic exploration. He wrote

I consider it an urgent necessity, that each of us be aware of what has already worked in the parts where we go. That is the only means  to become familiar in advance with the difficulties which we will have to fight. With that intention I brought a library of Antarctic travel consisting of the books of  Cook and James Ross, of Commander Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton too. The different books are read avidly, especially the latter two. The book of Scott and Shackleton, who wrote fascinating accounts  accompanied by beautiful plates are always required. So therefore the theoretical education of the employees started vigorously.

Members of the Antarctic Expedition With Their Sled Dogs

Amundsen's Ship Arrives in Antarctica

Above is a picture of the expedition’s sailing ship upon its arrival in Antarctica. In the background is the Great Barrier, a wall of sheer ice.

Offloading Supplies in Antarctica

Upon arrival the members of the Norwegian expedition began offloading their supplies. Dog sleds were used to move the heavier loads. The men put on skis.

Antarctica: The pack ice in the northern Ross Sea.

The Antarctic Base Camp

Amundsen’s expedition was highly organized, which would give him aan edge against the unforgiving elements. The explorer described the expedition’s system for organizing it’s supplies:

The 18th of January we will begin transporting the building material. … All pieces were numbered before the departure and stored in the order in which they should be used so that it will be easy to find it has everything at hand.

The Base Camp from a Distance

Amundsen had brought a number of Eskimo dogs with him because they were adapted to the harsh cold weather. He described the dogs as intelligent and capable of learning tricks and to some extent capable of bonding with their human masters, but also described them as wild, the products of an unforgiving fight for survival:  “In their mutual relations, these animals know no other law than that of the strongest.

An Antarctic Seal

Life at the base camp was crowded:

Our common room has ten beds, but since we were nine of us, one bed was put away, and replaced by the crate of the chronometers. The meteorological instruments are hung in the kitchen, the only place we have available. In the attic were we stored  the drugs, the syrups, the jams, pickles and sauces and the cream, and we also brought in the library

Antarctica: the tents for the dogs

Cape Manhue, the front of the Barrier to the Bay Walvisch.

Entrance to a Snow Hut

Antarctica: An Expedition Member on Skis

“Checking our equipment was a lot of work. The subject footwear should be thoroughly discussed. The majority is a model of rigid boots, where some changes will be made, others are flexible boots. For the moment it is not so important, and each was allowed  to choose his own boots. I vote for my boots with heavy soles and soft upper pieces, which are wide enough to store several pairs of stockings.”

In a tent for the dogs.

The Antarctic Base Camp - the Huts Buried in Snow, with Chimneys Sticking Out

The Men Spent the Time Mending their Gear

The relative comfort of the base camp would not last forever. The men waited for the right weather to start their journey inland. While  they waited the men spent the time getting their gear ready.

An Antarctic Winter: much like an Antarctic summer ony much much colder.

Antartica: The Ice Barrier Near the Base Camp

Wisting's workshop, dug into the Great Barrier.

The different models of snow goggles.

In the picture above the men show off their hand made snow goggles. Protecting their eyes from the relentless glare of the sun reflecting off of the snow and ice was essential; otherwise a man could become snow blind.

Minus 80 Degrees Celcius: Extreme Cold

Getting Ready to Leave: Our four runners, each with 13 dogs harnessed.

Finally, the weather allowed the expedition to start their journey to the South Pole. The men and the equipment were ready; the dogs in harness. It was time to go.

The San Francisco Earthquake: a view of the ruined city.

At 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906 a major earthquake struck the city of San Francisco and the surrounding area.  The earthquake had a likely magnitude of about 7.8 on the richter scale, though some estimates suggest that the quake may have been as high as 8.2.

The earthquake struck near the center of the city, leading to the collapse of many buildings from the shock.  Then fires started throughout the city which raged uncontrolled for days. The flames were fought by local citizens and the army, who often used dynamite to demolish homes and create a fire break in the path of the fire.  About 3,000 people lost their lives, and the city was left in ruins.

To a world grown weary of natural disasters – Katrina, the Haiti Earthquake, the Indonesian Tsunami, the San Francisco earthquake may seem almost of no consequence. After all the loss of life was far less than many more recent disasters. However we must not underestimate the shock of the San Francisco earthquake on the psyche of the city or the nation. This earthquake was at the time an unprecedented disaster.

The Ruined Business District of San Francisco, After the EarthQuake

The picture above shows what is left of the once thriving business district of San Francisco. Even when the outer facade of the building did not collapse,  the interior floors often fell into a heap of rubble. This picture was taken from Nob Hill which offered a good panoramic view of the earthquake.

The aftermath of the Earthquake, Looking East on Market Street

San Francisco Earthquake: The View from Fifth and Market Streets

The San Francisco Earthquake: The Ruins of Market Street

The above picture is an interesting snapshot of the aftermath of the earthquake. A bunch of men in suits and hats, probably businessmen, are standing nonchalantly on Market Street, surrounded by the ruins of their city. Lying in the gutter is a dead man, likely a looter shot by soldiers brought in to restore order.

Looking after the Dead

The above picture is of a mortuary set up by the National Guard in Jefferson Square to collect the dead of the San Francisco earthquake. The guardsman is cataloguing the dead by recording their description and names. There are supplies of embalming fluids and other funerary supplies set up nearby.

A contemporary account described the devastation:

It was 5:15 o’clock in the morning when the terrific earthquake shook San Francisco and the surrounding country. One shock apparently lasted two minutes and there was an almost immediate collapse of flimsy structures all over the former city. The water supply was cut off and when fires broke out in various sections there was nothing to do but to let the buildings burn. Telegraphic and telephone communication was shut off. Electric light and gas plants were rendered useless and the city was left without water, light or power. Street car tracks were twisted out of shape and even the ferry-boats ceased to run.

The dreadful earthquake shock came without warning, its motion apparently being from east to west. At first the upheaval of the earth was gradual, but in a few seconds it increased in intensity. Chimneys began to fall and buildings to crack, tottering on their foundations.

People became panic stricken and rushed into the streets, most of them in their night attire. They were met by showers of falling buildings, bricks, cornices and walls. Many were instantly crushed to death, while others were dreadfully mangled. Those who remained indoors generally escaped with their lives, though scores were hit by detached plaster, pictures and articles thrown to the floor by the shock.

Scarcely had the earth ceased to shake when fires broke out simultaneously in many places.

Streets Buckled by the San Francisco Earthquake

This photograph gives an idea of just how much the earth heaved during the quake: the trolley car tracks have been bent upwards from the ground.

San Francisco Earthquake: The Ruins of Stockton Street

San Francisco Earthquake: Grant Avenue Seen from Market Street

San Francisco Earthquake: Mission Street

San Francisco Earthquake: O'Farrell Street

On the right can be seen the girders of a modern building which have remained standing while all around it the brick and mortar building shave crumbled completely. However the strong metal frame of the new building did not save it from damage: all of its outer walls have collapsed.

Looking North from Sixth and Market Streets, San Francisco

The Ruined Shell of the Orpheum Theater on O'Farrell Street

The fire quickly engulfed the city, despite the efforts of the firefighters. The center was quickly gone; what had not been destroyed by the tremor now was a blackened cinder.  A contemporary account described the panic and desparation:

After sucking dry even the sewers the fire engines were either abandoned or moved to the outlying districts.

There was no help. Water was gone, powder was gone, hope even was a fiction. The fair city by the Golden Gate was doomed to be blotted from the sight of man.

The stricken people who wandered through the streets in pathetic helplessness and sat upon their scattered belongings in cooling ruins reached the stage of dumb, uncaring despair, the city dissolving before their eyes had no significance longer.

There was no business quarter; it was gone. There was no longer a hotel district, a theater route, a place where Night beckoned to Pleasure. Everything was gone.

San Francisco on Fire After the Earthquake

A Photograph of the Devastation in the Wholesale District. A Horse Lies Dead in the Middle of the Street, Surrounded by Rubble

Cracks in the Pavement

The Ruins of the Emporium: before the earthquake this was the largest department store west of Chicago

A Rubble Filled Street

The Call Building in the Distance

San Francisco Earthquake - Looking Toward the Ferry from Vallejo Street

There were so many dead that in many cases immediate cremation was deemed necessary to prevent the spread of disease. Many bodies were never identified.

Mark Hopkins Institute on Nob Hill, Before the Earthquake

The landscape of the city was changed forever.  The palatial homes on Nob Hill were destroyed by the flames.

San Francisco Hotel - Destroyed by the Fire that Followed the Earthquake

Thousands were left homeless; refugees fled the city by ferry to Oakland and other points. Below is a picture of the ferry terminal, from which many of the injured were evacuated.

Those that remained in the city faced many hardships. With the infrastructure destroyed, exposure and lack of food and water became the enemy. The armed forces organized a relief operation.

A Water Truck Delivering Free Water to the Victims of the Quake

San Francisco Ferry Terminal

Relief Workers Hand Out Clothes for the Homeless

Aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake: Pulled Down Telegraph and Telephone Wires

Soldiers quickly erected tent cities where the suddenly homeless could find shelter. Below is a picture of the tent city erected in Golden Gate Park.

Refugee Tent City

Even where buildings remained standing they were too structurally damaged to reoccupy. Many San Franciscans had to move into the streets in front of their homes. Below is a photograph of a street with dozens of cooking stoves on the sidewalk, a scene that became very common after the earthquake.

Cooking in the Street

The Wreck of City Hall

St. John's Church

Camp Kitchen in a Refugee Camp After the Earthquake

A Shanty Town Built by Survivors of the San Francisco Quake

Refugees from the fire that destroyed their homes huddle amid what few possessions they were able to carry away to the safety of Telegraph Hill.

The Clock Tower of the Ferry Terminal - the Clock Stopped at 5:15 the Exact Moment that the Earthquake Struck

St. Dominici Church

One of the hardest hit sections was San Francisco’s famous China Town, which was almost completely destroyed by fire.

The picture below shows several thousand Chinese Americans who fled from China Town to the safety of a park.

Refugees from San Francisco's China Town

Personal Belongings Gathered on the Front Lawn of a Destroyed House

People Living in Tents in a Public Square

Refugees in Alameda Park

Survivors of the quake look for the names of loved ones.

In the picture above survivors are scanning a wall on which the names and contact information of other survivors have been placed. With communications destroyed and thousands of people scattered by teh devastation, it  many friends and families were separated. This wall served as a collection point. It was a scene that would become painfully familiar again during teh 9-11 disaster.

Empty Shells of Buildings

After the earthquake the city of San Francisco was left in ruins. The city resembled the devastated what would become commonplace in a mere 34 years: the bombed out cities of World War 2 such as Coventry or Nurenburg.

Contemporary writers tried to put a positive spin on the disaster.  In The Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror, the authors wrote:

Unexampled as was the loss of property in San Francisco the disaster in that respect alone was converted into a permanent benefit.

No other city with the exception of Chicago ever had such a grand opportunity of rebuilding upon a basis of permanency and beauty.

To a certain extent, they were right. San Francisco was rebuilt and remains today a vibrant beautiful city.