Category Archives: Oldies

Bathing machines

The bathing machine was a device, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, to allow people to change out of their usual clothes, possibly change into swimwear and then wade in the ocean at beaches. Bathing machines were roofed and walled wooden carts rolled into the sea. Some had solid wooden walls; others had canvas [...]

Blankenberghe, baigneurs.
Blankenberghe, baigneurs. Credit The Library of Congress
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Photocroms of Holland from 1890s to 1900s

Like postcards, the photochroms feature subjects that appeal to travelers, including landscapes, architecture, street scenes, and daily life and culture. The prints were sold as souvenirs and often collected in albums or framed for display.
After travelling to Belgium, Norway, Scotland and  Turkey we arrive today to Holland and its canals. Amsterdam has been called the “Venice of the [...]

A map showing Amsterdam with its canals from 1662.
A map showing Amsterdam with its canals from 1662. Credit Daniel Stalpert
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First flight, 120 feet in 12 seconds, 1903 Dec. 17, 10:35 a.m.

Photograph shows the first powered, controlled, sustained flight. Orville Wright at the controls of the machine, lying prone on the lower wing with hips in the cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur Wright running alongside to balance the machine, has just released his hold on the forward upright of the right wing. The starting [...]

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Photochroms of Turkey from 1890s to 1900s

Like postcards, the photochroms feature subjects that appeal to travelers, including landscapes, architecture, street scenes, and daily life and culture. The prints were sold as souvenirs and often collected in albums or framed for display.
After travelling to Belgium, Norway and Scotland we arrive today to Turkey. These photos refer to Constantinople because they were taken [...]

Mosque of St. Sophia and Ahmed III fountain, Constantinople, Turkey
Mosque of St. Sophia and Ahmed III fountain, Constantinople, Turkey Credit The Library of Congress
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Best fotos of 2009

Space, history, nature, people, animals, … I hope you have enjoyed them.
Note. Credits in this post link to orginal posts of this blog. Photo credits are placed on the landing pages.

The Orion nebula.
The Orion nebula. Credit TheBigFoto
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Physics’ world in the XIX century

In this post we are going to see several old machines lithographies of another book of the second half of XIX century brought to us by El Bibliomata.
I don’t know anything about most of them but they seem very curious.
For example, I have found a lithography of the first machine that was able of [...]

Phonautograph.
Phonautograph. Credit El Bibliomata
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The conquest of Mexico

Let’s promote this week the contribution of El Bibliomata, a flickr user that shares illustrations and photographs of the collection from the Library of the Faculty of Law and Labor, University of Seville.
While we create real digital content a good start is to digitalised old works. The start, some old litographies of the conquest of [...]

Hernan Cortes armour.
Hernan Cortes armour. Credit El Bibliomata
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