Category Archives: History

When Coffee Jumped From 10 Cents To 15 Cents A Cup

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Americans Perplexed By A 15 Cent Cup Of Coffee – 1954

Go into the supermarket and examine just about any product. You will notice shrinking packaging and products. You are getting less and paying more.

Tropicana orange juice just shrunk again – from 64 ounces to 59 ounces to 52 ounces and now 46 ounces. Coffee is sold in a pound can, but contains about 11.3 ounces of product.

In 1954 the price of coffee was rising, and the answer was not shrink the cup, but raise the price. A 50% price hike to be exact, from ten cents to fifteen cents.

Even after World War II many places still sold a nickel cup of coffee.

The original news slug reads: Continue reading →

How We Lose Our Liberty -1946

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Henry Luce Founder Of Life Magazine On The Threat To Liberty When The Government Tries To Fix Social Problems, Rather Than The People Fixing Them- 1946

Henry Luce photo via: PBS

Henry Luce, the founder of Time, Fortune and the modern Life magazine was prescient in what might become of the United States in the future if we rely upon the government to solve social issues.

While reading Lloyd Morris’  Postscript To Yesterday – America: The Last Fifty Years,  (Random House) 1947, I came across this passage describing Life magazine and Luce’s views: on the matter. Continue reading →

55 Years Ago Today The Woodstock Music Festival Dramatically Concluded

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Jimi Hendrix Closes Woodstock With A Memorable Performance – August 18, 1969

Bethel, N.Y. – August 16: Huge Crowd At Rock Festival
Air view shows part of crowd Friday which converged on Bethel, N.Y., for rock festival there. More than 200,00 persons are estimated to be present. photo A.P.

While the attendance numbers have been in dispute, there probably were close to a half million people who attended The Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The concert began on August 15, 1969, and by the time it was over on Monday, August 18, it is estimated that less than 200,000 people remained to see the conclusion.

The final act was Jimi Hendrix. Continue reading →

Dr. Cole Helps Men To Stop “Wrecking Your Manhood” -1903

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NIGHT LOSSES THAT DULL THE MIND, WEAKEN THE BODY, DESTROY THE SEXUAL STRENGTH AND CHANGE THE MAN ARE UNHEALTHY AND SHOULD BE CURED

In this advertisement from The St. Paul Globe of July 18, 1903, Dr. Alfred L. Cole does not explicitly say what condition he is treating in “night losses”, but it sounds extremely perilous.

The mores and morals of the time would not permit the condition to be talked about in polite society.

But, reading between the lines, Dr. Cole proposes to stop men from having wet dreams. Continue reading →

The Sexy Women’s Lingerie, Corsets, Nightwear & Undergarments Of The Early 20th Century

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What The Early 20th Century Woman Wore Under Her Clothes

Sexy Lingerie, Corsets & Other Flattering Clothing

Gimbel Brothers Department Store Catalog 1910

What was considered sexy 100 years ago might not draw the same conclusions today.

To look her best, the woman of the late 19th and early 20th century was stuffed into a variety of tight fitting and often times restrictive undergarments.

Much like today with online shopping, store catalogs offered goods of all sorts to the public without the need to first try on the merchandise.

Gimbel Brothers Department Store Catalog 1910

From nightgowns to corsets to petticoats to chemises to reducing garments, women could buy a wide variety of underclothing, never setting foot in a store. Continue reading →

July 4, 1918 New York City & A Parade To Unite Americans

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July 4, 1918 When Patriotism Was On Full Display

Greatest July 4th Parade In History of U.S., Held On Fifth Avenue
General view of the great parade proceeding up Fifth Avenue, New York City. photo: Underwood & Underwood July, 4, 1918

There was a time when July 4 did not mean merchandise sales, and a three or four day weekend with barbecues. Continue reading →

During World War I There Was A “Fag” Day – May 29, 1917

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Not Flag Day, But Fag Day

It’s not what you might think. There was no Pride Day 100 years ago. These two members of the armed services shown in the poster above are definitely sharing a moment. But it was not intended to be depicting a gay moment.

Asking for a fag may not be in the parlance of Americans, but to Brits the meaning is very clear. “Do you have a cigarette?” Continue reading →

Books About The General Slocum Disaster

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June 15, 1904: The Steamer General Slocum Is Consumed By Fire At Hell Gate Killing Over 1,000 People, Mostly Women and Children

Crowd gathered around the recovered body of a child from the General Slocum, North Brother Island, New York City, June 1904 photo George Ehler Stonebridge / NY Historical Society

This year marks the 120th anniversary of a tragedy that has been mostly forgotten, the General Slocum Disaster.

If you are unfamiliar with the General Slocum and the inferno that killed over 1,000 people, we  previously wrote about it here.

Delving deeper into full length accounts of the General Slocum, you have several choices.

A total of eight books and two government reports are solely devoted to the tragedy and encapsulate the story thoroughly. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #168 – New York’s Waterfront 1898

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New York City Skyline, Waterfront & Staten Island Ferry 1898

From an approaching boat we see a busy waterfront and the budding skyline of lower Manhattan. Our photo comes from the Detroit Publishing Company archive.

The ship the photographer is aboard is pulling in, and the ferry Stapleton is about to head to Staten Island. Other boats with passengers are docked at their moorings.

The most notable building Continue reading →

Two Of The Dionne Quintuplets Turn 90-Years-Old Today

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Annette and Cécile Dionne Turn 90 On May 28, 2024
(see update at end of the article)

Turning 90 is still considered a feat of longevity and cause for celebration.

But for two Canadian women, Annette Dionne Allard and Cécile Dionne Langlois, turning 90 on  May 28 will still be a bittersweet day. Their siblings are dead and much of their early lives were lived under constant scrutiny.

Annette and Cécile, are each one fifth of what were the world’s most famous sisters.

When it was announced that five baby girls were born to Oliva-Édouard and his wife Elzire Dionne on May 28 1934 in rural Callendar, Ontario Canada, the world went into Dionne Quintuplet-mania.

The Dionne’s were the first known set of quintuplets to survive infancy. Continue reading →