Shorpy Historical Photo Archive

Shorpy is one of my favorite places on the internet. It’s a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of photos from 1850’s through the 1950’s, mostly black and white. I love seeing snapshots from previous decades: grand scenes of ships and trains, views of life in the city so lush you just want to jump into them, water damaged and dusty pictures of dirigibles. Theres even a search function so you can find shots of your own hometown.

This image of the Guggenheim under construction is one of my recent favorites:

Guggenheim Going Up: 1957

Guggenheim Going Up: 1957 | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive.

I love the Sunlight and shadows on the street, the people walking through not giving a thought to the history they are becoming a part of, the construction worker on the left side of the building hard at work, the construction trailer on the right side of the image.

There are so many images in the archive that are fascinating to zoom around in to look at all the small details. I’ve downloaded over one thousand images to use for randomly changing desktop images.

Here’s another favorite, this time in color:
Barbeque Gas Beer: 1940

Barbeque Gas Beer: 1940 | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive.

I love the cacophony of signage in this photo, it’s fun to see it in full color.

One more favorite:

The Clerical Army: 1924

The Clerical Army: 1924 | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive.

I can just imagine all the sounds in the room – the mumbling of supervisors, fans whirring, keys clacking. It’s also interesting to think how the word computing has evolved over the years.

Go check it out for yourself http://www.shorpy.com.

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