Category: vintage

Horace Bristol

Horace Bristol, “PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul”, 1944

In the heat of battle, photographer Horace Bristol captured one of the most unique and erotic photos of WWII.

Bristol photographed a young crewman of a US Navy “Dumbo” PBY rescue mission, manning his gun after having stripped naked and jumped into the water of Rabaul Harbor to rescue a badly burned Marine pilot. The Marine was shot down while bombing the Japanese-held fortress of Rabaul.

“…we got a call to pick up an airman who was down in the Bay. The Japanese were shooting at him from the island, and when they saw us they started shooting at us. The man who was shot down was temporarily blinded, so one of our crew stripped off his clothes and jumped in to bring him aboard. He couldn’t have swum very well wearing his boots and clothes. As soon as we could, we took off. We weren’t waiting around for anybody to put on formal clothes. We were being shot at and wanted to get the hell out of there. The naked man got back into his position at his gun in the blister of the plane.”

Original title: PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944

The Fak Hongs

Artist Unknown,  Circa-1930 Stone lLthograph for the Magician Troupe  “The Fak Hongs”

In the first decades of the twentieth-century, a type of magic show known as the “Oriental Magician” was very popular. The early exploration of China at the turn of the century by Europeans provided material for practicing magicians to incorporate into their performances. A type of magic show known as the “Oriental Magician”, in which Western magicians donned stereotypical oriental attire, became very popular throughout Europe. 

One of these was the magician Fak Hong, a European who performed in Japanese robes and haircut similar to those of samurai warriors. Renowned throughout Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, his troupe, the Fak-Hongs”, dressed as Asian mystics and performed such magic as levitation and cutting women in half. 

Due to his show’s popularity, Fak Hong formed a second troupe which was led by the illusionist Chang, the stage name of Juan José Pablo Jesorum, a native of Panama. The two groups, now known collectively as “Chang and Fak-Hong’s United Magicians” successfully toured Europe, America, and South America. Several of their performances highlighted illusions such as “Invisible Man”, “Hari-Kari”, “Noah’s Ark”, and “Night in Tokyo”.

Adolfo de Carolis

Adolfo de Carolis, “International Exposition of Industries- Turin, Poster, 1911

Adolfo de Carolis was an Italian painter, wood-cut printer, illustrator and photographer. In 1888, after finishing primary school , he was sent to study at the Accademaia di Belle Arti di Bologna from which he graduated in 1892. His first professional work was a collaborative restoration of the Borgia Apartments in the Apostolic Palace.

In 1899, de Carolis participated int eh 3rd exposition held by the Venice Biennale. He received a commission the following year to design a bronze tabernacle for the baptismal font at the Ajaccio Cathedral. After 1902, Adolfo de Carolis concentrated on creating illustrations for artistic and literary publications for books by Carducci, Pascoli and D’Annunzio.

Adolfo de Carolis’s Turin Interanational poster was designed in 1911 to celebrate this world fair which focused on industry and labor. The fair opened on the 29th of April and covered an area of 247 acres. Over four million visitors attended the pavilions of over thirty countries.

 

Jean Droit

Jean Droit, 1924 Paris Poster for the Olympic Games

From his early youth, Jean Droit manifested his talents as an artist, primarily in watercolors. His first exhibition of watercolors was at the Galerie du Roy in Brussels in 1912. His posters and illustrations, published by numerous magazines and in luxury books, were universally known and appreciated. Shortly before 1914, Jean Droit designed the outfits for the boards of the Belgian Army.

Upon his return to France after the end of the war, he became  a draftsman at the Manufacture de Sèvres and  resumed his artistic and educational activities. Several of his works are at the Royal Army Museum in Brussels.

Thanks to http://djinn-gallery.tumblr.com

Remo Bramanti

Remo Bramanti, “Titan Industrial Corporation”, Advertising Poster, 1957

This is an original 1957 single-sided lithograph by Remo Bramanti intending to promote the Titan Industrial Corporation, which was then located at 711 Third Avenue in New York City. Today, it continues to thrive in the Big Apple at 555 Madison Avenue with both the Titan Steel Corporation and TSC Logistics, LLC, making up parts of this large industrial giant.

Vintage Neon Gas Station Signs

Vintage Neon Gas Station Signs

Georges Claude patented the neon lighting tube on Jan. 19th, 1915 – U.S. Patent 1,125,476.

In 1923, Georges Claude and his French company Claude Neon, introduced neon gas signs to the United States, by selling two to a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles. Earle C. Anthony purchased the two signs reading “Packard” for $24,000.

Neon lighting quickly became a popular fixture in outdoor advertising. Visible even in daylight, people would stop and stare at the first neon signs dubbed “liquid fire.”