The Forgotten Firsts: 10 Vintage Versions of Modern Technology

In this age of mobile, wireless, digital and whatchamacallit technology, nothing seems to surprise us nowadays. Unless they’re going to finally show us those flying cars we’ve been waiting for since The Jetsons aired on television, we’re hardly batting an eyelid at some of the latest gadgets. But if we take a look back, we might find some familiar but curious…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. LXXVII)

1. Bookstores of New York The New Yorker asked the cartoonist Bob Eckstein to walk around New York City and draw his favorite bookstores. See the full set of cartoons he sent them. Look for part two of this series in the next few weeks. 2. A Miniature Secret Book Available to buy on Etsy,…

Walt Disney’s South American Research Trip

You know you have a pretty cool job when your boss offers you a ten week tour around South America and sketch inspiration for your next cartoon as you visit beautiful beaches, exotic cultures and remote landscapes. In 1941, before America entered the war, Walt Disney took a group of sixteen of his best animators and composers to Brazil,…

No Summer in Europe will be Complete without a Dinner at this Sea Cave

I‘ll bet you can already hear the waves crashing up against the rocks below you and taste the salty sea on your lips as you slurp down spaghetti accompanied by a glass of cold rosé. You want to know exactly where this magical place is so you can promptly reserve your table for two with your favourite person…

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The Curious Caravan de Paris

In my little corner of Paris, on a vibrant boulevard of the 20th arrondissement, something curious and out of place has been drawing my attention ever since I first went put-putting past it on my mobylette years ago. I suppose I’ve always been a tad reluctant to go and unveil the mystery; more content to remain ambiguous about…

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The Fake Rooftop Towns of World War II

They were devised by Hollywood set designers, assembled like stage props and “inhabited” by actors, but entertainment was far from the agenda. Photographed taking a sunny stroll down a seemingly suburban avenue called Synthetic Street, these ladies are actually on the rooftop of the B17 Bomber factory in Seattle Washington in 1941, camouflaged by nearly 26 acres of suburban American…

Monsieur Hulot’s Parisian House

There are some things that just make me tick. I can’t exactly explain why; what first catches my eye, but it seems we have quite a few of these things in common, you and I. I’d like to share with you this very short and simple clip from a 1950s French film that for some reason…

This Adorable Mint Green Fiat Twinset is For Sale

Let’s talk cars. Cute ones. In a matching mint green hue. If you happen to be in the market for just about the most charming set of micro cars ever produced, look no further, I’ve caught wind of something rather fabulous and deliciously retro. Rare examples of the 1950s Fiat 600 Multipla and 600 Jolly are going up…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. LXXVI)

1. Triplets get a Haircut, 1956 The Dees triplets, Megan, Christina and Katha, photographed in 1956 by Nina Leen for LIFE magazine. And here they are all grown up, modelling in the 1960s… 2. A Multi-Story VW Bus This multi-storey VW minibus comes from Berger Stadel Walsh of Basel, found on Boing Boing 3. Battery, Baghdad,…

Behind the Scenes at Macy’s, 1948

Two things you and I clearly need are a time machine and a “backstage pass” to everything. But the next best thing of course, is the internet and all its wonders, such as one of my favorite places to fish, the LIFE Archives. Today we go behind the staff only doors of the iconic Macy’s…