It’s only natural to be a little curious about the man behind the name. After all, he is a legend. So let’s get to it. Fred Astaire was born on May 10, 1899 to Fritz and Ann Austerlitz. The Austerlitz Family lived in Omaha, Nebraska and he had a sister, Adele, who was 18 months his senior. She showed herself to be a natural dancer, while Fred displayed a similar natural ability for music as well as dancing.  When their mother saw their talent she started dreaming of moving to New York City so that they could perform as a brother-sister pair in vaudeville. An opportunity presented itself ..read more

“If Johnny Rotten is the voice of punk, then [Sid] Vicious is the attitude,” proclaimed manager of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren. Simon John Ritchie, otherwise known as Sid Vicious, was the bassist in the explosive British punk band Sex Pistols. The band’s rise to fame in the late ‘70s defined them as the band that personified the image, energy, and ethos of the British underground music scene—and history has held Vicious at the center of it all. In his unabashed shocking attitude and hedonistic lifestyle, Vicious did not seem as real as the rest of his contemporaries; instead, he was pun ..read more

Ceil Chapman (1912–1979) was an American fashion designer who worked in New York City from the 1940s to the 1960s. She created glamorous cocktail and party dresses, and worked with celebrity clients including television and movie actresses. Fashion designs by Ceil Chapman in the 1940s and ’50s After two years of college, Chapman obtained a position in the workroom of a large Fifth Avenue store in New York. Within three years, she was made head of the studio, staying for eight years. Around 1940, she was involved in a short-lived business called Her Ladyship Gowns, formed with Gloria ..read more

Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya, an enthusiastic photographer was the first king of India to organize an annual photographic exhibition at his palace in Tripura. His wife Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini Devi was also an amateur photographer. Maharaj took this picture with the help of a black lever attached to a triggering device used a long wire shutter control and is believed to be the first ‘selfie’ in India. Photo of Maharaja Birchandra, King of Tripura with his queen Maharani Manamohini taken by the king himself, 1880. History tells us that in the 19th century, there was Maharaja B ..read more

Camping and kayaking in the 1960s were characterized by a sense of adventure and self-reliance. Campers often used canvas tents, basic sleeping bags, and portable stoves for cooking. Kayaks were typically wooden or fiberglass, and paddlers explored rivers and lakes with maps and compasses as their guides. It was a time of genuine outdoor exploration, where people sought remote destinations and embraced the simplicity of outdoor life. These wonderful photos were found by Past of a Stranger that show people camping and kayaking in the 1960s. See more ..read more

Rarely seen photographs taken during the filming of Dr No in Jamaica. They were most likely taken by the production stills photographer Bunny Yeager but that is not fully confirmed. Terence Young directed. Bunny was definitely on set during the shooting of the scenes on the beach. She describes how she came to take the photos in her book Camera in Jamaica: “The photos of Ursula wearing a bikini and shirt, posing besides some roots were made a few feet away from the scene of the film. The cinematographer and crew took a break because cloud was overhead so I was able to sneak in a few shots ..read more

The city of Thiers finds its origin in the medieval age and can claim six centuries of cutlery tradition. The legend says that the Crusaders bring back the secret of steel but the history of knife making can be dated back to the fifteenth century as tax registers mention thirty knife makers in the city that will turn to be 200 in the sixteenth century. Oddly enough, the city didn’t have real assets to become the capital of knife making, there is no iron ore for the blades or sandstone to make grinding wheels, but there is the Durolle, the torrent that will provide enough energy for the cutle ..read more

Born 1893 in Chesterton, Cambridge, English actress Isobel Elsom debuted on stage in London as a member of the chorus of The Quaker Girl (1911). Gilbert Miller promoted her to stardom in The Outsider. Over the course of three decades, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, beginning with The Ghost Train (1926). Her best-known stage role was the wealthy murder victim in Ladies in Retirement (1939), a role she repeated in the 1941 film version. Her other theatre credits included The Innocents and Romeo and Juliet. Elsom made her first screen appearance during the silent film era (she frequ ..read more

Exposure time was a formidable challenge for the 19th century photographer who surely shuddered when a young sitter entered the room. Noted historian Robert Taft wrote, “Ah, the children. Here there could be no twenty second exposure… full light, the largest stop in the camera and the combined efforts of the photographer, the candy, and the entire family ..read more

Jed Johnson (1948–1996) was an American interior designer and film director. He was initially hired to sweep floors at Andy Warhol’s Factory. After Warhol was shot in 1968, Johnson subsequently moved in with him and became his lover for 12 years. Johnson edited several Warhol films and directed Warhol’s last film Bad. Johnson decorated the townhouse he shared with Warhol and he later started his own decorating business. As a passenger aboard TWA Flight 800, he was killed when the plane exploded shortly after takeoff in 1996. Andy Warhol took these Polaroids of his boyfriend Jed Joh ..read more