All Articles Tagged 'lifestyle' (26)

A company once known as "world's greatest travel system" had a lot to advertise.

Established in 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway quickly evolved into a business empire. Their activities stretched far beyond the railroads: the CPR operated steamships and hotels, telegraph services and radio stations, and, quite naturally, an…

This is a 1935 digital clock.

Digital doesn't mean 'electronic'. Instead of using hands to point at numerals this watch displays moving numerals. It is called Heures Sautantes, "jumping hours" for its numeral-printed hour disc displaying hours in upper window. The clock was made by Jaeger,…

Sorry, no cheese today. No chocolate. Only a selection of posters from the Swiss Confederation.

One may expect a lot of advertisements promoting banking and watch industry. Sorry - nothing like this in my collection. But there is a lot of automotive themes (like on the poster above, a work of Noël…

Recently, I discovered a very special kind of timepieces.

Usually described as 'purse watch', the Ermeto was made by Movado company in Switzerland. By the way, Movado (of the 'Museum Watch' fame) is probably world's only watchmaker with an Esperanto name. In international language,…

November 4th, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.

Megan Heather Denney, took my hand to become Mrs. Henry.

We are very proud to share these pictures with you and hope they make you smile like we do when we see them.…

With my vacation starting tomorrow I thought I share some traditional posters with you, all of so-called “Strandbäder”, a lido or literally a “beach pool”. The term refers to the sand in which you could relax even if the actual beaches of the Mediterranean were hundreds of miles away. The Strandbad tradition really started with the beginning of the 20^th century and was popular across Europe.

I wish everyone fantastic holidays!

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This poster is an interesting mix of old and new:

A Russian proletarian dressed after a pre-Revolution fashion (visor cap + silk blouse + striped trousers + high boots) is riding a cigarette made by state-owned factory, with state-owned Mosselprom grocery store in the background. The brand name awarded with such a bombastic presentation is not too impressive - just Pachka ("Pack"). 1920s at their best.

This working-class guy is advertising a…

These steam locomotives, hauling the most famous American express train, are the ultimate Diesel Era icons.

No other "steam-stream" design is so eye-catching. No other can be called a synonym of streamlining. Yes, among its contemporaries are true masterpieces like the Milwaukee Hiawatha…

Is there a place for commercial art in a "classic" Socialist society?

The obvious answer is "no". Everything's nationalized, planned and centralized, thus eliminating competition between manufacturers, services and brands. So what's left to advertise? But this answer is obvious only to those who do not understand the needs of such society and its rulers. There's still a need to promote important, although not compulsory, initiatives like investment into government bonds*…

"The radio will be to the twentieth century what the press was to the nineteenth"

- Josef Goebbels, 1933.

The German Volksempfänger (People's Radio), VE 301 radio was Launched at the Tenth German Radio Fair in August 1933, the model number represented the day on which Hitler had taken power in January that year. Its Bakelite case was designed by Walter Maria Kersting…

No aircraft carriers and missiles today, just beer & soda cans.

If canned food is the Steam Era child, canned beverages were introduced in the Diesel Era. Technicians at the American Can Company, even before prohibition, began toying with the idea of putting beer in a can. As early as 1929, Anheuser-Busch and Pabst experimented with the canning process. Schlitz even proposed a can design that looked like a small barrel. The major problem the early researchers were…

Has it ever occurred to you that home refrigeration became common (at least in the States) during our beloved Diesel Era?

The absorption refrigerator was invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters from Sweden in 1922, while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It became a worldwide success and was commercialized by Electrolux. Other…

Today, the Hispano Friday!

Of course, these noble automobiles have been already featured here. But a true Dieselpunk never can have enough Hispano pictures or Hispano info. So, some photographs to share, as well as an article brought to us by…

Small and harmless devices can be no less exciting than giant war machines.

Today I invite you to have a look at Curvex watches - a masterpiece of design produced by Gruen company. Let's open a page of the excellent Gruen story by Paul Schliesser:

"By the early 1930s, men's wristwatches had overtaken pocket watches in popularity, although wristwatches were not yet considered…

Dieselpunks present: the Weimar Republic's largest housing project:

During the critical housing shortage that existed in in Germany following WWI, various co-op housing societies and associations, public housing associations and trades unions housing groups were formed to build economical housing in Berlin. One of the largest of these associations,Gehag (public utility homes, savings and construction company), was founded in 1919 to build housing for its members.…

Warning: Golden Era advertisements can seriously harm your health!

So if you're afraid of tobacco, booze and petrol lighters - don't look inside. Forewarned is forearmed, you know.…

I've been following a blog titled "The Houndstooth Kid," which follows the gentleman's efforts to develop a classic wardrobe from era attire he has acquired from different locales.

Aside from the unique details that men's clothes had at the time which he makes a point of showing (e.g. some pants of the time…