Glassless Goggles, 1907

Scientific, automotive, and news publications announced this marvel of modern design  in 1907:  Can you guess what they are? Yes, they’re goggles, but what doesn’t come across in these images is that the “lenses” are actually steel plates. “Looked at from the distance of two or three feet away these plates appear to be solid […]

21st Century Aeroplanists, 1906.

The promise of flying cars and jetpacks in the 21st century has been around a long, long time: here is a comic from the french journal Le Pele-Mele: IN THE YEAR 2006 Aeroplanist to friend: “Just look down and you’ll see how backward they are in this part of the world.  Why, the peasants still […]

Vienna General Hospital, 1900s

Alongside the glass plate of Sanssouci Palace is this ambulatory image: The plate is marked “Hospital Yard, Vienna”.   I’m sure there have been many different hospitals in Vienna over the years, but the architecture clearly identifies this building: the Vienna General Hospital, otherwise known as “Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien”.  The image above would […]

Electric and Steam Shovels, 1905

As technology changes, sometimes we get stuck on old terminology; we “dial” a phone, the first TV channel is “2”, and we flatten things with a “steamroller”.  Most steamrollers today, of course, are gas or diesel powered, but they’re still ‘steam’ to us.   Steam-power ran most construction machinery in the 19th century, but slowly […]

Niagara Falls Ride, 1905.

Click for full image You might think Disney invented immersive amusement park rides, but he was a latecomer to the game. As trolley car services grew in cities, they looked for ways to expand ridership. One popular solution: buy land towards the end of the line, and build an amusement park. You can’t count on […]