Transportation Over Time

Over the past one hundred years, the world has changed tremendously.  World literacy rates have increased, Coca- Cola has reached its one-hundredth year in the business industry, and technology is doing the unimaginable.  Perhaps one of the most dramatic development in the past century is the increase in transportation systems. 

The first form of transport was Shanks pony. 

You haven’t heard that term before?  It means one’s feet or legs, regarded as a means of transport.  Anyways, the first major transportation system was by foot.  As technology advanced, animals were domesticated and then used to aid in transported larger loads across larger scale terrain, making trade more optimal.

Moving forward, transportation further increased due to the invention of the wheel in 3,500 BCE. At first these wheels were made of solid pieces of wood; however. After 2,000 BCE they were made to include spokes.  These slow, yet impacting, advancements continued, leading up to the much larger growth spurt in the twentieth century.

While some newer transportation systems arrived prior to the last century, the greatest changes are sandwiched in the twentieth century.  By 1910, we see roads, cars, and bus lines.  Then, the 1920’s brought us passenger air flight, and while the comfort level is nothing compared to the luxury even the lowest airline has to offer, it was a means to transport both nationally and international at a faster speed than offered before.  To give you some perspective, in 1918, it would have taken five days to get from London, England to New York City, New York, and it would take more than three months to travel from London, England to Sydney, Australia.  Now, a nonstop flight gets you from London to New York in as little as eight hours, and from London to Australia in about a day, and that is including a single stop.

   

 

 

Because the variety and the efficiency of transportation have gone up exponentially, the uses for it have as well.  With the integration of new transportation systems into the culture, people can explore parts of the world which would otherwise be impossible to reach by foot.  This expands the possibility to witness and delve deeper into diverse cultures, offering our species a chance to understand those from different parts of the world.

Big announcement!

History In Photographs will be joining some friends from Worthpoint on September 14, 2018 at the Lakewood Antiques Market. We’re beyond excited to explore one the best antique markets in the United States.
For those of you who aren’t as associated with these Georgian roots, the Lakewood 400 Antiques Market is always held on the third weekend of the month, except for December.  With over five hundred spaces and an abundance of parking, the market offers antique jewelry repair, restoration, appraisal, and furniture restoration.

 

 As a child, my mother and father lugged me to flea market and antique markets alike.  To give you an understanding of the extent of it all, every seller at the local flea market up where we vacationed each summer in Maine could sense my father’s presence the moment we crossed the state border.  We usually rolled into our home’s rocky driveway close to midnight, and the only light out was the moon shinning high overhead.  Although you would think a man might want to sleep in past dawn while on vacation, my father did not.  He was too eager to take his daughter to visit the fleas down at the market.  I often was happy to oblige because where there were fleas, there would be a diner, and where there was a diner there was breakfast, and where there was breakfast, there was… moose tracks ice cream. 
Moving forward, my family visited the fleas every day.  In a way these men and women were like an extended family to me.  I heard them talk about real life with my family, and I was exposed to in depth history of my country at a younger age than most.  Although the flea marker is nowhere near as dignified as the antique market that was right next door, there were a few secrets I learned in my two decades of parading around.  So here is my gift to you, my top five tips that can help anyone shop and buy the best pieces at flea and antique markets.

1. Get there early

Yes, I know that you have heard this before.  More than likely when following this advice, you show up ten minutes early, and everyone else shows up an hour and a half late.  I get it, you don’t believe me.  But you see, pickers are a whole different type of people. The most informed buyers go early and get the high-quality items, so you want to be around them.  Even if you aren’t the most informed on an item’s value, interact with the men and women.  You’ll be amazed to find out how much value that turkey caller you scoffed at earlier is.

 2. Bring a list

It is easy to get distracted because it is a sensory overload.  The loud voices, hot dog breath, people moving all around you, the interesting mixture of coffee and egg sandwiches… it can be a lot to take it.  Before you embark on the adventure, write yourself a list.  Present self will thank past self for taking twenty minutes to brainstorm and jot down what it is that you’re looking for.  Naturally you want to be open to finding treasures that are beyond what you could even dream of, but please do yourself a favor and have a plan or you will get distracted.

3. Love the shape more than the color

Craft stores exist for a reason.  If you love a frame or a table, and you think the shape would be beautiful in your home, then buy it.  The finish, color, and fabric can always be altered.  For example, I absolutely adore the rustic, farmhouse decor look.  My personal Pinterest boards are full of antique white pieces, rustic wooden signs, and beautiful iron trinkets.  I am a strong advocate for re-purposing furniture because it is better for the environment, but it is also a nice craft to fuel your inner artist.  I buy mismatched furniture and strip the paint.  Then after sanding the wood, all that is left is to coat the stripped furniture with a few layers of paint, and bam!   Your home will look so coordinated and put together.  So, remember this tip, it is the shape, not the color, that matters.

 4. Splurge on the Unique

If you stumble across a piece that is nothing like you have ever seen before, and you love it, then you better snag it.  If you must ask yourself three times “should I get it”, then that means that yes, you want it, and yes, you should jump on it.  These unique finds are what transform your house into an artistic home.

 

 5. Bring Cash

I understand that technology is advanced these days, but not every seller will have a square reader or PayPal.  You best bet is to bring cash for two reasons.  The first being that you always want to be prepared just in case there is no electric payment option.  The second reason being that you can almost always get a better deal with cash.  I can not tell you how many times I have saved money because people do not want to break a big bill or because the amount was so low anyways.

Granite Quarrying

The harvesting of granite from quarries in the earth was a tremendous business on Cape Ann between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Granite effected the economy by providing jobs for people throughout the New England region, as well as throughout the world. This cutting of the stone kept workers bust, predominately during the winter months, because the workers could not easily carve the stone straight from its site.  They would have to carve large sections out and then extract smaller pieces of stone.  By summertime, large shipments of these elements would be transported to distant ports.

Techniques 

There are several techniques to quarrying. 

• Rock fragmentation is a very important technique used since the rock sizes produced by a blast must correlate to what the involved machinery can handle.  The danger associated with the explosives used for this include fly rock, rock vibration, and noise. 
• A common system used now is referred to as “Royex”.  It is used in a variety of quarrying applications, such as quarrying for limestone, granite, or marble.

 

Quarrying in Cape Ann

The quarry workers specialized in the conversion of the rock into paving blocks used to finish developing roads and streets.  The integration of granite became popular quickly among the population, and some feared that the business may run out of resources.  The Cape Anne granite industry became successful because of this, and the granite was regularly shipped around the world.  The location also benefited the industry.  They product had to be shipped out by vessel because the railroad system did not exist yet.

Unfortunately, the quarry industry plummeted when The Great Depression ushered in.  People were less interested in granite, and their focus was now on concrete and steel for the development of asphalt needed for street paving.

Today, most of the quarries in Cape Ann have been filled with water to form deep ponds.  They have been abandoned by people and taken over by nature, creating beautiful spots for visitors to take in the scenery of the past.

 

 

 

September 1, 2018

On This day in History

For most countries, the sun shines fiercely on the land from the August up until April. The excruciating summer heat is a relief to many,  This had to have been especially true to those who lived prior to the invention of air conditioning.  I can only image that the change in temperature and humidity was celebrated during these times, especially across Western European countries.  Although the intense summer heat has passed, there is still plenty of daylight left. In today's society, this sounds like the ideal environment to enjoy a relaxing weekend in countries like France or Poland; however, if you were living in Europe in 1939, you would want to be far, far away from these countries.  That is because on this day in history, the German forces used this as an opportunity to bombard Poland on both land and from the air.

Nearly a century ago, German forces invaded Poland, beginning World War II.  The decision that Adolf Hitler made to move his troops in was a gamble because his machinery was not yet at full strength, and his country's economy was still lock into peacetime production.  Despite the uncertainty and her generals urges for caution, Hitler dismissed their concerns.  He came in at full force, calling for extensive bombing to destroy air capacity, railroads, and communication lines.  This is referred to as the “blitzkrieg” strategy.  The first hit was by a bomb dropped by aircraft of the town of Wielun, killing over one-thousand people.  Moments later, Germans tanks opened fire in the city of Danzig.  It is estimated that over sixty-five thousand died from the invasion, one-hundred-thirty-three-thousand were wounded, and six-hundred-ninety-four-thousand were captured. 

At a glance, this scene paints a picture of brutality, but the true significant of this attack lies more so within Hitler’s own philosophy and political views.  It is arguable that this attack on Poland as a defensive action made by Hitler, but it is more likely that the invasion was to gain territory and wipe out a high concentration of Jewish citizens.  Hitler was confident that this invasion would result in a short, victorious war.  He made this presumption because he perceived the British and French as  weak, and he thought they would offer for a peace settlement rather than waging war.  To Hitler's surprise, both allies of the overrun nations declared war two days later,  initiating World War Two.

Who is “History In Photographs”?

History In Photographs is a website devoted to recording the best of the world’s history that has been saved on film in the last 150 years, the time that modern photographs have been around. We actively look for the best photo negatives in the world that are skillfully taken by both amateurs and professionals and procure the rights to share those photos with our users. Each image is meticulously restored to better than its original life quality by our team of European artisans and made available to you in limited editions. HIP has been 150 years in the making and is a result of the billions that have taken photographs over the last 150 years and those that contributed into the technology that made all this possible today.

 

About our Art

Each of our photographs is hand-picked for content and artistic merit. We document history through the captured moments in people's lives that are impossible to reproduce.  Our restoration artists spend hours personally cleaning, scanning, and editing away decades of dirt, blemishes, and discoloration to restore each photograph to its original beauty.

 

 

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