April 17, 1940. When enameled steel was sexy. "Electric Institute of Washington. Display of ranges in lobby at Potomac Electric Power Co. building." 8x10 acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.

Guys gone wild, 1860s style. "Unidentified soldiers in Union uniforms holding cigars in each other's mouths." Ninth-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. View full size.

From 1952 comes this conflation of two popular genres in the children's TV show "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." Photo by Charlotte Brooks for the Look magazine assignment "Cowboys and Meteors." View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1943. "Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Brightwood station car barn." Photo by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.

July 1941. "Street scene in Chicago Black Belt." Old-school fixie. 35mm negative by Edwin Rosskam for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

1948. "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus." Color transparency for Look magazine by the future film director Stanley Kubrick, who manages to make this look like an avant-garde Coke ad. View full size.

Nov. 28, 1927. "Washington man sleeps in a blanketless bed. Milton Fairchild of Washington, D.C., does not need any blankets for keeping him warm these winter nights. He has invented an electrical bed which does not require any covering for the body when asleep. Furthermore, according to Mr. Fairchild, an 'electric blanket' is healthier and one is not so susceptible to colds. The temperature is maintained constant throughout the night by automatic controls." Milton, you are so close. Just a couple more tweaks and you will be sitting pretty, or at least reclining more comfortably. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.