4000+ fine-art prints suitable for framing. Desk-size to sofa-size and larger, on archival paper or canvas.
The Shorpy Gallery
Join and Share
Social Shorpy
To love him is to like him. Our goal: 100k "likes":
Recent comments
- Not flipped for the subject.
- Lesson learned
- Is that all?
- Onions
- RHIP (I always thought)
- Peeling potatoes was the easy part.
- Flip the digital image?
- Left and Right
- The Best Electric Appliances Made
- The picture is a reverse image.
- The Image Is Flipped
- Not a left handed gun
- Lefties or righties?
- Starr Pistol
- Raises hand
- The revolver is a Starr arms
- Backwards photo?
- The photo has been reversed
- Daguerreotypes are the Mirror World
- An eternal source of shame
- Am I wrong
- Backwards post?
- Nice Pistol
- Hilarious!
- On his own
- What a difference
- Controls
- "I wanna hold your hand"
- Forget about the gun
- Yes, But ....
Member Photos
Photos submitted by Shorpy members.
Colorized Photos
Colorized photos submitted by members.
About the Photos
Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.
Image Galleries
Search Shorpy
Today's Top 5
Visibility: Spotty
Submitted by Dave on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 3:49pm.
Tags:
Washington, D.C., circa 1911. "Flights and test of Rex Smith biplane flown by Antony Jannus. The plane with Rufus R. Bermann, wireless operator, and Fred Aubert." Whose somewhat pixilated appearance can be attributed to mold on the emulsion. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Flying attire
Submitted by rsyung on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 5:17pm.
How many co-pilots would consider pince-nez and homburg proper flying gear?
Not so happy
Submitted by Jazznocracy on Tue, 04/05/2011 - 3:39pm.
Tony doesn't seem quite as excited about taking this sourpuss aloft as he did with the pretty socialite.
[Tony's not here. - Dave]
Doi . . . . It helps to read captions, don't it? Anyway, neither of them looks too elated.
Are you sure that's mold?
Submitted by footless on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 12:59pm.
Near-sighted hunters mistaking Rufus and Fred for a Canada goose.
No restraint
Submitted by Geo on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 12:48pm.
Did they really wear no seat belts or restraint of any kind? I can't see any.
The Wright Stuff
Submitted by cartografx on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 10:25am.
This photo looks like the first documented evidence of manned space flight.
Wood and Fabric
Submitted by Dean on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 9:51am.
That's all they were for the most part. If you ever visit Sagamore Hill, they have a piece of Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin's plane from the Great War -- the one he was shot flying -- and it's a wooden stick! Not only is it almost inconceivable to imaging going up in such a contraption, but try imagining going up in one only slightly more advanced while people are SHOOTING AT YOU.
TR, of course, was the first president to fly. He used a plane, but he didn't need one.
Early Aviation
Submitted by cnik70 on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 9:24am.
It appears that every passenger has that "this is not going to end well" look.
Their faces say:
Submitted by Baldy Cotton on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 8:14am.
We who are about to die salute you.
Chicken Little
Submitted by SlamDance_Karma on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 4:55am.
Switzarch, you were spot-on with your post, they were a lot more brave than I am, I'll tell you that much!
The second requisite to bravery
Submitted by Mudhooks on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 12:22am.
Buttocks of steel.
Not Quite
Submitted by Rip Tragle on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 10:44pm.
As much as I like the ‘’ bubble machine’’ effect: I’ll take Senorita Lenore Riviero
in the previous post anytime! And, I mean how! (whoopee)
Forever blowing bubbles
Submitted by joeyneutrino on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 10:08pm.
It looks like a segment from the Lawrence Welk Show.
Wheee!
Submitted by Bink on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 11:32am.
The spots give them a cartoonish, inebriated look. Don't drink and fly, kids!
ETA: This is what came to mind. Eventually.
Mars or bust
Submitted by SignpainterJeff on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 7:53pm.
No no it's not emulsion degradation, it's a clever overlay technique Harris & Ewing did to portray the lads flying into the Milky Way.
Rufus looks like he had a sleepless night.
S.O.S.
Submitted by Fitz on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 6:55pm.
The title "wireless operator" is interesting. I wonder if they were carrying some sort of apparatus. I notice his right hand is over something. Could be just a seat brace or perhaps some sort of Morse code key? Also couldn't help noticing that I can't see anything that looks like a seat belt.
Apprehension
Submitted by switzarch on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 4:24pm.
One unifying feature of all early aviation pictures. It's hard to realize the bravery it took to 'be among the first' to try this new form of transportation. We owe them a lot.
THE 100-YEAR-OLD PHOTO BLOG
Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
RSS | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Photo Use | © 2013 Shorpy Inc.
Today's Top 5