Photos from the past and the stories behind them
Historic pictures are the windows to the past, through which we can look and see the world as it once was.
A picture carries a thousand words.
A way to immortalize a frozen chunk of time, each picture barriers the weight of a story or many stories.
Here are five stories that you can feel by examining the pictures.
1. Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum
The picture above represents the few mannequins that survived the burning of her museum In 1925.
Madam Tussaud was known for the outstanding realism she put into her art. If no one had told you, you would have thought the wax mannequins were real suffering humans.
Or perhaps, looking at asylum patients.
The burnt collection was composed of famous historical figures, sports icons, members of parliament, infamous criminals, etc.
The tragedy put her out of work for years.
Fortunately, nobody was injured, and her building was insured.
2. Dr. John Irving Bentley’s Body Remains
The picture you are looking at immortalizes the mysterious death of Dr. John Irving Bentley.
How do you explain a fire that burns a man except for his legs, strong enough to burn a hole into the building floor but not spread to anything nearby?
Dr. John I. Bentley was retired and in his old age.
In the picture, you can see his walker undamaged by the apparent fire that turned his body to ashes.
Legend says Dr. John I. Bentley’s death is a case of spontaneous human combustion.
3. Frozen Soviet Soldier
The picture sums up the Winter War of 1939 between Finland and the invading Soviet Union.
What the Soviet Union thought would be an easy capture became a winter nightmare. Temperatures dropped to -43°C (-45°F), and unaccustomed Soviet soldiers froze to death.
As part of psychological warfare, the Finnish propped up the frozen bodies of the Soviets in the snow.
Imagine what such a display did to the minds of Soviet military men who were losing.
Out of respect for the dead, there would be an occasional temporary cease-fire between Soviet and Finnish privates, and the Soviets would carry their brothers to bury them.
4. The Shell-Shocked Soldiers
The two pictures represent War’s impact on a man’s psyche.
The uninterrupted thousand-yard stare and the Joker smile are common characteristics of shellshock.
After traversing the battlefield, hearing nothing but deafening weapon noise, death everywhere, and the body asked to face the deadliest weapon, a soldier often goes into shellshock.
A psychological state where the construct of normal ceases to exist.
Unfortunately, most soldiers in shellshock were executed or put to prison for cowardice or desertion.
5. The Lynching Of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith
The two men hanging were Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith.
The good old days were shit for people on the wrong side of social beliefs.
The picture taken on August 7, 1930, represents a spectacle where two African Americans were hanged live. A spectacle lynching was attended like a sports event.
White people smoked while they gazed at the blacks, and the teenagers brought dates to watch and be glad they were born white.
Spectacle lynchings were a common way for a white mob to have justice.
Thomas and Abram had been arrested as suspects of robbery, murder, and rape. They were beaten and then later hanged for their sins.
The mob watched and enjoyed what they probably thought was setting an example.
Sources: Lutch Green, wikipedia.org, rarehistoricalphotos, vintag.es