Road Tripping 1960s Norway

A delightful set of photo postcards made in Norway in the 1960s. Wonderfully, nearly all the cards in the set include a cheerful red car (of various makes), merrily making its way through the Norwegian countryside. The postcards thus evoke a series of personal snapshots of one person's road-trip (better snapshots than anyone could actually take!). Of course, in a sense, they are: the car(s) belonged to the photographer. 

Since the photos' captions are only in Norwegian, which I don't speak, I've pasted them in full, so as not to mix up place names and descriptions. 

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Lillehammer. Source

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Tvindefoss. Ruten Voss - Stalheim - Gudvangen. Source

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Vik i Sogn. I bakgrunnen Hella og Fjærlandsfjord. Source

Caught in Traffic

Ah, the good old days, when traffic was... as bad as now, apparently, just with different cars. 

Yale Joel, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York, Major Deegan Expressway, 1958. Source

Nationaal Archief

Holland, 1964. Source

Gordon Parks, LIFE © Time Inc.

A traffic jam in Paris, 1951. Source

Dmitri Kessel, LIFE © Time Inc.

Houston, Texas, 1946. Source

Al Fenn, LIFE © Time Inc.

Heavy truck traffic due to a railway strike, New York, 1951. Source

US National Archives

Honolulu, Hawaii, 1973. Source

William C. Shrout, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York City, 51st Street, 1945. Source

Carl Mydans, LIFE © Time Inc.

Regent Street, London, 1954. Source

Dmitri Kessel, LIFE © Time Inc.

Bangkok, 1950. Source

Co Rentmeester, LIFE © Time Inc.

Traffic in the downtown of an unnamed city in Indonesia, 1966. Source

Andreas Feininger, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York, pre-Christmas traffic on 5th Ave (including many double-decker buses!). 1948. Source

Michael Rougier, LIFE © Time Inc.

Greenville, Texas, 1948. Source

Andreas Feininger, LIFE © Time Inc.

Traffic Jam (no location given), 1951. Source

Andreas Feininger, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York City, 5th Ave, 1959. Source

Loomis Dean, LIFE © Time Inc.

Los Angeles, 1949. Source

William C. Shrout, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York, 1945. Source

Andreas Feininger, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York, 1954. Source

Cornell Capa, LIFE © Time Inc.

A messy traffic jam in Boston, 1949. Source

Ralph Crane, LIFE © Time Inc.

New York, Long Island Expressway, 1969. Source

Loomis Dean, LIFE © Time Inc.

Los Angeles (with a boy selling newspapers amongst the cars), 1947. Source

Christmas Seals of Former Days

You probably know the Christmas seals the Lung Association puts out every year as a fundraiser-- I seem to recall a time when they mailed them to you before asking you to pay, but now apparently you have to order them. They've been putting them out since 1907, and you can see a nifty gallery of seals since 1920 on their site. However, if you have ever experienced them live, you'll know they don't come one by one, as shown in the gallery--they come in massive sheets, usually in different designs, sometimes with designs spanning several seals. Also, they weren't just made in the United States-- different countries had their own designs. 

Luckily, I have a nice little collection of these, coming from my late grandmother. It is in no way complete, but it's fun to see the vintage sheets and international seals--and lots of great graphic design! 

personal collection

1937

personal collection

 1944

personal collection

1945

A Pet Lion-- in Colour!

This blog always likes to feature strange pets* and old colour photographs, so the combination of both just had to have a post, even if we've seen a pet lion before. 

These photographs were shot by photographer Michael Rougier for LIFE-- no date is given but the style is pretty clearly 60s or maybe early 70s. 

Michael Rougier, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Michael Rougier, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Michael Rougier, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Commuter Train

The daily suburb commute, NYC, 1961, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. 

From the LIFE archives. 

Running to catch the train as it pulls out. Source

Commuters at Grand Central Station. Source

Waiting for trains. Source

Travel by Eurail

The adventures of young student backpackers with Eurail passes, 1970. (many thanks to commenters who've helped identify some of the unnamed locations!)

Photographs from by Carlo Bavagnoli, from the LIFE archives. 

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

American Eurail backpackers hang out at Amsterdam station, contemplating their next destination. Source

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

Waiting to get on a Norwegian train. Source

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

Passport check at the Swiss border. Source

London Transport Posters of the 1960s

While the 20s and 30s were a Golden Age of London Transport poster design, these 60s ones certainly have their charms!

Poster by Victor Galbraith, 1960. Source

Poster by Victor Galbraith, 1960. Source

Poster by Victor Galbraith, 1960. Source

Trampoline Craze

Apparently trampolines were all the rage in 1960! California, photos by Ralph Crane for LIFE.

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Looks so fun and so dangerous. Source

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Everyone loves a trampoline. Source

He comes with the explanation that he's a costumed movie extra. Source

Diving into a pool from a trampoline. Source

The gorilla doesn't come with an explanation. Source

Even the babies get into it! Source

Something Just Broke

People reacting to the news of JFK's assasination, in France as well as the United States. 1963.

(The title is from a powerful song in Stephen Sondheim's musical Assassins.)

A New Yorker's expression of shock at the news. Source

New Yorkers read about the assassination in the paper. Source

New Yorkers listen to the news on the radio. Source

Subway commuters read the news. Source

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Frenchmen read the news. Source

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American students in Paris hear the news of the assassination. Source

A young American stands stricken outside the US Embassy in Paris. Source