15 Historic photographs and my favourite

15 different historic photographs - 

1)

This image features Nikola Telsa in his laboratory as he sits behind his "Magnifying Transmitter

2)

The first morning after Sweden changed the way they drive from the left side to the right side

3)

Animals being used as a part of medical therapy

4)

Coca Cola for the first time in France

5)

A baby in a baby cage, used to ensure the baby gets enough fresh air and sunlight when living in an apartment building, 1937

6)

Elvis Presley in the army, 1958

7)

Woman with a Gas-resistant Pram, England, 1938

8)

Hannah Stilley, born in 1746 and photographed in 1840. Probably the earliest born person captured on film

9)

The Disney Enployee Cafeteria in 1961

10)

The graves of a catholic womana nd her protestant husband seperated by a wall, Holland 1888

11)

A seal on Tutankhamun's tomb, unbroken for 3,245 years. Taken in 1992

12)

The Eiffel Tower being painted in 1932

13)

The last known phot of the Titanic above water, 1912

14)

The original and Real Winnie The Pooh and Christopher Robin in 1927

15)

The first underground train journey at edgware road station, London, 1862

My favourite historic photograph -

Why this photograph is my favourite from the past –

In this essay I will explain why this is my favourite historic photograph and how I feel about it personally and what it reminds me off. The photograph featured was taken in 1938 in England, Hextable and features a woman pushing a gas resistant pram whilst wearing a gas mask herself.

This is my favourite historic photograph because of the time it was set. 1938 was the beginning of the second world war, my second favourite period in time other than the middle ages. Looking back on the lengths people went to on keepings safe and the different inventions which were created to enforce safety is fascinating to me, like all the different pieces of equipment such as the gas rattle, bomb shelters and of course, The Morrison Shelter.

My main focus is on the gas mask though, and the ridiculous gas resistant pram this woman is pushing. There’s something extremely creepy and disturbing about the fact she is having to push her new-born in what looks like a coffin or stove. Gas masks just have an eerie sense to them all together, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I thought they were also amazingly cool and nice looking. Cool but creepy...

It brings me back to “Are you my mummy?” in Doctor Who, The Empty Child episode and as a child watching it when it first aired. Needless to say, it scared me silly but in a way I liked it, I guess that’s because I generally like creepy and unorthodox things. Being scared or shocked over something is a pleasant feeling and makes you think broader about things, makes you question people minds, the world we live in and what’s possible was possible. In short, it turns me from a shallow thinker to one with a lot broader spectrum of thought, questioning why and how about the world and things which happen around us; disturbing or not.

Though all these things were put in place to protect and prevent against gas attacks, gas was never dropped onto the UK during an air raid, which means no chemical warfare ever took place and rendered everything to prevent gas from the citizens useless. Schools however did have regular gas drills; these drills were to little effect though as the effectiveness of the preparations were never actually tested. It didn’t help that also, when blowing out through the rubber made ‘rude’ noises when done so.

The photograph only being able to taken in black and white puts an emphasis on this too, it makes you think that not even 100 years ago people were living their lives like this, its ridiculous quite frankly. It also makes me wonder about today and the future too, we’re progressed so far in technology and life as whole since 1938 what would the world be like 2038 or even 2138 for that instance. We can even have our own personal drone nowadays if we want, and there are expected to be 1,000,000 more in the skies as Christmas hits. Surely, this is scary but exciting stuff for anyone interested and curious about the future and what it holds.

To recap and conclude my essay, I personally like and think this is my favourite historic photograph because of its time period and the thoughts it provokes from me. In school I really enjoyed history in my earlier years at high school and indulged and enjoyed heavily into WW2 and all the crazy idea’s and precautions we as a nation went to in order to protect our livelihood, I also like how these sort of creepy pictures make me think and question the ways of people in the past and what goes on in the minds of others.