Professor Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, has witnessed the trial flights of the machine devised by Professor Samuel P Langley, formerly of Pittsburg. Mr Bell makes the following statement…
Vintage inventions & discoveries
If you grew up in the age of film, you will know the excitement that came from vintage instant cameras, like these ones from Polaroid and Kodak.
Explore the rise of the VCR, from high prices to home entertainment staples, and see how they reshaped how we watched TV in the 1970s and ’80s.
Explore antique car accessories from 1913, when clocks, vases and “Speed Imps” were all part of the motoring experience.
Did you know that Silly Putty was originally marketed to adults? Read on for more interesting tidbits about this fun and magical stuff!
1950s TV sets brought bold design and big features into American homes, reshaping how families watched, gathered and spent time together.
See how famous inventions like the phonograph, microscope and sewing machine were featured on early 1900s cigarette cards collected across America.
Despite a spectacularly expensive launch, the 1950s Ford Edsel automobile was one of the greatest business failures of all time. Take a look back at these vintage cars here!
Remember that little toy from the 70s where you pressed on the back with your finger and it changed colors? Find out about Space Fidgits here.
See how the cash register changed 1950s and 60s grocery stores and retailers with automatic change-making machines that sped up checkout and cut errors.
Whether plain or fancy, antique kerosene lamps like these were more than home decor – they made it possible for people to work and play late into the night. Find out more here!
Have you ever wondered where products like Formula 409, 7-Up, WD-40 and Preparation H got those famous vintage brand names? Find out here.
The 1970s personal computer revolution began as those ingenious devices that put men on the moon, revolutionized science, and perplexed millions were finding their way into the home.
Take a look back at futuristic inventions imagined in the 1950s and ’60s–some came true, others didn’t, and a few are still on the drawing board.
Want to know how to make an old rotary phone work? Here’s your handy guide, straight from the 50s!
A whole new era of vintage pinball machines was ushered in by the Humpty Dumpty pinball machine released in 1947 – and then dozens more of the games hit the market. Take a look back!
Television history goes back farther than most people think. Here’s how early inventors built the first TV sets–and why it took a team to pull it off.
Who remembers Peter Coddle, Shoot the Hat, and Snap? They were antique board games that provided hours of entertainment before radio and TV. Find out more here!
Dishwasher history starts with Josephine Cochrane, who invented the first automatic model in the 1880s. Her creation changed kitchens forever.
What did people think of autism in the 1960s? Here’s a look back at some of the attempts to understand In the 1960s, autism was
When you look back at how people talked about and used computers in the 1960s, it’s easy to get a feel for how exciting the technological advances were at the time. It was a whole new wild frontier.
Rose Wilder Lane’s 1962 essay on weaving was really a love letter to American independence, stitched together with stories from history and home.
Join us as we journey through futurism history, exploring predictions made about the future by those from the past!
What did the future look like from the ’60s? See some modernist-style retro futuristic home concepts that captured the midcentury era’s sleek style and space-age optimism.
These vintage touch-tone phones – featuring push buttons, speed and musical tones – represented a totally new signaling system, and opened the way to increased versatility in communications.
These vintage selfies, several of which date back to the 1800s, prove that the desire to capture our own images has been around for a long time. Here’s how people took self-portraits with old cameras long ago!
Inside the gorgeous Thomas Edison house: A glimpse into his unique 1916 home life at Glenmont Estate
The Thomas Edison house in New Jersey housed both new inventions and priceless antiques – and was where his children were born, and where he died.
See the quirky history of vintage Taco Bell — from a tiny taco stand to a fast-food empire — and see vintage photos, ads and articles from the past!
They weren’t cheap, but these vintage Kodak movie cameras were really popular, and helped people save moving-picture memories on fiolm.
Find out how X-rays were discovered, see the earliest X-rays, learn where the name came from, and meet Wilhelm Röntgen – the man behind the innovation.
After hitting the market in the early 1980s, it didn’t take long for the Rubik’s Cube to become one of the most popular toys ever. Here’s a look back!
Known as the speaking clock or POPCORN, calling the phone company for the time was a handy service helped people reset clocks years ago.
To help you remember the heyday of the Xerox, check out some vintage copy machines here – and be grateful that email and scanners have made running a business nowadays so much simpler.
Remember how yummy baby aspirin tasted? Flashback to those fever dreams of yore with this collection of everything vintage baby aspirin.
This new, revolutionary wall-mounted refrigerator and freezer that hangs from the wall is a completely new and advanced concept of modern living. Truly, it is the most convenient and magnificent refrigerator-freezer ever produced!
Starting when vintage portable radios were finally small enough to be carried in the 1950s, through when they got almost too big to carry in the ’80s, here’s a little sound history of AM & FM radios from the days of transistors onward.
50s phones were more than just a means of communication — they were pretty household decorations!
The invention of the Ferris Wheel was a jaw-dropping innovation of its time! Find out the history of the Ferris Wheel ride we now know so well, plus see pictures of the HUGE first one.
Flash back a few decades to see the Kodak Instamatic camera – which defined amateur photography for a generation & inspired the digital photography of another!
Do you recall playing with vintage clicker and Clacker toys trend of the early 60s and 70s. Inexpensive and fun hard plastic balls on strings, their popularity spread like wildfire over the course of just a few years.
If you need a book, you used to need to look for the most important item in the library — the vintage card catalog.
These retro refrigerators were a dream come true for homemakers. Take a look back at these old-fashioned kitchens and their cool appliances!
The invention of vintage ballpoint pens revolutionized the way people wrote — and largely marked the end of the era of fountain pens.
We’ve collected some popular vintage home movie cameras that paved the way for video and camcorder technology — and, eventually, the digital video revolution as we experience it today.
From suffragettes to scientists, activists, artists & leaders who paved the way for future generations, these women in history have played a key role in shaping our world.
The party favorite – more fun than throwing custard pie! Wham-O Silly String shoots a plastic stream of plastic string 1/4 mile long!
Check out some old how-to info and classic ads from the early days of 1970s microwave ovens, with tips on how to use what is now the most basic of kitchen appliances!
Based on the state of plastic surgery in the 1920s, and with regular improvements in science, one journalist suggested in 1922 that soon women wouldn’t have to age – ‘I mean shriveled or waddling old and all that.’
This classic advice from the 1970s helped consumers choose and take care of audio cassette tapes.
Looking back at 7-Up history, you can see that it’s a testament to the lemon-lime soft drink’s popularity that the brand could weather so many stumbling blocks – not the least of which included being introduced right before the Great Depression.
In the world of modern technology, it’s easy to take the humble typewriter completely for granted. But have you ever wondered who invented the typewriter – and how it introduced a new role for women in the workforce?
Find out how some of the earliest color photography was created using potato starch!
From the Pantheon to skyscrapers: Modern concrete rises through the ages Concrete is one of the most versatile construction and design products available — one
They’re known by many names: 45 rpm record inserts, single record adapters, 45 rpm spindle adapters, spider inserts… all terms for the thingie that goes in the middle of an oldie! See a bunch of them here, and find out mroe!
‘Just add water and you’ve got instant life!’ they said. ‘Over 150 amazing Sea-Monkeys born ALIVE before YOUR eyes!’ But, oh, the disappointment when the critters didn’t look anything like the pictures on the package.
Anyone who lived through the great videotape format war of the late 1970s to early 1980s will never forget the big question: VHS or Beta? Here’s the Betamax side – the player that ultimately lost.
Old pregnancy test sticks like these were a huge step forward, and meant that millions of women finally had a way to find out they were pregnant without going to the doctor, and without having to do a more complicated liquid chemistry test.
The Kodak Disc camera was was lightweight, foolproof (with auto-exposure and built-in flash), affordable, and used a brand new kind of film cartridge… but it was only sold for six years.
Look back at the biggest news in the universe on July 20, 1969 – the day we first landed on the lunar surface, walked on the moon, then went for a drive.
People were used to big records, but then the music industry wanted everyone to adopt a new format and a new size, and came out with 45 RPM record players and 7″ vinyl records with a big hole in the middle.
For years, curious kids have loved experimenting with vintage chemistry sets and science kits like these with countless things to explore!
Here’s some eye-opening insight into the invention of contact lenses! The contacts were made of glass, and although they worked much like they do today, they were thick, uncomfortable, and even a little dangerous.
The Picturephone, an electronic moving picture device that debuted in the late 60s, let you video chat long before the internet, and way before Zoom, Google Meet, Facetime et al.
1980s Microsoft was still growing in 1982 — see how its early software, tools and ads helped shape the future of personal computing.
The old Apple QuickTake digital camera was in stores from 1994 to 1997. There were three models – the 100, 150 and 200 – and offered a 640×480 image resolution.
Although penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, real research and production started in earnest in mid-1941, thanks to World War II.
The history of fitted sheets: A revolution in bed-making A lot of people may be surprised to know that fitted sheets — ones that weren’t
Explore antique cash registers, how they were invented, and why these mechanical marvels helped reshape American retail.
It was on that memorable day in telephone history – June 2, 1875 – when Bell and Watson were testing a number of transmitters, connected by a single wire to a corresponding set of vibrating reed receivers, that the first sounds were transmitted electrically.
With better quality than fixed-lens Instamatic-style cameras, but far less complicated than standard SLR cameras, these vintage point-and-shoot 35mm cameras were just what people were looking for in the ’80s.
Retro air-pop popcorn makers like these were super popular in the ’70s and ’80s, because they made it so easy to make a big batch of perfectly puffed popcorn. Here’s a look back!
Did Coca-Cola once have cocaine in it? Amazingly, yes. Originally marketed as a health drink when it debuted in the 1880s, Coca-Cola was said to cure everything from a migraine (aka “sick headache”) to physical exhaustion to depression.
ternational long-distance phone calls for ‘only’ $12 for the first three minutes? And this old ad said that price was low. See more about what it took to dial abroad back in the sixties here!
Here’s the original press release that a small company called Apple released back in 1984, announcing the launch of their new Macintosh personal computer – the first mass-market PC with both a graphical user interface and a mouse.
Check out some of the vintage Cessna propeller planes you could buy back in the fifties, sixties and seventies. They were popular for business use, but were also owned by celebrities and hobbyists.
Find out about the famous B-17 Flying Fortress planes from WWII – how they were invented, built, tested and used – and what happened to them after the war was finally over.
First entering service with Eastern Air Lines in 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra was a leap forward in airline technology when it appeared. But the planes had a fatal flaw.
United States astronauts who go to the moon may wear headgear designed and produced by a ladies’ milliner.
Back in 1920, lots of people – including media and leading scientists – thought there was an active society on Mars, and that the Martians wanted to talk to us. Find out why they believe that here.
When the old Victrola record players were first introduced, those turntables were some cutting-edge tech. Here’s a look at the history of the famous Victor Talking Machines!
These vintage 980s personal computers weren’t just expensive, but some had hard drives so small that just one of these old PC ad images would have maxed them out.
Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination – including the smallpox vaccine – and one of the greatest benefactors of the human race, performed his first test experiment in 1796.
The dance music of the Edison Phonograph is irresistible. It offers the most fascinating waltzes and spirited two-steps of the world’s, great composers as well as the popular dance music of the hour.
See vintage 1960s IBM electric typewriters, including the Selectric with swappable round print heads
Vintage IBM electric typewriters from the ’60s, like the Executive and the Selectric, were marketed to help executives – and secretaries – manage an increasing business workload at a time when more and more white collar jobs were being created.
What was vintage ’80s tech like? The Good Guys were a big consumer electronics specialty retailer selling brand-name audio and video gear. See the hottest retro TVs, stereos and more from 1987!
When these vintage Zenith ‘Space Command’ TV remote controls first came out, they were revolutionary tech – and everyone wanted one.
Here’s a little guide from the thirties to teach people how to make art using their vintage manual typewriters – pretty much old-fashioned ascii art and old-school smileys!
Samuel Colt, the millionaire inventor of the famous Colt revolver, died when he was just 47 years old. Here’s a look back at the original obituary for one of the wealthiest men in America before the Civil War.
What’s the history of golf balls? The first ones were made of leather of untanned bull’s hide – but golf balls have changed a lot over the years. Here’s a look!
Winchester rifles for all kinds of hunting (1905) Winchester rifles are not the choice of any one special class, but of all intelligent sportsmen who go to the
Step back in time with Leonard Bernstein with a vintage profile and snapshots of the maestro’s melodious legacy!
When color TV was first invented, people wondered if you could convert a black & white TV to color, and which shows would appear in color – and when. Here are some of the answers they were given.
The measles vaccine was invented because it was a common but dangerous disease that could cause inflammation of the brain – and could also be fatal.
Imagine being able to call someone when you *weren’t at home*! It was a big deal back in the day. See the history of vintage payphones & phonebooths here!
Back in 1961, a little 37-pound chimpanzee named Ham helped pave the way for human astronauts to launch into space.
Explore how Nikola Tesla’s inventive genius powered the world, from AC motors to wireless electricity, and why his legacy continues to shine bright today.
Albert Einstein was a man whose life, philosophies, discoveries and theories changed the way we looked at the world, and at life itself. Find out about him here.
Predictions of the future from the early 1900s included the idea that a subway shuttle across New York City would be replaced with a moving sidewalk built in three sections, one of which would offer seating.
