The great depression hovered between 1929 and 1939 and is still spoken of to this day. It left a great impact on world economics and delivered a significant lesson that still affects major economic decisions debated today. This photo is of young children eating their Christmas Dinner. The dinner included cabbage and turnips, which were the only thing accessible at that time.
A typical Christmas during the Depression was not much different than any other day. It didn’t always include presents; most people visited the church, and if you were lucky, you were served chicken alongside your overcooked cabbage and turnips.
1890s Prosthetics
The earliest documentation of prosthetics goes back to 1579. A French doctor, Ambroise Paré, described in writing the prosthetics he used on some of his amputees. The artificial LED was only thought of in 1846, almost 300 years later, and since then, the science behind prosthetic limbs has constantly evolved.
In this photo, we see an 1890s version of the prosthetic legs given to a young child. As you can see, this girl is steadily standing with her two legs to give her support to stand. Back then, prosthetic legs had to be connected to your body to make sure that it would move properly with the designated limb.
A 1941 Christmas Feast
The first colored photograph was invented in 1890; however, it was not until the mid-20th century that colored images became more popular and eventually became the default. This photo is one of the few that dates back to the 1940s. This photograph is chilling and almost surreal. It is of a Christmas Party hosted by the then-German chancellor in 1941.
This photo, alongside others that were taken during that same dinner, was buried at the end of the war in a glass jar and was found only in 1955, almost ten years later. The German Christmas dinner was much more than just a holiday feast; it was a time for the propaganda of German traditions.
The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary is located on the island of Alcatraz, just right off the coast of San Francisco. It was first opened in 1934 and closed down in 1963. Here is a rare photo of the last few inmates leaving the prison on the day it was scheduled to close. This came after a successful and violent inmate escape, which led to the prison closing in June of 1962.
In its prime days, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary held the most dangerous prisoners, those who fled custody, and some of the most famous ones, such as Al Capone, Alvin Karpis, and Machine Gun Kelly.
Merry Christmas
This photo was taken in 1935 and featured Ralph Horton, Jr. and Kirk LeMoyne Billings alongside John F. Kennedy. This was not just any ordinary photo. It was a Christmas card the three portraited for, that was sent to all their families and friends. These were the days when Kenndy might have been popular within his own crowd; however, the words were still unaware of the great politician he was about to become.
Kirk LeMoyne Billings, who passed away in 1981, was a dear friend of John F. Kennedy and the entire Kennedy family. The two shared the same room in college; Billings was an usher at Kennedy's wedding and was a dominant supporter during his campaign for president.