Picturing

the

Past

• First find three historical images. 
• Next, download them.
• When you have downloaded it get citation information and source URL using Citation Machine. 
• Then add a of cropped area close up of each image to show a special feature you would like to highlight.  (Add a clue in the image caption)
• When you have cited the website Put all content into a post. Give it a clever title. Include a FEATURED image.
• Include citation with active hyperlink back to source in image caption.
• Answer the questions on your website using text boxes. 

What should go into the captions

for my pictures?

Who or what this image is about?  (Sentence starter:  In this image.... then describe what is in the image. )

Where does this take place share that information if you have it.
Share the date of the image if you have it.
Why did someone create this image.  (Sentence starter:  This image was created because...)
Write a question about the image. Compare the image to one that is from our present time, and is similar.

What is the same?
What is different?
What do the similarities and differences tell us?

Examples

A group of “Flapperette” girls in New Orleans in May of 1924; uploaded from inherited family photos. Source.  This picture was taken to show a group of friends on an outing. If  this was taken this year it would have no doubt been posted to Instagram by one of the ladies. You can see the difference in the styles of clothing.

Notice some of the fashion choices of these women. For example, all but one of these women have chosen to wear pants rather than skirts. Do you think this was a normal clothing choice for women in the 1920s? Could their outfits be related to the social statement they are making?

Another thing that is common among these women is their choice of haircut. If you notice, all the women have very short hair. This is something that was common for the flapper style of the 1920s. What sort of message do you think these women were trying to send to the public with these short, blunt haircuts?

Examples

This is a combination of printed ads used in the May 1920 issue of National Geographic to sell merchandise. Source. Courtesy of Don O’Brien.

Cigarette sales have been steadily declining since the 1940's due to wide spread information about the disease caused by them.  Notice the tag line that the cigarette ad at the top of the page uses. What do you think is the significance of using words like “culture” and “refinement” in order to sell their product? Do you think people of this era believed this was true?

Take a minute to process the illustration that accompanies the Deities cigarette ad. What is accurate about the image (if anything)? What is inaccurate? What does this sort of representation of a culture say about the social climate in America in the 1920s?

Examples

This photo captures an image of an American couple on vacation in Bermuda in the 1920's; uploaded from inherited family photos. Source.

Notice this man behind the couple in the carriage. Judging by his position, it seems like he was tasked with pushing the couple around in the carriage. How might his opinion of the time this photo was taken differ from the couple on vacation?

Considering this photo was taken around the same time as the “Flapperettes” photo at the top of the post, how does this woman’s outfit compare to the women in the first picture? Do you think that this woman would be in favor of the Flapper social movement that was taking place during this decade?