When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time researching the 1930s and 1940s. You see, I loved the shit out of an old World War 2 game called Day Of Defeat, and I wanted to know as much as I could about the era. I must have looked at thousands upon thousands of photos, and to this day, I still picture that time period as one that existed in black and white. The truth of the matter, though, is that previous eras were just as vibrant as today, and seeing color photos from that time period are a solid reminder that the events of the depression and the second World War were really not that long ago.
Below are a few color photos from the 1930s/1940s that depict life in the United States, ranging from rural areas to military tank training. I’ve collected all the photos from the Library Of Congress, and though there are hundreds upon hundreds, I’ve included my favorites below. As I’m sure you’ll agree, they’re rather impressive.
Depression Era Color Photos
After seeing this photo, it occurred to me that cars must not have been painted in garish colors during this time period. I support that’s only a modern occurrence. Most of these vehicles look the color of cast iron.
The look and style of tanks has changed over the years, but they still serve the exact same purpose.
This looks like a scene straight out of a science fiction movie. For some reason this reminds me quite a bit of the structures in Blade Runner, though obviously the scene is less grim. It must have been extremely satisfying to contribute to such a massive structure.
You know, I don’t think I would want to live in this neighborhood. I can’t imagine the air here doing my lungs any favors.
The lighting in many of these shots looks quite dramatic, and I suppose that’s quite appropriate given the tanks. Tens of thousands of these would inevitable roll across Europe.
With goggles like this, you KNOW this guy could fuck someone up. What tank drivers wore back then, hipsters wear today.
This shot looks great, with the sun peaking just past the edge of the auxiliary tank cannon, but what the hell is the fellow doing in the lower right corner of the shot?
You know it’s been a long day at work when you fall asleep in such a funny position.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, this is just a tiny selection of photos from the absolutely massive collection available on the Library of Congress website. I highly recommend heading over there and browsing through their collection. The photos are broken up into numerous easy to understand categories, and more importantly, each of the photos comes with a description explaining exactly what’s going on. Great stuff all around.
In the photo of the man in his tank, second to last, what is happening in the lower right is someone making sure he is lit up properly for the photograph.
That is to say, we can see a hand holding up the reflector for an electric light (note the power cord hanging down). The clamp for the light that allows it to be placed almost anywhere is also visible, but it is not being used this time.
Interesting, thanks for the explanation. 🙂