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Happy Fourth!

By adamg on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 9:36am

Winslow Homer on July Fourth. See it larger.See it larger.

Winslow Homer's rendition of July Fourth fireworks in 1868, published in Harper's Weekly, and preserved by the BPL.

Posted under this Creative Commons license.

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July Fourth


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Comments

By Saul on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 9:42am.

I would guess that in the year 2013, only see-through top hats would be permitted. You can conceal a lot inside one of those things.

Happy Independence Day!

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By Suldog on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 9:58am.

Can you imagine some authoritarian tools having to do strip searches of folks from that century? Each one would take a half-hour. If people still dressed that way, you'd have to show up at the airport three days before your scheduled departure.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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By anon² on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 11:02am.

understand how people today wear a full business suit in the middle of August. How the heck did they manage that attire back in the day, and without AC no less!

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By SwirlyGrrl on Fri, 07/05/2013 - 7:02pm.

Seriously - 1860s were towards the end of the Little Ice Age.

More serious reading on the subject.

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By anon on Sat, 07/06/2013 - 5:55pm.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/climate/temperatureblu...

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By adamg on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 10:31am.

None of your ten-gallon hats, please!

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By anon on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 11:02am.

They must have been dying from the heat. It must have been unbearable inside brick townhouses and brownstones prior to electricity, AC and fans.

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By anon² on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 2:01pm.

with our puritanical work ethic.

Down south, everything would just shut down. That history still effects them, even though they're better with AC. Some places like Mexico it's still the case.

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By anon on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 1:36pm.

was it a faux pas to smile? I've never seen so many unhappy faces watching fireworks. Perhaps it was the clothing? Heat? Bostonian angst? New Yorkers were coming?

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By Michael Kerpan on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 3:09pm.

... to the rocket that has just landed on the hat of the gentleman in the front lower right?

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By anon on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 3:28pm.

People took things more seriously then. Seldom do you see anyone smiling in early photographs. It was not the style. Even much later, if you see photos of concerts from the 1960s people have a much more serious or studious demeanor. Yahooism came later when people felt they had to "whoop it up" all the time at public events.

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By rsybuchanan on Fri, 07/05/2013 - 12:53pm.

WRT not smiling in early photographs, that was more to do with the impracticality of trying to hold a rigid, unchanging smile for several minutes using early photographic emulsions. I can arrange a demonstration some time if you'd like. I'm always looking for people to sit for my 8x10" camera. In strong sunlight shooting paper negatives I can get very nice results at about a second, but I can make it longer for instructional purposes.

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By anon on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 2:55pm.

To left of center I see Freddy Kruger and lower left center Wonderwoman!

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By anon on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 2:59pm.

To left of center I see Freddy Kruger and lower left center Wonderwoman!

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By Brian Riccio on Thu, 07/04/2013 - 3:51pm.

when all the expense account yo-yo's are there with clients.

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