MIT students at Camp Cunningham (1917)

This publicity photograph was taken at a summer camp in East Machias, Maine, called Camp Cunningham.  The camp was organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to provide military-style training to students after their sophomore year.  The decision to organize the camp was made after the United States entered World War I in April... Continue Reading →

Light in the darkness (WWI)

This postcard came to me from a dealer in Pennsylvania who specializes in photographs from Russia and Eastern Europe. He said the photo was Russian, which made sense. The only woman in the photo is wearing what appears to be a Russian nurse's outfit from the First World War. But who were the men, and... Continue Reading →

Musical family in Finland (1915)

This postcard was sent from Helsinki (Swedish: Helsingfors), the capital of Finland, to the Finnish port town of Hanko (Hangö) on February 16, 1915.  At that time Finland was a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire.  Because Russia was engaged in the First World War, the card had to be cleared by a wartime government... Continue Reading →

Automate à musique (WWI)

This German Feldpost (field/military) postcard is dated Aug. 19, 1916.  Infantrymen are being entertained by a man in civilian clothes holding a music box with the words "Automate à musique" on the front.  Perched calmly on top of the music box is a black and white cat.  A second man in civilian clothes stands a... Continue Reading →

“In the Orkneys” (WWI)

These postcards were acquired by a British or American sailor during the First World War.  They were probably made available to the men as keepsakes of their service.  In the image above, a line of sailors is visible in the distance, probably on a brief leave to sightsee. The snowy hills on the island below... Continue Reading →

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