An illustration from Winsor McCay's comic strip consisting of 5 panels, featuring a large moon and a little boy.

The Cutting-Edge Cartoons of Winsor McCay

A prolific, meticulous artist, McCay created characters and storyscapes that inspired generations of cartoonists and animators.
Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay: The Mountaineer Who Refused to be Categorized

By remaining vague about his own biography, Norgay called into question the idea of nationhood and made a deafening point about actions speaking louder than words.
Bright and colorful land- and seasape of St Kitts and Nevis.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Sandy beaches and luxury hotels seem to define this Caribbean nation, but it’s the music and architecture that truly speak to its complicated history.
An image from the Wasmuth Portfolio drawn by Marion Mahoney

Marion Mahony Griffin, Prairie School Architect

A founding member of the Prairie School, Mahony defined the movement’s now-familiar aesthetic for a global audience.
A robot handing a file folder to a woman

The New “Hybrid Work” is “AI + Humans”

The major transformation in the where of modern workplaces is about to collide with a transformation in who is doing that work.
Leukerbad, Switzerland

Madness on the Wind

The eerie effects of the Foehn—folklore or fact?
Four operators connect calls while working at a switchboard.

Hold the Line

As telephony developed, so did a workforce of switchboard operators—all women—who were ultimately rendered obsolete by technological progress.
Astrology: various constellations. Coloured engraving by S. Hall.

Browsing for Images? Search Filters Are Your Friend

The images that stick with us the most tend to be those we find by chance. That’s where search filters come in.
Photograph: Twins Michael and Mary Kerby fail to convey any enthusiasm upon winning a trophy in a Baby Show at Ruislip, Middlesex, May 1934

Darling or Degrading? Baby Shows in the Nineteenth Century

A stunningly popular form of entertainment, baby pageants promoted the cult of domesticity, showcased maternal pride, and opened a path to fame and wealth.
Isabelle Eberhardt, 1895

Isabelle Eberhardt: Travel’s Rebel with a Cause

A hash-smoking, cross-dressing woman traveling the Sahara in the early 1900s, Eberhardt unpicked the fabric of society just by being herself.