If one goes out in America today, he will see how colorful America actually is. These pictures are just awesome, someone did a great job during the 1940s.

Who knew the world was in color back in the '40's...?

Seriously tho, the technical quality alone of these pics is amazing on top of the choice of subjects and scenes.

Man, I used to think people looked depressed back then because all the black and white photos made them look that way.

After seeing these, I realize they were just really f**king depressed. Even in color.

That square dance looked very unpleasant.

If you think that's impressive, take a look at this:

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2009/08/31/photos-prokudin-gorskiis-color-photos-of-russia-1907-1915.html

These pictures were taken a century ago with glass plates, so the Russian Tsar could have a photographic record of his empire. There's some great stuff here.

Unattractive, yes. But not a single obese person in the bunch!

let's see, Great Depression ... check, Dust Bowl...check ... WWII... check... ding-ding-ding! Wonder why people weren't just skipping around singing happy, happy all the time? It's hard to be happy when there was just so much joy everywhere.

Now how cool is this? I would love to be able to do this with random pics I have and have seen.

Norman Rockwell in photographs. Very nice indeed.

I love looking at old photographs, and this was such a pleasure to see.

The Library of Congress has a Flickr page--all of these photos, along with many more, are on the page. Really cool stuff.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

A fun day out watching Teddy the Wrestling Bear followed by a visit to Drugs.

Smiling for photos are a modern day concept. Back then, they weren't under society's prenotion that you must pretend to be happy for every photograph. They just acted as they would if there wasn't a photographer there. They didn't have facebook and a bizillion "friends" to look "good" for.

I think he means colorize them.

You do know that they were shot in color, right? Not colorized?

I find it utterly amazing how having color pictures from this time period seems to make things come alive, and at the same time it doesn't feel like they're 70 year old pictures. Looking at pictures from this far back in black and white, they seem old and distant, like a long forgotten past, yet in color these seem like they were taken not so long ago.

As someone who enjoys film, I often have to remind myself that most of what I'm watching that are regarded as classics really aren't terribly old. I first got this impression while watching How to Steal a Million, a film starring Audry Hepburn and Peter O'Toole which premiered in 1966. I had to keep reminding myself that the film wasn't even twice as old as I am, so in the grand scheme of things, not really that old. Hell, my parents are older than the film by nearly a decade. Sure the film is in color, but I think my point is still made.

I suppose a better example might be Hitchc**k's Psycho, from 1960, and easily one of the most iconic black and white films ever made. Again, only twice as old as I am, but my parents are still older than this film.

Furthermore, I feel that pictures like this really underscore the importance of old black and white films, and why their colorization is really a bad idea. Additionally, it emphasizes the power that color has over the medium, both photography and film.

Just me or were people just not that attractive back then?

Primer coat to keep corrosion away until they completed the aircraft and then painted, as needed. Once we had achieved air-superiority in Europe, the buffed the yellow and sent the planes polished aluminum, (no paint) to save on weight. less weight = more fuel = greater range.

The decline of civilization began when men stopped wearing fedoras to work.

That was - I say - that was a *joke*, son.

Everyone is thin back then