Yesteryear

An Electrician Took These Last Photos From Inside World Trade Center in the Weeks Before the Tragic Events of 9/11

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Konstantin Petrov, an immigrant from Estonia, was a night-shift electrician who worked at the World Trade Center’s “Windows on the World” restaurant, located at the top of the North Tower. This unique position, and his work schedule, allowed him to capture hundreds of digital photographs of the Twin Towers’ interiors during the summer of 2001.

Petrov worked at night after the offices had closed, and the lack of people in his photos gives them a haunting, “liminal” quality. He captured the mundane and the magnificent: empty offices, stairwells, and elevator fixtures, as well as the stunning panoramic views of New York City at dawn. His photos offer a last, intimate look inside the iconic buildings before they were destroyed.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Petrov finished his shift and was leaving the building’s basement parking lot in his car around 8:30 a.m. when the first plane struck the tower. He only saw debris and didn’t realize the gravity of what had happened until he got home and saw the news. He had narrowly escaped the tragedy.

Tragically, Konstantin Petrov died in a motorcycle accident in Manhattan a year later, in 2002. His photos, which he had uploaded to an Estonian website called Fotki, were later discovered by a documentary filmmaker in 2014, bringing his work to a wider audience and solidifying his legacy as the person who captured some of the last and most detailed internal views of the World Trade Center.

Stefania Sandrelli: The Beloved Icon of Italian Culture

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Born in Viareggio, Italy, in 1946, Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli began her career as a teenager. She rose to international fame with her role in Pietro Germi’s Divorce, Italian Style (1961), a film that became a classic of the commedia all’italiana genre. This role established her as a new kind of Italian star—one who was beautiful but also had a natural, down-to-earth quality.

Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Sandrelli became a staple of Italian and European cinema. She worked with influential directors like Bernardo Bertolucci on The Conformist (1970) and Ettore Scola on We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974). Her performances in these films showcased her ability to handle complex and dramatic roles with great skill. She also worked with director Tinto Brass on films like The Key (1983), which brought her further international attention.

Sandrelli has won numerous awards throughout her career, including a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. With a filmography of over 100 films, she remains a beloved and iconic figure in Italian cinema, celebrated for her expressive acting style and her significant contributions to the rich history of Italian film.

Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of a young Stefania Sandrelli in the 1960s.

The Story of the Icelandic Giant Jóhann Kristinn Pétursson

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Jóhann Kristinn Pétursson, better known as “The Viking Giant,” was an Icelandic circus performer and actor who lived from 1913 to 1984. His remarkable height and amiable personality made him a celebrated figure in the world of sideshows and entertainment.

Born in Dalvík, Iceland, on February 9, 1913, Jóhann’s early life was completely normal until he experienced an incredible growth spurt around the age of 15. While his family—he was the third of nine children—was of average size, Jóhann’s body continued to grow at an extraordinary rate. By the time he was 20, he stood at 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 meters) tall. This height, while a source of fame later in life, also presented challenges. Despite being physically strong in his teens, he reportedly began to experience walking difficulties as he grew.

Jóhann found it difficult to find traditional work in his hometown due to his size. Recognizing his unique stature as a potential asset, he embarked on a career in entertainment. He left Iceland in 1934 and began exhibiting himself in Denmark and other European music halls. For a time, he performed an act with two dwarves, providing a humorous contrast in scale.

When World War II broke out, he found himself stranded in Copenhagen, where he worked in a shipyard until the war’s end. After the war, he resumed his touring career and was eventually discovered by John Ringling of the famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

In 1948, Jóhann moved to the United States to join the circus. He initially performed in a traditional top hat and tails, but his career truly took off after he adopted the persona of “The Viking Giant.” Dressed in a Viking-themed costume, he became a hugely popular attraction, often billed as the Icelandic Giant.

Jóhann was not only a showman but also a savvy businessman. After a few years with the Ringling Brothers, he went into business for himself, creating a “Single-O” show where he was the sole attraction. This move proved very successful, and he reportedly saved a significant amount of money.

Jóhann also appeared in a few films, most notably as a giant caveman in the 1950 film Prehistoric Women and a small role in the 1980 film Carny.

In the 1960s, he retired to Gibsonton, Florida, a well-known community for sideshow and carnival performers. Even in retirement, he occasionally made appearances, including an event at the Smithsonian in 1973. Throughout his life, he was known for his kind and gentle personality. He was particularly loved by children, who he would happily hoist onto his shoulders.

Jóhann Kristinn Pétursson, the Viking Giant, died in 1984 at the age of 71, but his legacy as a prominent and beloved figure in the history of sideshows endures. He was inducted into Coney Island USA’s Sideshow Hall of Fame in 2015.

When TV Favourites Saved British Cinema

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In 1968, there was £31 million of American money being spent in British film studios. In 1969, the total was down to £21 million. In 1970, the amount was just £13 million – and it continued to decline to a negligible amount. The British film industry was floundering into the 1970s, with multi-million pound films […]

Dad’s Army (1971)

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The intrepid Home Guard of the small south coast seaside village of Walmington-on-Sea made it to the big screen in 1971 after entertaining millions of TV viewers since 1968. All the well-loved characters from the TV series were there, including the plump, balding, over-conscientious bank manager Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe), second-in-command Sergeant Wilson (John Le […]

Uprooted: Inside the Museum’s New Exhibition on Invasive Plants

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by Patrick McShea Plants travel across time and territory as seeds. The movement of seeds, each one a tiny embryo packaged with stored food in a protective coating, can generally […]

Roger Taylor and His Girlfriend Jill Johnson in Summerville’s Garden, ca. 1967

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One of Roger Taylor’s regular girlfriends was Jill Johnson. A former pupil at Truro’s County Grammar School for Girls, she spent a year with Roger and was part of the set which followed The Reaction around and hung-out at Truro’s coffee bars. Roger and Jill often teamed up with his neighbor Vaughan Hankins and his wife-to-be Gill Wilton. Vaughan’s father owned a garage so getting a car was never a problem. The four would have nights out together at Tregaye Country Club, Flo’s Bar in Devoran or at the Pandora Inn at Restronguet on the road to Falmouth.

Roger has described Jill Johnson as his first proper love when he was around 15–16 years old. They met at a club where Jill sang in a folk band and ended up dating for about four years, from approximately 1966 to 1969.

“My first real love was a girl called Jill,” he said in Queen in Cornwall book. “A mate and I went to a club and there was a folk group playing with a girl singer in it. My friend was older and had a car and we gave her a lift. As it turned out we all went to a nearby fair. Then, when I ran into her again, we ended up together for four years.

“She was small and wore short skirts, which were ‘in’ at the time. We had lots of rows but I think that was the reason why I liked her so much. She had a very strong mind and she knew what she wanted. I can’t stand dumb girls. I like girls who can take care of themselves. Things fizzled out for us at college: she joined another folk group, and went out with the guitarist, and that was the end of it. She was quiet in some ways, now that I think about it, but she had a lot of power in her.”

Jill Johnson was afterwards part of an all-girl trio called The Jay Jays or The Three Jays, and then lastly The Jayfolk. The other members were sisters Pat and Sue Johnstone. One of Roger’s first recording sessions was back-up musician to The Jay Jays. The girls, playing guitars and flutes, have been rehearsing with Roger on drums in premises next to the Barley Sheath pub in the centre of Truro.

They met Rod Wheatley, the owner of a Ferrograph tape recorder, and he offered to tape some of their songs, Rod was helped by his friend, Grenville Penhaligon, and they put down two songs on two-track tape.

“I remember Roger turning up with these three gorgeous girls with gorgeous voices,” Rod said. “The session wasn’t very long, an hour perhaps. The music was very, very good. They certainly had it all together.”

Jill Johnson incidentally, forged her own career in music, fronting the folk quartet, The Famous Jug Band, until they split in the early 1970s. They released two albums on Liberty Records, before Jill became ill with agoraphobia and later moved to Canada where her two elder twin sisters already lived.

Eugène Grasset: One of the Pioneers of Art Nouveau

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Eugène Grasset (1845–1917) was a Swiss-born French decorative artist who became one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement in France. Originally trained as an architect and sculptor in Lausanne, he moved to Paris in the 1870s and built a versatile career spanning graphic design, illustration, furniture, stained glass, and decorative arts.

Grasset is best remembered for his elegant posters, book illustrations, and ornamental designs, which combined medieval and Japanese influences with a distinctly modern aesthetic. His use of flowing lines, stylized natural motifs, and harmonious color palettes made him a leading figure in fin-de-siècle Paris.

As a teacher at the École Guérin and later at the École Estienne, Grasset influenced a generation of artists and designers, including many who helped define Art Nouveau. His work bridged traditional craftsmanship and modern design, leaving a legacy that shaped not only poster art but also the decorative vocabulary of the early 20th century.

Below is a collection of posters illustrated by Eugène Grasset in the late 19th century.

Jeanne d’Arc, Sarah Bernhardt, 1889

Esclarmonde, Opéra Romanesque, circa 1889

Harper’s Bazar, Thanksgiving, 1889

Juillet (July), Zodiac Calendar, 1889

Poster for Massenet’s opera, Esclarmonde, circa 1889

28 Vintage Photographs of Horse-Pulled Motorcars in the Early 20th Century

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In the strange transitional period in the early 20th century when horse-drawn and motor vehicles overlapped. There really were “hybrid” arrangements where a horse pulled a motorcar body — sometimes practical, sometimes humorous.

When early cars stalled (which happened often), owners sometimes hitched a horse to the front to tow it. Some people removed the engine from an old or unaffordable car and used the body as a stylish horse-drawn carriage. This gave the appearance of owning a motorcar, but with horse power in the literal sense.

In remote areas, gasoline could be scarce, and repairing early engines was difficult. Farmers or small-town residents sometimes adapted car chassis into horse-drawn wagons. Below is a collection of 28 vintage photographs of horse-pulled motorcars from between the 1920s and 1940s:

Before Becoming Famous as James Bond, Sean Connery Served in the Royal Navy in the 1940s

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Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 – October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond in motion pictures, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.

In 1946, at the age of 16, Connery joined the Royal Navy, during which time he acquired two tattoos. Uunlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous – his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong commitments: his family and Scotland. One tattoo is a tribute to his parents and reads “Mum and Dad,” and the other is self-explanatory, “Scotland Forever.”

He trained in Portsmouth at the naval gunnery school and in an anti-aircraft crew. He was later assigned as an Able Seaman on HMS Formidable. Connery was discharged from the navy at the age of 19 on medical grounds because of a duodenal ulcer, a condition that affected most of the males in previous generations of his family.

Afterwards, he returned to the co-op and worked as a lorry driver, a lifeguard at Portobello swimming baths, a laborer, an artist’s model for the Edinburgh College of Art, and after a suggestion by the former Mr. Scotland Archie Brennan, as a coffin polisher, amongst other jobs.

He also began bodybuilding, which led to him competing in the 1953 Mr. Universe competition, where he placed third. This event was a turning point, as a fellow competitor suggested he audition for a theatrical production, which marked his entry into the world of acting. The discipline, poise, and physical presence he developed during his time in the Navy and as a bodybuilder were qualities that would later become synonymous with his iconic portrayal of James Bond.