Moving from Kenya to study at RGU in Aberdeen
Esther shares her journey from Kenya to RGU, obtaining a scholarship, and her experience settling in Aberdeen after enrolling on the MSc Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Choosing RGU My journey to the UK started in late 2022 when I wanted to upgrade my education. My business was […]
Student
Studying the online Business Management course at RGU
RGU student Gail shares her career journey living across different countries and her decision to go to university years later to study the online Business Management course to fit around her busy life. A bit about me and my career My journey back to education […]
Student
From Undergraduate to Postgraduate studies at Gray’s
Fine Art student Kirsty shares her journey from studying an undergraduate degree in Painting at Gray’s School of Art, RGU, to staying for a master’s to develop her research and practice further. Starting my art journey at RGU When choosing what university to study at, […]
Student
Meet Lady Wonder, the Psychic Horse Who Appeared Twice in LIFE
The story of Lady Wonder began in 1925, when her owner, Mrs. Claudia Fonda of Richmond, Va., noticed that the horse she had purchased when it was two weeks old—then just called Lady— would come when Fonda was merely thinking of calling her. Fonda wondered […]
AnimalsThe story of Lady Wonder began in 1925, when her owner, Mrs. Claudia Fonda of Richmond, Va., noticed that the horse she had purchased when it was two weeks old—then just called Lady— would come when Fonda was merely thinking of calling her. Fonda wondered if the horse could read her mind, she told LIFE. By the time Lady was two years old the horse had been taught to spell out words by using blocks with letters on them. When Lady correctly predicted the winner of the Dempsey-Tunney boxing match, the fame of what Fonda billed as “The Mind-Reading Horse” began to spread.
Lady Wonder’s first appearance in LIFE came in 1940, when the magazine, as part of a larger story on ESP, related the history of the horse but also reported that it had lost its extra-sensory special powers. The horse could still perform simple mathematics, though, and was at that point merely being billed as “The Educated Horse,” with claims of clairvoyance left by the wayside. Still, the story noted that its ESP expert believed the horse once posessed special powers.
Then in 1952 Lady Wonder returned to the spotlight when she seemingly offered insight to a tragic case involving a missing boy. Here’s how LIFE described her contribution in its issue of Dec. 22, 1952:
A friend of the district attorney of Norfolk County, Mass., went to see her, on a hunch, to ask her for news of a little boy who had been missing for months. She answered, “Pittsford Water Wheel.” A police captain figured out that this was a psychic misprint for “Field and Wilde Water Pit,” an abandoned quarry. Sure enough, that is where the boy’s body was found.
The incident brought national attention to Lady Wonder, and among those who made the pilgrimage to her Virginia farm was LIFE photographer Hank Walker. He captured the mare, then 27 years old, in action, dispensing advice and sports predictions. (For the specific college football picks from Lady Wonder mentioned in the article, the horse was right on only one out of three picks).
Not everyone was buying the act. In 1956 the magician Milbourne Christopher, who was a noted debunker of frauds, visited Lady Wonder’s stable and concluded that the horse was spelling out words under the subtle guidance of Fonda, who was directing Lady Wonder on which blocks to select.
Lady Wonder died the next year.
The 27-year-old Lady Wonder, a horse with purported clairvoyant abilities who communicated answers by flipping letters on a rack, was a popular tourist attraction in Richmond, Va,. 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The 27-year-old Lady Wonder, a horse with purported clairvoyant abilities who communicated answers by flipping letters on a rack, was a popular tourist attraction in Richmond, Va,. 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The 27-year-old Lady Wonder, a horse with purported clairvoyant abilities who communicated answers by flipping letters on a rack, was a popular tourist attraction in Richmond, Va,. 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
“Lady Wonder,” a horse with the purported ability to see the future, came in from the pasture to answer questions for her customers, Richmond, Va., 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The 27-year-old Lady Wonder, a horse with purported clairvoyant abilities who communicated answers by flipping letters on a rack, was a popular tourist attraction in Richmond, Va,. 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Mrs. Julius Bokkon regularly visited Lady Wonder to solicit the opinion of the clairvoyant horse on matters in her life, Richmond, Va., 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Lady Wonder, the purported clairvoyant horse, gave a Massachusetts businessman direction on where to get a loan, spelling out “Heancock,” which was interpreted to mean the insurance company John Hancock, 1952.
Hank Walker/LIfe PIcture Collection/Shutterstock
The tricks of Lady Wonder included performing addition; here she had been asked what 7+6 equalled (she had already pulled up a “1” that is out of view to the left), Richmond, Va., 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Owner Claudia Fonda stood by as her clairvoyant talking horse tourist attraction, Lady Wonder, gave a Massachusetts businessman direction on where to get a loan, spelling out “Heancock,” which was interpreted to mean the insurance company John Hancock, 1952.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The 27-year-old Lady Wonder, a horse with purported clairvoyant abilities who communicated answers by flipping letters on a rack, was a popular tourist attraction in Richmond, Va,. 1952.
Hank Walker/LIfe PIcture Collection/Shutterstock
Lady Wonder, a horse with supposed clairvoyant powers, attracted visits from tourists and well as regulars such as Mrs. Julius Bokkon, Richmond, Va., 1952. The levers around the horse were like keys in a giant typewriter that it used to communicate its messages.
Hank Walker/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post Meet Lady Wonder, the Psychic Horse Who Appeared Twice in LIFE appeared first on LIFE.
The Marienbad Cut: Gloria Vanderbilt Models A French Movie Hairdo
The French New Wave became a force in cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, expanding ideas about the way movies told stories. One sign of the New Wave’s cultural influence was that even a movie which left many viewers befuddled was able to […]
LifestyleThe French New Wave became a force in cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, expanding ideas about the way movies told stories. One sign of the New Wave’s cultural influence was that even a movie which left many viewers befuddled was able to inspire a fashion trend in both Europe and the United States.
The film was 1961’s Last Year at Marienbad, directed by Alian Resnais, and its narrative, such it was, centered around a nameless man and woman at a luxury hotel who may or may not have a past together. The film is polarizing enough that it merited both a Criterion Collection edition and also inclusion in a book about the 50 worst films ever. The Criterion Collection edition, even while exalting Last Year at Marienbad, describes the film as a “fever dream” whose plot “has been puzzling appreciative viewers for decades.”
But even if fans didn’t know what the movie meant, they knew that it was stylish (the costumes were done by Coco Chanel), and many women wanted to mimic the hairstyle of lead actress Delphine Seyrig. Here’s what LIFE had to say about the trend in its issue of June 22, 1962.
Not since Veronica Lake’s pageboy bob completely hid one eye from view has a movie hairdo caused such a stir…Cut short and straight with back ends pushed forward under ears and a deep diagonal bang on the forehead, the Marienbad hairdo looks sleek and sophisticated, but appealingly artless at the same time.
Modeling the hot new look for LIFE was none other than socialite and future fashion icon Gloria Vanderbilt. The hairstyle had initially taken off in Europe, and LIFE wrote that Vanderbilt was the first New Yorker to adopt the Marienbad look, “after persuading hairdresser Kenneth to go to the film to study it.”
LIFE staff photographer Paul Schutzer ALSO seems to have also studied the film; the setups for his Vanderbilt photo shoot echo locations from the movie.
And while the film is difficult to understand, the hairstyle was appealingly simple to maintain. Vanderbilt said that while the style requires frequent cutting, in between it could be kept in place “merely by running a comb through it.” The story concluded that “women of all ages, types and places have begun to demand the short cut, glad of a fashionable excuse to give up overly teased bouffant hair for a comfortable, easy-to-keep summer style.”
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt modeled a new hairdo inspired by the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad.
Paul Schutzer/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post The Marienbad Cut: Gloria Vanderbilt Models A French Movie Hairdo appeared first on LIFE.
Before Moo Deng: Little Hippos in LIFE
Hippos are the third largest mammal on the planet, behind only the elephant and the white rhino. But there is a variety of hippo known as the pygmy hippo that is tiny by comparison, especially when it is very young. And that makes the animal […]
AnimalsHippos are the third largest mammal on the planet, behind only the elephant and the white rhino. But there is a variety of hippo known as the pygmy hippo that is tiny by comparison, especially when it is very young. And that makes the animal a natural curiosity. Witness the popularity of Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo who lives in a Thailand zoo and became a viral sensation in 2024.
The editors of LIFE shared the fascination.
The magazine’s June 2, 1941 issue included a story headlined “World’s Smallest Hippopotamus Arrives in U.S. From Liberia.” The pygmy hippo in question had been abandoned by its mother, found by Liberian natives and turned over to a man named Silas E. Johnson, who worked in Liberia and was an amateur zoologist.
Johnson then sailed to New York City for his “biannual three-month vacation in the U.S,” according to LIFE, and brought the baby hippo with him. When the hippo arrived in America, he was two months old, weighed nine pounds, was 18 inches long, and had acquired the name Skipper during the course of his sea journey. Legendary LIFE staff photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was there to capture the magic.
LIFE explained exactly what made Skipper so precious:
The rarity of Mr. Johnson’s pet lies in the fact that pygmy hippopotamuses, found only in Liberia, are stalwart fighters which fiercely protect their young….When he is full-grown, Skipper will weight about 400 pounds. Normal hippos weight 30 pounds at birth, three tons at maturity.
While Skipper was rare, he was not entirely unique. In 1952 LIFE featured another pygmy hippo that had come to the U.S. This little fellow was named Gumdrop, and he and his zookeeper were photographed for the magazine by George Skadding. Unlike Skipper, Gumdrop came to the U.S. in the company of his mother.
How rare is a pygmy hippopotamus? Outside of zoos, the animal’s primary habitat remains in Libera and other neighboring West African countries. According to an estimate in 2015, only about 2,500 pygmy hippos remain alive in the wild.
This rare baby pygmy hippopotamus, named Skipper, was abandoned by his mother in Liberia and brought to the U.S. by boat in 1941 in the company of an amateur zoologist.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
This rare baby pygmy hippopotamus, named Skipper, was abandoned by his mother in Liberia and brought to the U.S. by boat in 1941 in the company of an amateur zoologist. Skipper needed to be kept wet to prevent his skin from peeling.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
This rare baby pygmy hippopotamus, named Skipper, was abandoned by his mother in Liberia and brought to the U.S. by boat in 1941 in the company of an amateur zoologist.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Amateur zoologist Silas E. Johnson brought this baby pygmy hippopotamus abandoned by his mother from Liberia to the U.S.; during the boatride from Africa to New York, the hippo acquired the nickname Skipper.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
This baby pygmy hippopotamus, abandoned by his mother in LIberia and brought to the U.S. by an amateur zoologist, consumed a half-pint of condensed milk and pablum from a bottle four times a day, 1941.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A baby pygmy hippo named Gumdrop received a bath, 1952.
George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A baby pygmy hippo named Gumdrop and his mother, 1952.
George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A zookeeper administered a bath to Gumdrop, a baby pygmy hippo, 1952.
George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Gumdrop, a baby pygmy hippo, was toweled off by a zookeeper following his bath, 1952.
George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Gumdrop, a baby pygmy hippo, fed with his mother, 1952.
George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post Before Moo Deng: Little Hippos in LIFE appeared first on LIFE.
A Joyful Thanksgiving and a “Marriage Experiment”
In 1972 LIFE magazine ran a cover feature on what it termed “Marriage Experiments.” The issue featured several examples of nontraditional domestic units. These ranged from a collective family in Berkeley, California to unmarried parents living in the Boston suburbs. If the Boston couple doesn’t […]
LifestyleIn 1972 LIFE magazine ran a cover feature on what it termed “Marriage Experiments.” The issue featured several examples of nontraditional domestic units. These ranged from a collective family in Berkeley, California to unmarried parents living in the Boston suburbs. If the Boston couple doesn’t sound all that experimental, keep in mind that this was at a time when raising children out of wedlock was still relatively rare, with percentages just starting to climb out of the single digits. (In 2024, about one of four children are being raised by unmarried parents).
Another one of the “experiments” in the issue featured Joy and Stan Potts, a couple who had what the magazine termed a “frontier partnership.”
Here’s how that partnership worked, as described by LIFE:
For three months each year they disappear into the Idaho Primitive Area where, as a team, they operate a commercial hunting camp. To do this they leave behind their three girls, ages 11, 12 and 17, who willingly—and successfully—remain entirely on their own at the alfalfa ranch the Pottses run in Nevada during the rest of the year.
Joy Potts said leaving the children on their own for so long benefited the kids as well as the parents. The kids, she said, learned to be independent. And running the camp together with her husband was good for their relationship. “Marriages get down in the dumps because people sort of ignore each other,” Joy told LIFE. “I know I am an important person to Stan.”
As for Stan, he told LIFE that the key to a happy marriage was sharing in everything—including the inevitable failures. “Then you know how it all works, that it’s not any one person’s fault,” he said. He added that if he were running the camp on his own, “It would be a lot more lonely and a lot harder without Joy, that’s for sure.”
The story was photographed by John Dominis, and he visited the Potts’ camp during Thanksgiving, when their daughters had come to visit. Their holiday dinner, which also included the hunters at the camp, looks as welcoming as it was rustic.
The Potts’ “frontier partnership” was an enduring one. In 2021 Stan and Joy were recognized by the Hall of Fame of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, Salmon River Chapter. Later that same year Joy died at age 87, survived by her husband of 67 years. Her obituary included a delightful detail on how Joy and Stan first met, while she was Mackay, Idaho visiting family: “During that first conversation, she told him she milked cows, and he was hooked.”
Joy and Stan Potts shared a light moment during Thanksgiving dinner at the hunting camp they ran in Idaho, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy and Stan Potts leave their alfalfa farm and children three months a year to brave the frontier wilderness in Idaho. Here they and their daughters, on the left side of the table, enjoy a Thanksgiving feast, joined by hunters at the camp, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy and Stan Potts would leave their alfalfa farm and children three months a year to run an Idaho hunting camp. Here Joy (second from right) handed out sandwiches to a hunting party before they set out, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy Potts carried water from a stream to use for cooking and cleaning at the Idaho hunting camp that she and her husband ran, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy Potts took a bath in water heated from a stove at the Idaho hunting camp that she and her husband Stan ran, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Stan Potts chopped firewood at the hunting camp run by him and his wife Joy, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy and Stan Potts, 1972.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joy and Stan Potts would leave their three daughters, ages 11, 12 and 17, at the family alfalfa farm for months at a time while they went off to run their hunting camp.
John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post A Joyful Thanksgiving and a “Marriage Experiment” appeared first on LIFE.
Pamper House: America As It Was Learning to Treat Itself
The term “day spa” is as much a part of the modern vocabulary as “smart phone” or “Zoom meeting,” which makes sense, because one can feel like an antidote to the others. But the concept of a day spa was just coming into being when […]
LifestyleThe term “day spa” is as much a part of the modern vocabulary as “smart phone” or “Zoom meeting,” which makes sense, because one can feel like an antidote to the others.
But the concept of a day spa was just coming into being when LIFE magazine devoted several pages in its June 4, 1952 issue to a new business called Pamper House, which was located at 5th avenue and 48th street in Manhattan.
These were the rules of the Pamper House, as described in LIFE’s story:
At this unique club, in which a yearly membership costs $1, members can take a shower, wash their hair, give themselves a manicure or a home permanent, freshen their make-up, change their clothes or just drop in to read or watch television in the modern lounge, or to rest in the quiet alcove. Each visit to Pamper House costs 25¢. A dime is the fee for almost every service or item. Five trained beauticians are on hand to give free advice about hair styling and make-up, and to help customers help themselves.
LIFE staff photographer Nina Leen documented what went on at the Pamper House. Perhaps the most interesting novelty there was a perfume vending machine in which women could pay a dime for a spritz of Chanel No. 5.
To the modern eye Pamper House looks like the first draft of a concept that has since been much refined over the years. There is plenty to recommend it, starting with the basic idea of a private enclave for women to have their needs attended to. It’s easy to envy the women who stop by for a nap after lunch. But what stands out about the Pamper House is how much members had to do for themselves. One photograph shows a member doing her own nails, with no manicurist in sight. In another photo a woman irons her own blouse—she basically looks like she’s doing housework. A modern version of Pamper House would have a lot more pampering.
Pamper House was founded by Tanya Pitt, a former French model. LIFE reported that the business at Pamper House was brisk, and that she had plans to add locations both around New York and across the country.
But that doesn’t seem to have happened. Internet searches for Ms. Pitt or Pamper House yield little more than reports about the launch of her venture, which happened to be located just a couple blocks from the old Time-Life Building and many other media outlets.
Even if Pamper House didn’t become a lasting brand, the basic impulse behind the venture was right on. We were on our way to a world where “treat yo self” has become a catch phrase. America is now home to more than 20,000 spas. In short, there are descendants of Pamper House all across the country.
Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan applied cosmetics in the club’s make-up nooks, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
At the Pamper House in New York, some women stopped by for a quick nap after lunch, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Women relaxed at Pamper House, a midtown Manhattan club that catered to working women and suburban housewives, 1952.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
This vending machine at the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan dispensed perfume at a nickel per spray, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Using the hair dryers at Pamper House in New York City cost ten cents for fifteen minutes, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan paid ten cents to use the shower, plus another ten cents if they needed a towel, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, got her hair done by one of the staff beauticians, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan enjoyed a snack while their hair was setting, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Two members of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center in New York enjoyed a conversation, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center in New York stopped by to iron her own blouse, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, gave herself a manicure, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, washed her hair in the shampoo booth, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Using the lockers at Pamper House in New York City cost ten cents a day, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Tanya Pitt, a French former model, was the founder of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan, 1952.
Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post Pamper House: America As It Was Learning to Treat Itself appeared first on LIFE.
The First Beagles Whose Ears LBJ Just Had to Tug
Early in his first term as president, Lyndon B. Johnson found himself caught up in a scandal involving his family’s beagles, named Her and Him. The trouble started when the President was welcoming a group of business leaders at the Rose Garden, and he lifted […]
AnimalsEarly in his first term as president, Lyndon B. Johnson found himself caught up in a scandal involving his family’s beagles, named Her and Him. The trouble started when the President was welcoming a group of business leaders at the Rose Garden, and he lifted one of the family pets by its ears, causing the dog to cry out. Johnson then commented, “It does them good to let them yelp.”
The ear-pulling was captured by an Associated Press photographer, and plenty of dog lovers became upset at the President. At this link you can see the photo, as well as audio of Johnson talking about how a senator brought up the ear-pulling during negotiations with Congress over the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
After that incident Johnson’s beagles soon appeared on the cover of LIFE’s June 19, 1964 issue. The story aimed to show that, despite the ear-pulling incident, Her and Him were enjoying life under the Johnson Administration. “Not many dogs have been privileged to shoo birds off the White House lawn, get underfoot at a cabinet meeting or mingle with dignitaries at a State Ball,” LIFE wrote. “Certainly no dogs in all the world have the Bouquet Room as their private boudoir.”
LIFE staff photographer Francis Miller was given great access to Him and Her, and he came to the White House prepared to make the most of it. An animal lover himself, Miller brought a full assortment of treats and amusements to get the beagles on his side. Here’s how LIFE described the shoot:
Too wise in the ways of puppies to believe that affection alone would produce good photographs, Miller stretched himself out on the White House lawn, alternately barked like a dog, tossed a bone in the air, plied the beagles with his Yummies, huffed into the harmonica and joggled the toy bird in his left hand. This left him free to shoot the cover with his right hand and his right eye.
The story stated that Him and Her were primarily the pets of LBJ’s daughter Luci, who was 16 years old at the time. And she was not the beagles’ only caretaker. Miller took several photos of the dogs in the company of Thraphes Bryant, who in addition to being the White House electrician helped look after the dogs.
The affection between Bryant and the beagles was clear in Miller’s photos. And Bryant tended to many First Dogs during his career. He would write a memoir about it, titled “Dog Days at the White House: The Outrageous Memoirs of the Presidential Kennel Keeper.”
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s pet beagles, Him and Her, on the White House lawn, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Him and Her, pet Beagles of President Lyndon B. Johnson, sitting together on lawn of White House, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Him and Her, pet Beagles of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a White House sitting room, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
President Lyndon B. Johnson, along with his daughter Luci Baines Johnson (left) and her friend Warri Lynn Smith (center), played with the family beagles, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
President Lyndon B Johnson’s beagles at the White House, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, at the White House, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Him and Her, the beagles belonging to the Lyndon B. Johnson family, made sport of an old overshoe in the White House living quarters, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, at the White House, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Thraphes Bryant, in addition to being White House electrician, helped care for the beagles of Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
White House electrician Thraphes Bryant helped care for LBJ’s beagles, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Thraphes Bryant, in addition to being White House electrician, helped care for the beagles of Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
LIFE photographer Francis Miller took photos of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, on the White House lawn, 1964.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post The First Beagles Whose Ears LBJ Just Had to Tug appeared first on LIFE.
Wild and Frozen: Minnesota at Its Coldest and Most Remote
Today Alaska holds a well-earned place in the American imagination as the country’s final frontier, and a host of reality shows use the 49th state as a backdrop for its rugged adventures. In 1950, eight years before Alaska officially joined the union, LIFE took its […]
LifestyleToday Alaska holds a well-earned place in the American imagination as the country’s final frontier, and a host of reality shows use the 49th state as a backdrop for its rugged adventures.
In 1950, eight years before Alaska officially joined the union, LIFE took its readers to the what was then America’s northernmost territory—a chilly and remote part of Minnesota known as Northwest Angle. This patch of land seems like it should really be part of Canada—it does connect with the rest of The Gopher State by land and has physical borders with Manitoba and Ontario. Northwest Angle is only part of the U.S. because people got confused while the details of the U.S.-Canada border were being negotiated.
If you’ve never heard of the Northwest Angle, you’re not alone. LIFE began its 1950 story by explaining just what this place was, and what life was like there:
Jutting out like a tiny bell tower at the top of Minnesota is a strip of woodland-and-lake wilderness called the Northwest Angle. … Its inhabitants, cut off from the rest of the U.S. by the 1,500-square mile Lake of the Woods, are an isolated, frontier people. For a brief period during the summer they live in a paradise of thick green forests and deep blue lakes. They hunt, fish, eat wild berries and trap for lynx. But when the long winter sets in, they live in an inhospitable land which is more like Siberia than the U.S. Blizzards roar down out of the North. The temperature drops to 50 degrees below zero, cold enough to split the logs of a cabin. Even on warmer days it seldom gets to more than 20 below zero.
In 1950 this isolated piece of America was out there in more ways than one. “The Angle has no telephones, roads, telegraph, movies, churches or doctors,” LIFE wrote. “The log homes have neither running water nor plumbing. The main meat dish is venison.”
The frontier aspects of the Northwest Angle were a large part of its appeal to residents, most of whom were living there by choice. They had vacationed there during the summer and fallen in love with the place.
The photos by George Silk capture the unique way of life in Northwest Angle. Women made their own butter in hand-cranked churns, and gathered for quilting bees for amusement. Residents traveled in horse-drawn sleighs to collect firewood. Kids amused themselves by playing tag in the deep snow. One man described as a “hermit” spent his winters reading the Congressional Record.
The winters drove most residents indoors. The attitude of the locals, LIFE wrote, was “They don’t particularly like the winters, but they don’t dislike them either.”
The reward for enduring the winter, as they saw it, came when the snow thawed, the geese returned, and the Northwest Angle became an outdoor paradise. LIFE wrote, “Then the citizens of the Angle tell each other that there is no other place on earth where they could enjoy so good a life at so little cost.”
Men cross a frozen lake in a horse-drawn sleigh while on a firewood-gathering expedition. Because the Northwest Angle has no roads, gathering firewood can actually be easier when the lake is frozen..
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Twelve-year old David Colson of Northwest Angle, Minnesota, photographed after walking home two miles from school, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Two boys and a girl hid up to their necks in a snowdrift, nibbling at the snow.while playing a game of tag in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Scenes of wintertime in remote Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Twevle-year-old David Colson rode a cow to get water from a hole drilled through ice in the lake in Northwest Angle, Minn., 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Mrs. Joe Risser of Northwest Angle, Minn., carried in wash that had frozen on the line, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Mrs. Edison Risser used a hand-operated butter-making machine like virtually every other family did in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Postmaster Jake Colson ran the smallest post office in the U.S in a six-by-four-foot corner of Northwest Angle’s general store; only twelve homes received mail up there.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Eli Olson, a reclusive trapper and 34-year resident of Northwest Angle, Minnesota, liked to read the Congressional Record during the winter, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A women carefully wove a rug during the extremely cold winter months in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Grandfather Oscar Risser whittled while his grandchildren watched during a long winter in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Kids in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, generally took baths once a week, on Saturdays, during the winter.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Quilting bees like this one were a popular winter pastime in Northwest Angle, MInnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A winter quilting bee in Northwest Angle, Minnesota including a break for a two-hour lunch that featured chicken, baked beans, canned vegetables and pie, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Newlyweds Sid and Skippy Hanson, ages 23 and 19, struggled to keep their cabin warm enough over the winter in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Two Canadians braved the wind and snow to come into Northwest Angle, Minnesota, to buy provisions, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A dog made its way through three-and-a-half feet of snow In Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A lone lighthouse sat amid a stark frozen landscape during winter in Northwest Angle, Minnesota, 1950.
George Silk/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post Wild and Frozen: Minnesota at Its Coldest and Most Remote appeared first on LIFE.
A Lone Star Fashion Show, 1939
LIFE’s coverage of the fashion world inevitably leaned on stories about the latest looks from Paris and New York, but the magazine also cast its eye further afield. Consider its 1939 story on a major show that took place Dallas, whose claim to fame in […]
LifestyleLIFE’s coverage of the fashion world inevitably leaned on stories about the latest looks from Paris and New York, but the magazine also cast its eye further afield. Consider its 1939 story on a major show that took place Dallas, whose claim to fame in the fashion world is that it was the home of the original Neiman Marcus department store. In 1939, according to the report in LIFE, more than 8,000 people flocked to the store in Dallas for an extravaganza that lasted three nights. It was “the most spectacular fashion show ever held in the great Southwest,” LIFE wrote.
And it was quite a scene: “The audience gasped, applauded and made mental notes of $200 costumes and $2,000 fur coats which would soon be bought to complete a winter wardrobe,” LIFE said. When assessing those prices, keep in mind that one dollar in 1939 is the equivalent of about $23 in 2024.
The customers might not have been daunted by those prices because they came to Neiman Marcus with oil money in their pockets, and also a dose of Lone Star pride. LIFE wrote that the wealthy shoppers of Texas ‘”spurn the labels of the great New York houses. Patriotically they prefer to flaunt the label of their great local store.”
LIFE assigned legendary photographer Alfred Eisenstadt to the Neiman Marcus show. While he did shoot the main event, he made more memorable images when he took models away from the runway and onto the streets of Dallas. A woman modeling a Hattie Carnegie dress in the parking lot of the Pig ‘n Whistle makes the point that these models are definitely not in Paris.
A model walked the runway during a fashion show in Dallas showcasing the fall lines at the Neiman Marcus department store, 1939
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled clothes by Hattie Carnegie in Texas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled clothes by fashion designer Hattie Carnegie in Dallas, October 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled for a story at the new lines available at the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled sheared beaver mantelet and muff, Dallas, October 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A model wore a Russian ermine mantelet trimmed in ermine tails with muff, Dallas, Texas, October 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Woman wearing a suit and plaid trouser on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A model wore an elegant gown that was on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Model wearing sable fur coat with feathered fur hat by designer John Frederics, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Model wearing Persian lamb hat, for sale at Neiman Marcus for $55 in 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A model wore a sweater and trousers on sale at Neiman Marcus, Texas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled harem-hemlined gown at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A woman modeled lounging pajamas featuring peg-top trousers like jodpurs for sale at Neiman Marcus for $89.50 in 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A model wore a $27.75 velvet turban with striped cloth handbag that was for sale at Neiman Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The wall plaque outside the original Neiman-Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The post A Lone Star Fashion Show, 1939 appeared first on LIFE.
Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight
In its 50 years Saturday Night Live has been the launching pad for a great many stars of movies and television. The list includes Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Adam Sander, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, and many, many […]
PeopleIn its 50 years Saturday Night Live has been the launching pad for a great many stars of movies and television. The list includes Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Adam Sander, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, and many, many more (John Belushi, Dan Aykoryd, Kate McKinnon, David Spade, Chris Farley, Bill Hader….)
But none of these stars skyrocketed as high or as fast as Eddie Murphy. He debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1980, at the remarkable age of 19, and quickly caught fire behind the strength of such characters as Mr. Robinson, Buckwheat and Gumby. He then capitalized on that popularity with a string of hit movies that included 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Not to mention his wildly popular 1983 standup special Delirious.
Photos in the LIFE archive capture the public life of a young man taking flight. He is photographed in the company of such luminaries as Jerry Lewis, Liza Minelli, Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone, Rick James, Luther Vandross, Jamie Lee Curtis and Arsenio Hall.
The paparazzi shots are telling, and so are the images in this collection that were shot for LIFE by Ted Thai. For those photos Murphy posed shirtless, with track pants and a ball cap. If you saw those pictures without knowing why Murphy was famous, you might guess that he was an athlete—and that comparison is appropriate. He was the comedy equivalent of another 1980s contemporary, Michael Jordan, a young man electrifying the stage with his prodigal talent.
Cast members Eddie Murphy (left) and Joe Piscopo (right) appearing with guest Jerry Lewis on Saturday Night Live, 1984.
DMI/Shutterstock
Comedian Eddie Murphy, 1983
Ted Thai/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Eddie Murphy
Ted Thai/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Comedian Eddie Murphy (left) and singer Rick James following Murphy’s performance at Madison Square Garden, 1986.
David Mcgough/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Eddie Murphy and singer Luther Vandross after Vandross’ performance at Radio City Music Hall, 1985.
DAVID MCGOUGH/DMI
Singer Michael Jackson and actor Eddie Murphy in Press Room at American Music Awards, 1989.
Kevin Winter/DMI
Sylvester Stallone and Eddie Murphy, 1991.
DMI
Eddie Murphy with Liza Minelli, 1990.
DMI
Eddie Murphy posed with the poster of his hit comedy Beverly Hills Cop.
DMI
Eddie Murphy, 1987.
DMI
Jamie Lee Curtis and Eddie Murphy, co-stars of the film Trading Places, in 1993.
DMI
Eddie Murphy with Vanessa Williams.
DMI
Eddie Murphy with talk show host Arsenio Hall, 1990.
DMI
Eddie Murphy, 1990.
DMI
Eddie Murphy, 1990.
DMI
Eddie Murphy
DMI
The post Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight appeared first on LIFE.
Michael Jordan: The One and Only
The following is excerpted from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time, available at newsstands and here online. When it dropped in the mid-’90s, the 30-second spot felt like just another quick and clever Nike ad, though if you go back […]
PeopleThe following is excerpted from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time, available at newsstands and here online.
When it dropped in the mid-’90s, the 30-second spot felt like just another quick and clever Nike ad, though if you go back now and watch “The Hundred-Foot Hoop,” it seems to speak to us on several levels. At the fade-in, we see a basket hanging mercilessly high in a dimly lit warehouse. The storyline, at least initially, is simple: Michael Jordan enters, dribbling, then, looking grim but confident, drives in and up (and up) for the unmakeable but of course inevitable jam. The spoonful of message—that the man inside those supercool shoes can perform superhuman feats—went down without question back then, when Jordan was still in his Chicago Bulls prime and on a nightly basis redefining what was possible in the game of basketball. But the commercial doesn’t stop there.
In a spasm of celebratory ecstasy, our hero, we see, has grabbed onto the rim, as slam-dunkers do, and now finds himself swinging slowly above the hardwood at an unsafe altitude. The moment of triumph has passed. Jordan first looks down, then at us, the audience that he always wanted to impress. He does not speak, but his big brown eyes pose an excellent question: “Where do I go from here?”
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was a skinny middle-class kid from Wilmington, North Carolina, who put aside the doubters—no, who used the doubters who appeared at every stage—to have himself a storybook career. His breakthrough came in the spring of 1982, when, in a game played in the Louisiana Superdome against Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas,
he hit an electrifying jumper with 15 seconds left to give his Carolina Tar Heels the National Championship. “Your life will never be the same after that shot, son,” his father, James, told him soon afterward.
A few years later, Jordan revitalized the Bulls, a motley bunch that played in a dreary, half-empty arena, a team that according to its owner was regarded by Chicagoans as “somewhere between mud wrestling and tractor pulling,” eventually leading them to six NBA championships. Along the way, Jordan took the excitement generated by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson—stars a few years ahead of him—and brought it to a new level, helping shake the NBA out of its 1970s doldrums and usher its players and franchises onto an international stage. In Jordan’s spare time, he revolutionized the sneaker business.
Jordan broke into the league exactly 40 years ago, in the fall of 1984, and he left it for good in the spring of 2003. Over a 15-season playing career, he won 10 scoring titles, five MVP awards, and six Finals MVP awards, and he was named to the All-Defensive first team nine times. He played in 14 NBA All-Star Games and, competing against Bird, Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and others in the pantheon of basketball gods, won three All-Star MVP trophies. He has the highest regular-season career scoring average and career playoff scoring average of all time (30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively). Numb yet? After a point, even such incomparable statistics don’t capture all of the player Jordan was. They say nothing about the way he did what he did, the rampaging love of the game he always demonstrated, or the role he played in the larger popular culture—the very things that made him the man and the brand we know and love.
Here is a selection of images from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time.
Cover photo by Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty
Michael Jordan in his freshman year at North Carolina, January 1982.
Bettmann Archive
Michael Jordan, with Chicago Bulls general manager Rod Thorn, signed his first NBA contract in 1984.
Bettmann Archive
Michael Jordan in 1989 took on the Detroit Pistons, a team that served as an early foil on his way to the top.
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Michael Jordan celebrated winning his first NBA title in 1991.
Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Michael Jordan led the Dream Team to a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Michael Jordan in 1994, when he took time off from the NBA and tried his hand at minor-league baseball with the Birmingham Barons.
Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images
Michael Jordan, when he returned to the NBA following his time in minor league baseball, briefly wore No. 45 before returning to his familiar No. 23.
NBAE via Getty Images
Michael Jordan in 2003, his final season.
Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images
Michael Jordan waved farewell after playing his final NBA game in April 2003, when he was a member of the Washington Wizards.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Michael Jordan, representing his Jordan Brand, visited Paris in 2015 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his signature Air Jordan shoe.
Jordan Brand via Getty Images
The post Michael Jordan: The One and Only appeared first on LIFE.
