All pictures by Paul Fusco

“As a staff photographer for Look magazine in 1968, Fusco was commissioned to document the events surrounding the funeral. He captured thousands of Americans standing by the railroad tracks to greet Kennedy’s funeral train, the mourners gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and the dramatic night burial in Arlington National Cemetery.”

1935: Preparing to explore the wreck of the Lusitania





J. Peress’ dive suit, Tritonia, explored the Lusitania wreck in 1935. Jim Jarrett was Peress’s chief diver and made this dive to 312 feet. This suit was a precursor to the “Jim” suit, named for Jim Jarrett.’

3rd March 1790: Ticket to the British Museum





The British Museum opened its doors to visitors in 1759. Only a small number of tickets were issued for each day, and visitors were taken round the Museum in groups of five”

Shikar, or big game hunting, was an immensely popular pastime for the ruling class in India prior to British rule. When the British came into power, elaborate hunting ceremonies were used by Indians and British alike to display their prowess and status to each other. The British influence also brought improvements in hunting technology, which spurred an increase in the capture of game. Dozens of animals were killed in a single day’s hunt and the trophies decorated the halls of the princes’ extravagant hunting lodges. By the late 1870s, the population of many of these rare species had been severely depleted and a government-implemented system for conservation had begun to take hold.’

- The Metropolitan Museum of Art


1870: British Indian Hunting Trophies

“Claimed to be the first exhibit of its type, a life-sized anatomically correct human figure with transparent “skin”, detailed visible internal features and illuminated or illuminable. It created a “sensation” when first displayed and inspired many copies and imitations.

“The original “Gläserne Frau” is still extant on display at the DHM. The “glass” is actually Cellon, an early type of plastic”

- Wikipedia


1935: The “Glass Woman” at the German Hygiene Museum

1939: Shoes by Steven Arpad

1924: Cow shoes










Used by moonshiners during the prohibition to disguise their footprints.

1978: The ‘Palace of Pills’





“This sculpture constructed from old pills, medicine bottles and syringes was made for the East London Health Project between 1978 and 1980. The ELHP was a coalition of health worker unions and local Trades Councils  campaigning against cuts to the NHS as well as highlighting other healthcare issues facing Londoners in the late-70s. This was the first time the NHS had really come under sustained attack from any political party since it was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War.

“The Palace of Pills was created by artists Peter Dunn and Loraine Leeson. They then photographed it for a poster that was displayed in waiting rooms and doctor surgeries.

“We did eight posters,’ Leeson told me. ‘The Palace of Pills was made for a poster that talked about how the drug companies were dominating what was happening in health, and for reasons of profit not health.’ The model was too big for the studio and already starting to deteriorate when the Science Museum asked if they could have it. ‘They saw it as a curiosity but I’m delighted it still exists,’ she says.”

1944: Sketch of a D-Day officer’s battledress





“A detailed illustration of a typical platoon leader in full battle dress.

“This drawing by combat historian Lt. Jack Shea, who was attached to the 29th Infantry Division, gives a sense of just how prepared these troops needed to be, both for their initial amphibious assault, and for days of slogging through the potentially treacherous Normandy countryside.”

1922: The first aerial photograph of Lower Manhattan