San Francisco circa 1930. "1921 Cadillac touring car." A well-worn example (equipped with Horse Shoe Cord tires and a fold-away steering wheel) at the address also seen here. The subliminal message in this image is that certain things that are a habit can also be a joy. For extra credit: What things? (The answer, discerned by our sharp-eyed commenters, is: Dinnerware. Also, the high-rise in the distance is the Cathedral Apartments at 1201 California Street, completed in 1930.) 5x7 glass negative. View full size.

        "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

October 1942. "Woman at work on bomber motor, Douglas Aircraft Co., Long Beach, California." Kodachrome by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size.

Circa 1899. "Ekin, Mrs. L.M." Whose particulars may be divined and delineated after a jot of judicious Googling. (Hint: A Sally not really.) 5x7 inch glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio in Washington, D.C. View full size.

December 1957. Washington, D.C. "Man with broadcast listings; woman tunes radio." The console set, seen earlier here, is evidently a portable, or maybe this is a two-radio household. News Photo Archive 35mm negative. View full size.

May 1918. "American National Red Cross. Aviation Camp of the American Army at Issoudun. The canteen kitchen, which, according to the commanding officer of the Camp, provides the best mess to be found in all France. Miss Givenwilson is in charge." 5x7 inch glass negative. View full size.

        Considered a long shot to win the nomination, Warren Harding was elected in a landslide. After 29 months in the White House, he died of a heart attack.

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "Senator Warren G. Harding, Republican of Ohio." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

        "Dick turned the volume up to 11 to drown out the sound of Mary's infernal pecking, while silently she plotted her revenge. Well, not really silently -- Mary was typing her plan at the kitchen table."

December 1957. Washington, D.C. "Man tuning console radio while woman in next room types." 35mm negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size.

San Francisco, 1937. "Policeman and Pontiac at Golden Gate Park." 8x10 negative, late of the Marilyn Blaisdell and Wyland Stanley collections. View full size.

        "Nothing for me, thanks."

October 1942. "Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach." Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size.

Detroit circa 1910. "Bastendorff block and G. & R. McMillan Co. store, Jefferson Avenue." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Dayton, Ohio, 1902. "Power House, National Cash Register Co." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size.

May 1942. Southington, Connecticut. "An American town and its way of life. The Memorial Day parade moving down the main street. The small number of spectators is accounted for by the fact that the town's war factories did not close. The town hall is in the left foreground." Medium format Kodachrome transparency by Fenno Jacobs for the Office of War Information. View full size.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1904. "Boardwalk and Hotel Chalfonte." Demolished in 1980 to make room for a parking lot. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.

        To mark the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, we shift into reverse to --

San Francisco, 1935. "Golden Gate Bridge under construction. Pontiacs on Presidio ramp." 8x10 negative, late of the Stanley-Blaisdell collections. View full size.

        Now playing at Knoxville's Roxy Theater: "Damaged Lives," an exploitation flick whose subject was venereal disease.

"Knoxville, Tenn., ca. 1941. Miscellaneous lot of photographs by Barbara Wright related to Tennessee Valley Authority projects and region." View full size.