The Handlebar Club, Founded 1947. | Heralded for their determined co-operative self-denial in the use of the razor.

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“The object of the Handlebar Club was, and still is, to bring together moustache wearers (beards being strictly prohibited) socially for sport and general conviviality.”

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Members of Handlebar Club posing for photograph, UK, July 1947.  — Nat Farbman

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Members of Handlebar Club comparing ties, UK, July 1947.  — Nat Farbman

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Member of Handlebar Club holding drink, UK, July 1947.  — Nat Farbman

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Member of Handlebar Club kissing woman, UK, July 1947.  — Nat Farbman

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Merry Christmas | A Holiday Hot Totty Retrospective

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“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”

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–Benjamin Franklin

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Circa 1955, New York, NY — The Ed Sullivan Show Dancers show their Christmas spirit. –Image by © Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis

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Joan Crawford is coming down your chimney… and she’s gotta gun. –Photo by Clarence Sinclair Bull Via

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Circa 1953, New York, NY — Audrey Hepburn, recently named the top movie star of 1953 by “Film Daily,” gets a kiss from Santa Claus during ceremonies at the “Heart Thrift House,” in New York Dec. 21.  Miss Hepburn also tied the bow on New York’s biggest Christmas package, “The Heart Thrift House,” a model home exhibited for the benefit of the New York Heart Association. — Image by © Bettmann/Corbis

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Circa 1951– Marilyn Monroe poses while standing inside an oversized nylon Christmas stocking beside a fireplace. Monroe wears a two-piece bathing suit. –Image by © Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Life in Los Angeles, circa 1938 | It’s always been about the car…

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“They say in L.A. there are only two methods of transportation-

car and ambulance.”

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–Unknown

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Auto traffic on Wilshire Boulevard during rush hour with sign for the WESTLAKE THEATRE looming in the background --ca. 1938.

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Service attendant pumping gasoline into Ford sedan as woman watches at gas pumps covered by the wing of a large permanently parked airplane, on Wilshire Boulevard --circa 1938.

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Motorist in his car making a transaction at the drive up window of a bank --ca. 1938.

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Muller Brothers Service Station's white uniformed attendents pumping gas & inflating tires on a fancy convertible while their uniformed African-Amer. conterparts wield rags as they polish the windshield & chrome --ca. 1938.

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Classic Clash Style | Rock ‘n’ Roll, Style & Soul

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“When you blame yourself, you learn from it. If you blame someone else, you don’t learn nothing, cause hey, it’s not your fault, it’s his fault, over there.”

-Joe Strummer of  The Clash

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Joe Strummer of The Clash

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"London Calling" --The Clash

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Joe Strummer of The Clash

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Mick Jones of The Clash

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1953’s “The Cool Hot Rod” | Cool Culture, Corny Flick

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1950s hot rod culture at it’s best.  Yes, there’s the prerequisite corny score and script… but more so, enjoy the glorious landscape of 1950’s fashion, pomade, and hot rod heaven.

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Well Said– Well Plaid Rocker | Vintage Bo Diddley

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“Don’t let your mouth write a check that your tail can’t cash.”

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–Bo Diddley

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Bo Diddley had an enormous impact on the development of popular music, largely due to his emphasis on rhythmic elements.

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“I opened the door for a whole lot of people– and they just ran through and left me holding the knob.”

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–Bo Diddley

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Bo Diddley in action on his signature Gretsch guitar --late 1950s.

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“I thank you in advance for the great round of applause I’m about to get.”

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–Bo Diddley

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Bo Diddley on guitar with Jerome Green on the left playing maracas --late 1950s.

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“I made Bo Diddley in ’55, and everybody freaked out.  Caucasian kids threw Beethoven in the garbage can.”

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–Bo Diddley

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Mad Max Bubeck & his Chout | Hell on Hybrid Wheels

Max Bubeck sitting on his 135.58mph hybrid Indian Chief/Scout that he rode at Rosamond Dry Lake on June 27th, 1948. The Pop Shunk-built "Chout" is as lean and mean as a straight razor except for two big-assed carburetors that look big enough to pluck poultry. Bubeck's "Chout" still holds the record for the world's fastest unfaired Indian motorcycle.

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“Mad Max” Bubeck made a name for himself dominating the enduro scene from the 1930s to the 1970s.  Bubeck was also a speed racer & builder who in June of 1948 rode his Indian “Chout” (an Indian Chief 80 c.i. engine jammed into the smaller & lighter Scout frame) to a record speed of 135.58 mph on the Rosamond Dry Lake north of Los Angeles. It’s a record that still stands for an unstreamlined, normally aspirated 80 cubic inch displacement Indian motorycle.  After retiring from competition in the late-1970s, Bubeck continued to be active in motorcycling, doing everything from restoring classic Indian motorcycles to sponsoring antique motorcycle meetings.

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Mad Max Bubeck on his famous & record setting Indian "Chout".

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One of Bubeck’s most popular wins came in 1950 aboard the new Indian Warrior. That year, he won the Cactus Derby, a long-distance desert race and mountain race originated in Riverside, California. The race was unique in that it started at midnight. That year, Bubeck’s bike lost its lighting barely an hour into the race. He managed to continue by riding with other riders and using their lights. A few times he lost touch with the other riders and rode in complete darkness. In that same event, a long, slow-moving freight train was blocking a crossing. Bubeck sped ahead of the train and crossed the tracks so as to not lose too much time. Despite the darkness, the trains and riding a supposedly uncompetitive bike, Bubeck still managed to win the event. It went down as one of the most memorable victories in his career.

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L.A. Stories Told Through Vintage Pics | UCLA Archives

 

“Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city”

–Dorothy Parker

 

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Ed Holovchik (aka Ed Fury), bodybuilder and Mr. Los Angeles contestant with model Jackie Coey --1953.

 

 

VISITING TRIO-- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clowns Coco and Bobby Kaye visiting a patient at Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital --1970.

 

 

FOOD'S FUN-- Nancy Kennedy, 20, downs diet cola and french fries, popular combination with the young set. The theory is that diet drink saves enough calories to allow for the fattening french fries. L.A. Times --1965.

 

 

Comedian Eddie Cantor with beauty contestants Lisa Davis, Barbara Drake and Phyllis Applegate, Los Angeles, CA --circa 1954.

 

 

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell putting handprints in cement at Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, CA --circa 1953.

 

 

PERFECTION?-James L. Pyle and Nonna Walls examine "Miss Formula", a computer-created drawing resulting from a list of "perfect female" statistics, CA 1964.

 

 

Pat Hall, "Miss 7-Cent Cup of Coffee, 1950," serving William E. Kinman coffee while wearing a bikini, Los Angeles, CA --1950.

 

 

Man wearing gag thumb with three bathing beauties, Long Beach, CA --1949. Someone please explain...

 

 

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE-Policeman Chuck Peyton checks to see if the old-fashioned bathing suit worn by actress Myrna Ross complies with 1933 Redondo Beach ordinance banning women's suits that are more than 3 in. above knee. The city attorney warned enforcement may be necessary if topless suits appear on beaches. Male swimmers would also be required to wear more discreet attire.

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Natty & Trad | A Properly Plaid Party

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“At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.” –William Somerset Maugham

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Raccoon-tuer | The Coonskin Coat

“Bring the coon-skin home and hang it on the wall” –LBJ

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November 24th, 1925 — Red Grange (wearing raccoon coat seated with reserves on the Chicago Bears during their game against Green Bay) at the Cubs Park Chicago after his signing up with the Bears a day after the closing of his collegiate gridiron career.   Grange’s new Team mate’s as shown in the photo are Left to right: Ralph Scott, Vern Mullen and Oscar Knop. For his appearance in six games, the sorrel top Ball carrier is rumored to make $60,0000. He will don the Bear uniform for the first time in game on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago.  An over flowing crowd is booked. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

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Circa 1933 — Man In Hat And Raccoon Fur Coat Standing Foot On Bumper Of Chevrolet Roadster Stalled In Snow Storm. — Image by © H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Corbis

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December, 1925, Philadelphia, PA– Here’s a pose of Harold “Red” Grange, the Nation’s football idol, as he appeared on his arrival in Philadelphia with the Chicago Bears, the professional football team which he joined after playing his last collegiate game. Grange was, for the first time, pictured in street attire and seems a little like the phantom of the gridiron in his heavy raccoon skin coat. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

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