Alex Buscemi
The 1920s, often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties,” were a period of significant change and excitement. After World War I, people were ready to let loose and enjoy life, and it showed in everything from fashion to music.
This was the decade when jazz really took off, with its upbeat rhythms and improvisational style, setting the tone for the whole era. Flappers, with their short hair and bold attitudes, became the icons of the time, pushing the boundaries of what was socially acceptable for women. Speakeasies popped up everywhere as Prohibition made alcohol illegal, but that didn’t stop people from having a good time.
1. Greta Garbo looking visibly uncomfortable in 1925 during a publicity shot with the MGM lion
2. People by a Prohibition sign reading, “No booze sold here.”
3. A woman wearing a fur coat and hat in the ’20s
4. Cabs looked a tad different than they do now.
5. “Found this cool photo! Some of my ancestors, c. 1927.”
6. Ohio beauty pageant, 1927.”
7. “Venice Beach California 1927.”
8. “Five of the contestants in the 1924 Miss America contest walk together. Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. July 1924.”
9. “Paris flood, 1924.”
10. “Miss America 1924.”
11. “My young Grandfather in Iraq (1924).”
12. “1924 Young couple photographed by James Van Der Zee.”
13. “F. Scott Fitzgerald with his wife Zelda and their daughter Scottie on board a liner during a cruise, 1924.”
14. “My mother (left) with an older sister. ca 1924.”
15. “My Great-Grandpa Earl. 1924.”
16. “The ice man man delivering a 25lb block of ice. Photograph taken in 1928 in Houston, Texas. Circa 1928.”
17. “Great Grandfather Looking Dapper, 1924.”
18. “Three female students Bauhaus, Dessau (Germany). 1927.”
19. “Immigrant family at Ellis Island, looking at New York’s skyline, 1925.”
20. Babe Ruth lying unconscious after running into a wall chasing a fly ball on July 5, 1924. He would regain consciousness and get 2 more hits in the game.
21. “Remembering the father, 1925.”
22. “My grandmother as a little girl in 1925 in Upstate NY with her Grandparents and her brother.”
23. Irene Ryan, better known as Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies circa 1920
24. A small boy playing his banjo alongside his dog in 1920
25. “Office Christmas Party 1925.”
26. “1925 criminal’s mugshot.”
27. “Beach life 1920’s.”
28. “Halloween 1928 style.”
29. “Stan Laurel carrying a board, 1928.”
30. “Silent movie star, Dolores Costello (1928) Drew Barrymore’s grandmother.”
31. “My Grandpa (born 1928) at age 25.”
32. “My great-grandmother’s high school picture, 1928.”
33. Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several Chess Masters at one in France in 1920
34. A man wearing personal headphones with wires attached to his hat. This (colorized) photo was taken on May 6th, 1922 in the United Kingdom
35. Annie Oakley, 1922
36. Ernest Hemingway’s passport photo from 1923
37. Unharnessed workers in New York City, 1926
38. John Wayne at 19 years old on the set of his very first movie ‘The Brown of Harvard’ in 1926
39. “A pig ran through Grandma’s wedding photo in 1927”
40. A postman delivering Christmas mail in Chicago in 1929
Read More: 50 Nostalgic Snapshots From The 1950s That Perfectly Depict How Different That Time Was