42 Timeless Treasures: A Peek into History’s Hidden Album

Accepting Star Wars as a piece of history might be tough, but it’s comforting to age with the knowledge that our childhood passions remain timeless. Not everything from our youth holds up, but diving into the archives for a nostalgic journey—from vintage cash snapshots to old toy photos—quickly highlights how much has changed. For those who remember the era of black-and-white cinema, this retrospective will feel like coming home.

Here is a vaccine card from 1909.

Here is what it looked like to record the first roaring lion MGM logo in the 1920s.

Here’s an atomic energy kit for kids from back in the ’50s.

This is what a children’s car seat from the 1950s looked like.

Here’s what gas masks designed for children looked like during World War II, called the “Mickey Mouse” mask.

Here’s what one of the first physical versions of Mickey Mouse looked like — along with Donald Duck.

And here’s Minnie, Goofy, Clarabelle Cow, and Pluto with Mickey.

Here’s the very first version of Kermit the Frog, which creator Jim Henson made out of one of his mom’s coats.

Here are the Apollo 11 flight plans.

Here’s the player (Jerry West) that the NBA logo is reportedly based on.

Here’s the original McDonald’s mascot — whose name was Speedee.

This is what the original Ronald McDonald looked like.

Here’s what the original McDonald’s menu was.

Here’s the letter the United States dropped on Nagasaki before the atomic bomb.

Here’s what the original Edison bulb from 1914 looked like.

This is what the original Michelin Man looked like.

Here are T-4 statements from 1959, showing a couple’s income — with inflation, this would be about $30k a year today.

Here are examples of questions Black voters were asked in order to vote during the Jim Crow era.

Here is a reservation to a flight to the moon that Air Canada offered in 1969 (Pan Am did something similar, and believed they would be able to offer flights by the year 2000).

Here’s what Old Spice canisters used to look like.

Here is an old KKK membership form.

Here is what Red Bull used to look like, back when it was called Krating Daeng after being invented in Thailand.

Here is the infamous original cover for the VCR edition of The Little Mermaid, which is famously rumored to contain a phallic symbol that was removed from later posters and DVDs.

Here’s what a dollar bill used to look like.

Here’s what Confederate currency looked like.

Here’s one of the early editions of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, back when it wasn’t part of a series and it was just called Star Wars.

Here’s what Lysol used to look like.

And here’s what 7UP used to look like.

Here’s what it cost to give birth in 1954 (with inflation, this would be about $830 today).

This is what Times Square looked like in 1958.

Here are the original drafts for the game Pac-Man.

Here are air hostess requirements from the 1940s.

Here’s what the original toys that inspired Pooh and his friends looked like.

Here are people lining up to see the first film.

Here’s an old drug identification kit for customs officials.

Similarly, here’s a doctor’s medicine bag from the 1930s.

Here are the rules to writing Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts, straight from creator, Chuck Jones.

Here’s what a Woodstock ticket looked like.

Here’s an old ad for radium in a hair product before it was known to be unsafe…

Here’s an old stain remover that literally used lighter fluid.

Finally, we’ll end on two that were eerily prescient — this newspaper article from 1953…

This ad from 1996.