Date unknown

Date unknown

Overstocked with a large supply of men’s spring and winter coats, a clothier in Copenhagen, Denmark, adopted a unique sales scheme. He erected a scaffolding around his store building and completely covered it from roof to sidewalk with more than a thousand overcoats. The novel display attracted prospective customers in such droves that police were summoned. Although the police ordered the proprietor to remove the display, he succeeded in selling all the overcoats.

1880s

Hiram and Barney were two mentally disabled brothers from a Connecticut farm, born in 1825 and 1827 respectively. They were each 40 inches tall and weighed about 45 pounds, yet could perform feats of great strength such as lifting heavy weights and wrestling with audience members on stage. Discovered and subsequently promoted by a traveling showman in 1850, Hiram and Barney were given new names, Waino and Plutano, and a sensational back story - they were said to be from the island of Borneo, where they had been captured after a great struggle with armed sailors.

Date unknown

(via cardboy1)

1920s

Anti-Prohibition protest.

(via fyeahdrugpolicy)

Date unknown

(bbook)

1930s

Way before there even was such a thing as “cosplay”, and it was “just some people dressing up in costumes because it’s fun”, these gents in 1930s Serbia made a paddling of Donald Duck costumes from whatever was lying around. It’s decent handiwork for the time, but it’s a little horrifying these days.

(via iheartchaos)

Date unknown

Victorian masquerade.

(via Trevira)