Travel Back in Time to 1948 With These 34 Photos
Though still reeling from the aftermath of Word War II, 1948 was brimming with hope and possibility. Kids played stickball in the streets, soldiers enjoyed life at home after years on the frontlines, and families huddled around brand-new TV sets like they couldn’t believe their eyes. The fashion was sharp, the cars were bulky, and the American Dream was just beginning to take shape — even if the photos were still in black and white. Here are 34 vintage photos that capture some of the highs and lows of that year.
1. ‘My Grandparents on Their Wedding Day in 1948’
2. Colorized Image of Kids Locking in for a Marble Championship
3. A Tribal Chairman Weeps as He’s Forced To Sign Away His Tribe’s Land Under Threat of Death in Missouri
4. A 19-Year-Old Jackie Kennedy, Then Known as Jackie Bouvier
5. Finalists From a Beauty Pageant in Chicago
6. ‘My Grandpa in 1948 Looking Like a Total Model’
7. Driving Down Country Roads, Route 30, Nebraska
8. A Brightly Lit Times Square
9. ‘My Mother’s Parents in China, Around 1948. She Came to America Before Mao Took Over and Never Saw Them Again’
10. A Rainy Day in Midtown Manhattan
11. We Just Know Christmas Was Lit That Year With the Train Set
12. ‘My Grandma in Hawaii in 1948’
13. Just Hitched!
14. ‘Macy’s Detective Department Pose for a Photograph With Their Backs Turned To Not Blow Their Cover’
15. Was This the OG Selfie?!
16. Lucille Chalifoux Hides Her Face in Shame as She Puts Up Her Four Children for Sale in Chicago
17. Colorized Image of Children at an Orphanage in Mooseheart, Illinois
18. ‘My Mom’s High School Graduation Picture’
19. A Woman Waits for the Bus in Chicago
20. ‘My Grandfather Robert in 1948 Playing for the Denver Nuggets’
21. Betty White Looking Regal in a Green Ensemble
22. ‘I Quit Tomorrow’: A Trolley Bows Out as Buses Take Over
23. Colorized Image of a Man Riding His Bike in Harlem, New York
24. ‘My Grandparents Performing on the Ringling Circus in 1948’
25. ‘My Mum Making Her Getaway in a Tin Peddle Car’
26. A Man Begs for His Wife’s Forgiveness at a Chicago Divorce Court
27. A Woman Poses With Her New TV Set
28. A 13-Year-Old Elvis Presley
29. ‘Night Fishing in Hawaii’
30. ‘Boy Watches TV for the First Time From an Appliance Store Window, 1948’
31. An Adorable Little Boy Poses for a Snap in a Suit and Two-Tone Shoes in Washington, D.C.
32. Babe Ruth’s Last Appearance at Yankee Stadium, June 13, 1948
33. Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, Getting Some Sun
34. A Man Charts the Shrinking Size of the Doughnut Hole
Looking for more nostalgic photos?
Check out 35 Candid Photos That Capture Real Life in the 1940s and 33 Early 1940s Photos That’ll Make You Feel Like You’ve Stepped Back in Time for a deeper look at this electric decade. And if you’re craving more nostalgia, From Side Streets to Sandlots: 15 Vintage Photos That Capture the Spirit of Stickball should do the trick.