Painter of the Brooklyn Bridge,1914

Captured here: Painter Of The Brooklyn Bridge,1914. It was taken in 1914, and like the best archival images it needs almost no explanation — the frame tells its own story.

The 1910s were a decade of upheaval. The First World War (1914-1918) pulled millions into uniform and redrew the map of Europe, while on the home front automobiles, telephones, and moving pictures were rapidly becoming part of ordinary life.

Pictures of ordinary life are some of the most valuable historical documents we have. Grand events were always going to be recorded, but a normal day — how people worked, dressed, shopped, and passed the time — survives only when someone happened to point a camera at it.