Alfred Eisensteadt Photo Archives - LIFE

When Tiger Cubs Come to Stay

Bill Syken — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 19:38:48 +0000

When you think of animals that would work as house pets, tigers generally don’t top the list. And for good reason. The website The Spruce Pets advises that no tiger species should be kept as a pet, noting that the practice is banned in most U.S. states. Among the reasons why tigers don’t make good pets: as adults the tigers “eat dozens of pounds of meat per day and need acres of expensive high-security enclosures.”

Not to mention the obvious dangers.

But in 1944 LIFE wrote about a special instance in which a woman took in three tiger cubs into her New York city apartment, and it worked out quite well—for the most part.

She took in the tiger cubs because of a situation at the Bronx Zoo, where her husband worked as a lion keeper. The zoo had a Bengal tiger named Jenny who had given birth to three cubs. As sometimes happens with tigers in captivity, Jenny refused to nurse her young. So Helen Martini, the lion keeper’s wife, stepped forward to give these young cubs the care that they needed.

As LIFE described it, taking care of the cubs kept her quite busy:

Fed every three hours, the cubs announce their mealtime with loud squalls, which grow louder as they grow hungrier. They have not learned to lap from a saucer and each has to be fed from a bottle. When she is not feeding them, Mrs. Martini is cleaning them, or putting drops in their eyes, or playing with them. Though quite tame and playful, the cubs’s long claws require her to wear leather gloves when handling them.

The tigers’ stay at the Martini home was only set to last about a month. At that point the cubs would need to transition to be a meat diet and become too much to handle around a New York City apartment.

The images of Martini caring for the cubs, taken by LIFE staff photograper Alfred Eisenstaedt, show the obvious affection she developed for these adorable creatures. But having tigers in her house came with its problems. Not only did Mrs. Martini have to wear those protective leather gloves, she also had to take the drapes off her windows before the cubs completely shredded them.

This was happening when the cubs weighed around eight pounds. As adults Bengal tigers can weigh close to 600 pounds.

In short, don’t try this at home.

At five weeks old, this tiger cub weighed 6 1/2 pounds over its birth weight, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub made its way from the kitchen to the living room while staying at the home of the Bronx Zoo’s lion keeper, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub made its way around the home of the Bronx Zoo’s lion keeper; these cubs were given home care because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Helen Martini, wife of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper, cared for three tiger cubs after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Three tiger cubs were taken into the home of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper because their captive mother would not nurse them; they needed to be fed by bottle because they had not learned to lap from a bowl, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rajpur, a tiger cub, investigated a kitchen cabinet full of Carnation evaporated milk; he was temporarily being cared for by Helen Martini, the wife of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper, because its captive mother would not nurse her cubs, 1944.

A tiger cub trying to climb onto a couch while staying at the home of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper; the keeper’s wife was caring for the tigers because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tiger cubs stayed at the home of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Helen Martini, wife of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper cared for three tiger cubs after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub sucked on the finger of Helem Martini, who was the wife of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper and was looking after three tigers because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Building the Future: Inside General Electric, 1937

Bill Syken — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:20:26 +0000

As American corporations go, few have a history that runs as deep as General Electric. Its roots trace back to Thomas Edison; GE was formed in 1892 when a conglomerate built around Edison’s inventions merged with another conglomerate. GE was one of the original 12 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average back in 1896.

The company has had its hand in many technological advances over its storied history. General Electric was behind the first television broadcast in 1928. The first night baseball game, in Cincinnati in 1935, was played under GE lights. During World War II the company made the turbojets for America’s first jet aircraft. Aerospace, health care and information systems are part of a long list of fields in which the company has made a mark.

The breadth of the GE operations underlines the great variety of activity that legendary LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt documented when he gained access to the General Electric operations back in 1937. What he captured is visually amazing, and also obscure in its details; these photos were for a story that never ran in the magazine, so we don’t know precisely what is happening in every picture. But we do know what was happening in a broad sense: these workers were shaping the future.

Looking back from the vantage point of the 21st century, what stands out about this GE manufacturing operation is how physical it was. This was 1937, and there is not a computer in sight. It was at the forefront of technology, but people were doing everything with their hands.

Some of the coolest photos are the ones that Eisenstaedt took of a man handling a light bulb. It’s fitting. Not only was the light bulb one of the company’s foundational products, but those bulbs are a place where consumers today can still see the General Electric logo. Billions of lighting products carrying the GE brand are still bought every year—even if GE actually sold its light bulb business to a smart home company called Savant in 2020.

That General Electric name still means a lot—as you would expect, given its long history.

Inside a General Electric laboratory in Boston, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

General Electric’s light laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shuttesttock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Workers ate their meals at General Electric’s company’s cafeteria, 1937

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Cool in the Heat: LIFE’s Best Sunglasses Photos

Bill Syken — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:28:06 +0000

Sunglasses, as a concept, have been around for centuries—the early Inuit wore eye masks with slits cut through them to protect their eyes from the rays of the sun. But it wasn’t until the 20th century that sunglasses made the transition from protective wear to fashion accessory, even for those who were nowhere near the beach. LIFE first reported on the burgeoning trend in a 1938 story titled “Dark Glasses are New Fad for Wear on City Streets.”

Here’s how LIFE introduced the topic back then:

For years Hollywood stars have worn dark glasses to protect their eyes from the harmful glare of the kleig lights, and to conceal their identity from curious fans. Now dark glasses have become a favorite affectation of thousands of women all over the U.S.

LIFE reported that the sunglasses trend was already widespread, with an estimated 20 million pairs of shades sold in the U.S. the previous year. The story suggested this was somewhat frivolous because people with darker eyes had a natural protection against excessive light, and thus, “Of the millions who wear [sunglasses] about 25% really need them.” The photos for the story were shot by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

In 1948 LIFE was back to report on the latest innovation in the field: mirrored sunglasses. The story reported that “the new glasses can be used as handy make-up mirrors, and they can hide black or bloodshot eyes completely.” A fun photo shoot by Martha Holmes celebrated the novelty.

This gallery includes images from those two early stories, as well as some other pictures from favorite LIFE shoots over the years. While the magazine’s early coverage talked more about eye protection, over time it became clear that that having fun—see especially Stan Wayman‘s shoot on “super specs”—and looking good were at the heart of sunglasses’ appeal.

A 1938 LIFE story touted the “new fad” of wearing sunglasses in the city.

Alfred Eisenstadt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A 1938 LIFE story touted the “new fad” of wearing sunglasses in the city. This novelty style, known as “blinkers,’ was made of pressed celluloid and LIFE noted that they would be dangerous for drivers to wear because of poor side vision

Alfred Eisenstadt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a 1938 LIFE story touting the “new fad” of sunglasses.

Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt / LIFE Picture Collection via Shutterstock

A teenage girl in Tulsa, Oklahoma used nail polish to decorate her sunglass frames, 1947.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A 1948 story highlighted the new trend of mirrored sunglasses.

Martha Holmes/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

These silly sunglasses featuring long blue eyelashes and small lenses were dreamed up by designer Schiaparelli, and brought a lighter note to the generally conservative spring showings in Paris, 1951.

Gordon Parks/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

This woman’s “I Like Ike” sunglasses honored the star of the 1956 Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

Photo by Leonard McCombe/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

From a 1960 story on oversized “super specs.”

Stan Wayman/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a 1963 LIFE story on sunglass fashions.

Yale Joel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Eisenstaedt’s Ode to America, “The Only Fabulous Country.”

Bill Syken — Thu, 29 May 2025 13:59:21 +0000

As Independence Day approached in 1952, LIFE magazine commemorated America’s birthday with a story that celebrated the country in images and words—and not just any words. Actor Charles Laughton selected literary passages that related to the American landscape. Then LIFE staff photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt shot images to pair with those passages.

LIFE turned to Laughton because the actor was known for entertaining audiences by reading aloud to them from classic literature. That kind of show would have a tough time finding an audience today, but back then it was a popular genre: here Laughton is reading from the Bible on The Ed Sullivan Show for about eight minutes uninterrupted.

In its story LIFE encouraged its subscribers to read aloud the passages that Laughton chose. Three of those passages were by Thomas Wolfe — two from Of Time and the River and one from You Can’t Go Home Again. “I make no apologies for this,” Laughton told LIFE. “For me Wolfe is the great writer, the man who greatly described America as `the only fabulous country.'”

Laughton also chose passages from the works of Washington Irving (Rip Van Winkle), Mark Twain (Life on the Mississippi), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (The Song of Hiawatha) and Stephen Vincent Benet (John Brown’s Body).

To illustrate those passages Eisenstaedt took photos in a variety of settings, capturing the bustle of New York City, the somber history of Gettysburg National Military Park, the majesty of a riverboat cruising the Mississippi, and the pastoral beauty of Minnehaha Park in Minnesota. The photos obviously do not capture all of America—to do so would be a lifetime project—but they bring enough variety and history to hint at a country that, to borrow a phrase from another writer, Walt Whitman, “contains multitudes.”

If you had to pick a few places to capture the spirit of “the only fabulous country,” which ones would you choose? Just thinking about the possibilities is a reminder of the awesome variety of the American landscape.

Actor Charles Laughton, who would read aloud from books to paying audiences, offered literary selections to LIFE for a 1952 story celebrating America in words and images.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Hudson River as it flowed through the landscape written about by Washington Irving, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pedestrians walked along 42nd Street in Times Square in New York City, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People shopped in the market on the corner of 9th Avenue and 40th Street in New York City, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People riding a train, United States, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park commemorated the Civil War battle that took place in 1863.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Monuments at the Gettysburg National Military Park commemorated the Civil War battle that took place in 1863.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A cemetery in the yard of a country church, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

An auto junk yard, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A freight train, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A riverboat on the Mississippi, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A barge sailed the Mississippi River, circa 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Two men piloted from the bridge of a riverboat on the Mississippi River, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Minnehaha Park in Minnesota, 1952.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Eisenstaedt’s Images of Change in the Pacific Northwest

Bill Syken — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 14:59:54 +0000

In 1939 LIFE devoted a themed issue to the future of America, and it led off its reporting with a big piece on the Pacific Northwest, which the magazine predicted would be an engine of of growth as the country looked to move past the Great Depression. The region was described by hopefuls as “the last frontier” and “the promised land.” The big change afoot at the moment was the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, which would became a major new source of power. And the Pacific Northwest in general was hailed for natural resources that were waiting to be tapped, and whose vast expanses were still only lightly populated. LIFE wrote, “Beyond the cities of the coast lie mighty reaches of forest, mountain, valley and river where you may go for miles and miles and see only a thread of railroad track or a lonely settler’s clearing as evidence of man’s presence on the giant earth.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt expertly captured the change that was coming to this Eden. Many of his pictures are striking on their own, from the images of a man at work in a teeming Seattle lumber yard, to dam construction, to the fishermen along the majestic Columbia River, to the characters of rural life. But taken together, Eisenstaedt illustrated what it looks like when civilization comes to the prairie. Consider his image of barefoot boys riding a tricycle alongside a highway that is only going to get busier.

LIFE wrote that these photos of Eisenstein were documenting not just a pivotal moment for the Northwest, but for the Amerca as a whole. The piece ended with this somber message to readers about a country making a fundamental transition:

The old American frontier, where a strong man with an axe and plow could take up free land and make his way regardless of his neighbors, is gone. In the industrial civilization of today and tomorrow, no region, no city, no business, no individual in America will ever be able to prosper alone and independent of the rest. The new frontier is one on which, working together for the common good, American will use their great technical and creative resources to produce the full abundance of which the American land is capable, an abundance which will make the long American Dream of dignity and freedom and equal opportunity for every citizen at last come true.

Fishing on the Columbia River in Oregon, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fishing on the Columbia River in Oregon, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Grand Coulee, Washington, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Grand Coulee, Washington, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A post office in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Exterior view of a post office in the US Northwest region, 1939.

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Children playing on seesaws in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A sheep ranch in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Company, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at work at the Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Company, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Life in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Seattle, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Blue Lake, Washington, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A skier at a resort in the Pacific Northwest, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Atlantic City: Scenes From a Beach Town’s Heyday

Bill Syken — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 13:53:14 +0000

In 1941 legendary LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went to Atlantic City and chronicled the bustling activity and amusements of the beach town at its peak.

In these pictures you’ll see the 1940 Miss America, Frances Burke, who had been crowned the year before at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall, posing with her sash on the beach. You’ll see the crowds at night flocking to the legendary Steel Pier amusement park, while others enjoy fine dining in a grand hotel. You’ll see women wearing bathing caps into the ocean to protect their hairdos, as was common in those days. And you’ll see boardwalk attractions that were very much of their time: one booth charged people 15 cents (about $3 today) to have their blood pressure taken. The Sodamat” sold drinks for a nickel. People mobbed a Heinz 57 specialty store that was apparently trying to live up to its “57 varieties” slogan.

Also notable is the sheer prevalence of senior citizens, many of whom went out in the summertime sun wearing suits and dresses, as if they were going to a formal event rather than a day at the shore.

These photos were shot toward the end of the Atlantic City heyday that began in the early 20th century and waned as tourists moved on to other destinations. By 1977 the town’s fortunes had sagged enough that Atlantic City turned to legalized gambling, becoming the first U.S location outside Nevada to do so. The casinos that sprouted up along the boardwalk, some of them taking the place of the grand hotels of yesteryear, did provide a shot in the arm, but the benefits have proved fleeting, especially after competing casinos began popping up all around the country. In 2023 Atlantic City still claims 27 million visitors a year.

Its battle to recapture its glory days make Atlantic City something of an avatar for nostalgia itself. In 1980 Louis Malle directed a movie called Atlantic City in which a small-time mobster played by Burt Lancaster was so consumed by romantic visions of days gone by that he memorably declared to a younger character, “You should have seen the Atlantic Ocean in those days.”

In these photos you can do just that.

Aerial view of people at the beach, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frances Burke, winner of the 1940 Miss American pageant, joined Miss Atlantic City on the beach Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People going onto the beach at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The beach at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Readers on a hotel terrace, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N,J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lifeguards in action, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Sketch artists on the beach, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Posted regulations, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A wicker rolling chair passed by a Philip Morris tobacco shop, Atlantic City, N.J. , 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Crocheting on the boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J, 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People crowded a hot dog stand on the boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J,, 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

An exterior view of the Brighton Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J. in 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frances Green (right) of Baltimore and Charles McIntosh of Brampton, Ontatio enjoying a ride in a wicker rolling chair through the pergola at the Brighton Hotel en route to the beach, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nurses tending to afflicted children as they lie on a sun deck, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Knife & Fork restaurant, Atlantic City, N.J, 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lucy the Elephant in Margate, N.J., not far from Atlantic City, N.J, 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ice skating, Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People dining at the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ice capades at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People gathering outside of Steel Pier in Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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