I just wasted a perfectly good hour on this blog featuring old high- resolution photos, from Civil War days to the 1970s (most of the photos are from the first half of the 20th century). The subjects of the photos are a mixture, from very ordinary scenes of buildings and stores, to people working or having fun, to posed glamour shots. Each has a separate link to view the photo full-size to see the details. The clarity of most of the photos is amazing.
A few that struck me from the ones I went through: 1864. "Fredericksburg, Va. Soldiers filling canteens." http://www.shorpy.com/node/4239 1920. "Oldsmobile Sales Co., Rock Creek Park." http://www.shorpy.com/node/4238 1925. "Margaret Gorman with 'Long Goodie.'" http://www.shorpy.com/node/4230 1912. "I could stay in Atlantic City forever." http://www.shorpy.com/Atlantic-City-Forever England, 1940-41. "Battle of Britain. Children in an English bomb shelter." http://www.shorpy.com/node/3572 My favorite so far: 1924. Ambushed by Angels. http://www.shorpy.com/node/4337 Some of the more mundane photos are absolutely stunning compositions: 1928. "Washington Sanitarium. Takoma Park, Maryland. Office of Inpatient Nurses." http://www.shorpy.com/node/4236 1942. "Road out of Romney, West Virginia." http://www.shorpy.com/node/4163 1941. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards, Baltimore. http://www.shorpy.com/node/2766