Waspy people doing waspy things in Connecticut. Summer of 1948 & 1949.

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Army vs. Navy, November 1948. As photographed by Cornell Capa for LIFE Magazine.

Jimmy Cannon (one of the greatest sportswriters of all time) famously said that Joe Louis was "a credit to his race, the human race." Not a bad dresser either.

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There is a great photo set (by Edward Clark) in the LIFE archive of Marlon Brando preparing for his 1950 film debut The Men. The story was based on a group of returning WWII vets that had to cope with the mental and physical injuries of war. After coming off of his role in Broadway’s Streetcar Named Desire, Marlon Brando spent a lot of time at a VA hospital preparing for movie.

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That’s America right there — a nice big fella in head-to-toe khaki standing in front of a beat up American flag. If I knew this gentleman I would buy him a beer and ask him about his days in the big one. As I powered through the Life Archive I keep coming back to photos with Old Glory in them. As it turns out, being young and patriotic is on the up-and-up, so it seems my timing is right on. Enjoy some stars and stripes before you head out for the weekend.

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At first glance this this group of photos is pretty eerie in a Dr. Strangelove type of way, but they have ice cream so how bad could it really be. Not to mention that pneumatic tube document delivery system. Any place with one of those is a-okay in my book. In fact, I am currently looking into installing a pneumatic tube document delivery system in my office, fuck email. If you are into the office tech of a certain sixties drama on AMC, then you will love this set of photos from the then “state-of-the-art” Pentagon from the early fifties, less than a decade after the building’s opening.

Man in the gray flannel suit (although that doesn't look like flannel)

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In 1925 there were an estimated 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasies in New York City alone. Near the end of the ban on alcohol in 1933 Life photographer Margaret Bourke-White captured some of the city’s elite speakeasies. What an amazing time, to be forced to enjoy to your after work libations underground. It is crazy to think that for 13 years (1920-1933) religious nuts took away America’s booze. I would be scared to see what New York would be like if the liquor was gone.

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In honor of Zack Galifianakis’ masterful performance in The Hangover (which is one of the most hilarious movies I have seen in some time), I present you with the Kansas City drunk test in its infancy. Do go see The Hangover, don’t drink and drive.

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Anyone that has spent time in Brooklyn should know the beautiful old Eagle Clothes sign that sits atop a rectangular shaped building on 6th Street (Between 3rd & 4th Avenue) in Park Slope. I have rode my bicycle past it at least 100 times and never knew what the building and the sign were all about, except that the sign is wonderful to look at. Just recently my interest in the sign and the company collided with none other than the Life photo archive, bringing Eagle Clothes full circle.

In the summer of 1951 a Life photographer (with a leaky camera) peeked in on the Eagle factory running at full steam making suits for all those GIs that returned home and needed suits. It is interesting to see that the factory looks to be very similar to some factories that are still operating in New York. Rocco Ciccarelli in Queens is a good example of a similar set-up, only smaller and most likely better quality.

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While a lot of the photographs in the Life archive are staged, there also exists an abundance of natural sartorial expression. As I sorted through the vast collection of images I started to pick up on the eyewear throughout the years on everyone from Joseph Kennedy to Le Corbusier. A group of my favorites after the jump.

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The Life archive continues to yield cool shit, like every U.S. military kit worn in 1941. This is the kind of stuff that I want to print out and put in a wooden box and save forever. Safe to say I love it. Since these photos were taken in the run-up to the U.S. involvement in the conflict, it would be interesting to see how the uniforms changed by the time they got to 1945, especially the cavalry uniforms. Wouldn’t think they saw much action in the the war, especially the Pacific theater.

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Break out your cable knits, white pants and saddle shoes and lets go play some squash. The Life archive produces some terrific images of the 1947 National Amateur squash tournament. Considering the style of the event, it is almost crazy to see how relevant the clothing is for today. Granted I’m not going to be wearing this to the office this summer, but it could work for some leisurely vacation activities. More photos after the jump.

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