When it comes to the Life photo archive I seem to be stuck in the year 1942. The mining always begins at random places and seems to inevitably end up around WWII. The Brooklyn Navy Yard has long been a fascination of mine, and these pictures of war-time industry help to scratch that itch. One day when ACL is a massive corporation (with interests in everything from ladies undergarments to heavy equipment; just like the Japanese!) the world headquarters will hopefully be at the navy yard in good ole Kings County, Brooklyn USA.

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Another gem from the Life archive are these shots from the famous endurance race Le Mans. Unlike Formula 1 where you rarely see anyone overtaken and the cars are as fragile as crystal stemware, Le Mans is the ultimate test of speed and reliability. I can only imagine the what it would be like to drive around for 24 straight hours at those speeds, without a windscreen or cockpit. (See sixth photo.)

Update: Check out Truth in 24 (and download for free). Many thanks to reader Drew for the tip.

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These photos could be from ’65 or they could be from last week. I saw so many fully bearded guys wearing 1960s/70s vintage clothes in Austin this past week that one would never be able to differentiate. I’m sure if you ran into these Hell’s Angles on the open road it would be another story all together. Be sure to enlarge all of the photos to get a closer look. In one particular picture — the guy drinking the beer on the sidewalk — he appears to be wearing selvage denim. It amazes me how relevant it is considering today’s style.

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The 1956 movie based on Sloan Wilson’s best seller is one of my all time favorite films. It served as the inspiration for some of my modern day obsessions like Mad Men. There are even some excellent images in Take Ivy that document the same type of Madison Avenue business man from the late 50s early 1960s. Long before we had Thom Browne and Donald Draper there was Mr. Gregory Peck in his gray flannel suit.

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Impossible to say if the LIFE Archive will ever stop producing jaw dropping images. These photos of cadets at West Point circa 1936 show the day-to-day happenings of the class of 1938. It is almost certain that all of the cadets pictured went on to fight in World War II. From an aesthetic standpoint, these shots are top notch. I made a comment about a sweater in the CCC post that is worth repeating here; I can almost hear the printers rolling at Ralph Lauren. Someone make a mental note about that 1938 sweater — if we’re lucky we will see it in the company’s AW10 collection. More images after the jump.

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The Stork Club was a famous Manhattan night club that was founded by Oklahoma native and ex-bootlegger Sherman Billingsley (ed. note: amazing name), and operated continuously from 1929-1965. The NYC hot spot — which was located on 53rd Street near Fifth Avenue — was a destination for celebrities, artists, writers and wealthy people in general. You might remember The Stork Club from an appearance in the second season of Mad Men when Don and Betty infamously attended a party hosted by Jimmy Barrett.

While cruising through the LIFE archive, I found a mesmerizing series of images of Mr. Billingsley demonstrating his own brand of nightclub-code via hand gestures. The full set of images are below.

LIFE caption: Closeup of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley w. hand on tie, one of his elaborate signals to his nearby assistant which means “No check for this table,” while sitting w. patrons over his usual Coca Cola, in the Cub Room.

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The Merritt Parkway is my favorite drive in the tri-state. It is one of the most beautiful stretches of road that I have ever traveled. Reminds me of Donald Draper driving home from the train (although the Drapers live in Westchester) and recently the Route 12 scene from Revolutionary Road. The Merritt connects some of Fairfield County’s best towns, Westport, New Canaan and Greenwich.  I bet Ralph takes his Bugatti out for a Sunday drive on this historic stretch of road in the heart of WASPy Connecticut.

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Another great LIFE archive find are these color shots from Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut during the 1940s. Electric boat is the premier submarine manufacturer in the U.S., possibly in the world. My grandfather worked for General Dynamics (who owns Electric Boat) in sixties overseeing the construction of nuclear missile installations all over the country. Eventually, the family settled in the Groton area after he moved to the Electric Boat division. My father was stationed at the New London naval submarine base, which is how my parents met. Long story short, that is my connection to these images — not considering the work wear quality of the photos. You really have to hand it to the women of the era, they stepped up in a major way. This first shot below — the woman with the Acetylene torch —is a really powerful image.

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The second installment of Pacific Theater images from the LIFE archive. Be sure to click on the images to see the details. The shots of the fighters over the ocean really blew me away. I came across a lot of images of “deck scenes,” showing the solders en route to their next engagement. It looked hot and boring, not to mention nerve-racking. Part I can be seen here.

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The LIFE photo archive has been a welcome distraction for me. I have been mining the vast collections since they went live a few weeks ago, and so far the most difficult decision has been exactly where do to start. So far I found some mind-numbingly great groups of photos and might just need to send Flickr Find on vacation.

The first collection I present to you is WWII Pacific Theater operations in color. This is the real life Navy-ism (sans irony of course), in beautiful color and high-resolution. Click the photos to get all of the real-deal 1940s details.

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