118
votes
Accepted
Is this artwork (used in a video game) real?
Google image search brings this up pretty easily. (Image recognition technology is amazing these days.) It is The Abduction of Orithyia by Boreas, a late 17th century tapestry.
I gather it's ...
- 8,266
60
votes
Accepted
What mysterious Flemish peasant activity is depicted in this painting?
The question is:
Q: What mysterious Flemish peasant activity is depicted in this painting?
and one guess was:
Q: There is this activity he depicts in the background... It looks like shooting arrows ...
- 80.6k
57
votes
Accepted
Who is this young 'Prince'?
I don't know uniforms well enough to be completely affirmative, but all your clues and the physionomy of the boy remind me of French Imperial Prince Napoleon, son of Napoleon III.
He was born in ...
- 5,800
56
votes
Accepted
What coin is this and where is it from? Thai script, Thai arms. Rev: left facing portrait
It's a 1 Baht coin from Thailand, between 1957 and 1962:
Source: coinquest.com
See also "Reading Thai Numbers and Dates" by Portland Coins.
- 3,346
49
votes
Can anyone identify the military branch and rank of the man in the front row? This is from Germany @1932
This is a Railway (Reichsbahn) uniform from the period 1924 until June 1935.
The rank is probably Rangieraufseher (Shunting supervisor).
Ranks, 1924-1935-06
Railway Cap, 1924-1935-06
Source:
...
- 9,490
47
votes
Accepted
Does anyone recognize the identity and location of this octagonal structure?
This was the Tannenberg Memorial, built near the town of Hohenstein, East Prussia (now Olsztynek, Poland).
Built in the mid-1920's, it was a monument dedicated to the German soldiers who fought in ...
- 3,994
46
votes
What ship is this and which military campaign?
Postcards produced on Kodak Professional AZO paper had 'AZO stamp boxes' on the reverse. The style of these boxes varied over time.
In this case, we have four triangles in the corners of the stamp ...
- 77.2k
45
votes
Accepted
What's the festival shown in this illustration?
It's the Wedding at Cana.
The text is in Swedish, written with Gothic script (this was common up to the end of the nineteenth century in Sweden). The text is
... madd [sic!], som blir smakelig. Om ...
- 5,681
43
votes
Accepted
Who is depicted in this Soleimani propaganda image?
The website apparently originating this image has a fuller/bigger version of it:
From that we can conclude a few things:
The helmet wearing people are 'old warriors'. Since they are not even ...
- 80.6k
43
votes
Accepted
What paintings might these be (2 sketches made in the Tate Britain Gallery)?
The top one might be Thomas Daniell, Idgah at Amroha 1810
While the bottom one is John Linnell, Kensington Gravel Pits 1811–2
Both images are copyright: © Tate under CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported)
- 18.8k
40
votes
Accepted
Where (if anywhere) were X-ray machines put on trains or trolleys to image "Everybody over 14 years old"?
It was in Glasgow in 1957, as part of the city's fight against tuberculosis. It's worth noting that the X-Ray machines weren't actually on the tram. It was simply used to advertise the campaign.
[...
- 77.2k
39
votes
What is the date and original source of this medieval picture?
This a picture called
"La foire du Lendit" Pontifical de Sens, France, 14th century
BnF Ms. Latin 962, fol. 264
Source: Medieval Trade and Travel: Home
And can be dated with additional ...
- 80.6k
37
votes
Accepted
Can you help identify these medals?
These are World War One medals. This specific set is typical and is called affectionately Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, after the then popular cartoon.
The first from the left is the
1914–15 Star
(click ...
- 80.6k
35
votes
What type of plane is this wreck?
It is, in fact, a twin-engined American P38 Lightning:
That particular aircraft was shot down on 27 January 27 1944. The wreck is located in Lecques Bay at a depth of about 40 meters, about one ...
- 77.2k
35
votes
What is the object moving across the ceiling in this stock footage?
Confirming Brian Z and his answer: this is most likely a penumatic tube mail system. And strictly speaking: "What is the object moving…?" –
It's not a "cuboid box" but a cylindrical container, also ...
- 80.6k
34
votes
Accepted
Flag with 13 white stars and a crescent on red background
It might be a Confederate flag, specifically the Van Dorn battle flag:
Quoting its wikipedia description:
The Van Dorn battle flag is a historical Confederate flag with a red field depicting a white ...
- 23.2k
34
votes
Accepted
Identify the circa 1920 uniform in this photo
Found it. This is an RFC or Royal Flying Corp cap badge. I thought the picture was showing BBS but it's not. The angle, the quality of the picture and the loop for securing it to the bonnet was ...
- 2,323
32
votes
Accepted
In this cartoon from Puck, what indicates the identities of France and Britain?
Short Answer
The identities of France and Britain are indicated by their heads of state, namely President Armand Fallières and King Edward VII respectively. There is also (as Roddy of the Frozen Peas ...
- 108k
32
votes
Identifying this uniform, possibly German or Polish
Bunzlau is now in Poland and called Bolesławiec. Back then it was in Silesia, thus Prussia and therefore in Germany.
The photographer is given as "Otto Scholz", a German, not a Polish name, ...
- 80.6k
32
votes
Can anyone identify the military branch and rank of the man in the front row? This is from Germany @1932
If this is the relevant person:
(click to enlarge pictures)
then the actual salient points are:
cap: 'flying/winged wheels', double cockade -> Reichsbahn employee
shoulderboards to be expected ...
- 80.6k
31
votes
Accepted
Which period is this game map supposed to represent?
1400
A notable feature of this map is the English possession of Western France, which means that it's no later than 1453, when France took Bordeaux. Since in the Diplomacy game you color only the ...
- 1,313
31
votes
When would one carry a sword on a shoulder with grip upwards?
This is anecdotal, but enough people seemed to like my comment and OP had further questions, so I'm posting it anyway.
I did some re-enactment in my time. My weapon of choice was a longsword. (Well, a ...
- 13.4k
30
votes
What is this metallic object with teeth in mouth, screw to tighten and a handle?
A similar item was sold at an auction site here.
The item listed on that site is called a 'wild meat clamp' and is described as made to hold chicken legs or leg-of-lamb.
The French term Manche a ...
- 38.5k
28
votes
Can someone identify this banknote?
This is a Taiwanese bankote with a face value of TWD $10. It depicts Dr Sun Yat-sen with the Presidential Office in Taipei on the reverse. The text says "Bank of Taiwan", the issuing authority, and "...
- 97.2k
28
votes
What is this old farm "combine"?
The machine the tractor is pulling is a grain reaper-binder, possibly a McCormick-Deering.
The reaper-binder, or binder, is a farm implement that improved upon the simple reaper. The binder was ...
- 1,126
28
votes
What do the insignias on the collar shown in this photograph stand for?
I believe this uniform is from the Austrio-Hungarian empire, WWI era.
Two six-pointed stars would indicate a Korporal, and the exact unit insignia can be seen by scrolling down in the pages shown (...
- 38.5k
27
votes
Accepted
What flag has a blue-grey background and an orange-outlined green cross?
The pattern you show is called a Nordic Cross. Searching for flags with Nordic crosses comes up with the Flag of Vendsyssel, which is a traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. (See Vendsyssel ...
- 38.5k
27
votes
Accepted
What era is this German 10 DM banknote from?
The design is that of the "sailing ship" 10 Deutsche Mark note, a banknote first issued in 1960. The front features a 16th century painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder. On a real version of the note, ...
- 97.2k
27
votes
Accepted
Who are the three men standing and what are they holding at this University of Paris Doctors' Meeting?
The three man are, also according to the text, the three rectors present at a faculty meeting. The staffs they are carrying are rectorial staffs ("Rektorstab"), symbolising their honour and ...
- 80.6k
27
votes
Accepted
What is the date and original source of this medieval picture?
The image shows shows the Fair at Lendit in France. It is taken from a 15th century manuscript held at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris France.
MS Latin 962 folio 264.
The suggested date for ...
- 77.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible