This photo is being shared all over the internet as being a picture of famous fashion designer Coco Chanel in 1913. It is not. This is model Edita Vilkeviciute as Chanel in the short movie “Paris-Moscou” by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, made in 2008. You can see it here; More pictures here;wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/gallery/lagerfelds-… It is probably … More NOT a young Coco Chanel in 1913
This photo is shared all over the internet with a description suggesting that this is 23 month old François Bertillon his mugshot after being caught nibbling ALL the pears from a basket. The picture is not what it seems. Although countless children were indeed arrested for all kinds of crimes, including petty ones, this child … More NOT a mugshot of criminal toddler François Bertillon
This photo can be found all over the internet claiming to show Billie Holiday, Clora bryant or Valaida Snow. It does not. For starters, Billie Holiday, one of the best singers ever, was born in 1915. Valaida Snow, amazing musician, was born in 1904. You don’t have to be an expert to see that this … More NOT Billie Holiday, Clora Bryant or Valaida Snow
This photo is shared all over the internet with the claim that it shows Bertha Benz (née Ringer, 3 May 1849 – 5 May 1944) and her sons Richard and Eugen during the first ever cross-country auto mobile journey in 1888. They DID make that trip and it made history, I advice everyone to look … More NOT Bertha Benz during first car trip in 1888
These pictures are shared all over the internet as being an authentic historical photo of the actual execution of famous Dutch spy Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod) in 1917. They’re not. When Mata Hari was shot, on the 15th of October 1917, no photos of the execution were taken, there is one photo online showing … More NOT the real execution of Mata Hari
This picture can be found all over the internet being described as two ladies or two prostitutes, a so called Tauentzien team (lower class prostitutes) taking a taxi in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, in the 1920s. I immediately had my doubts about the description of this picture, unless their job was mentioned in the … More NOT two prostitutes in 1920s Berlin
This picture shows famous actress Clara Bow in an outfit decorated with swastikas.It is shared all over the internet claiming to have been taken during a 1932 promotion trip to Germany where she met Hitler, sometimes it is even suggested it shows she supported Nazism. That is incorrect. Clara Bow did go to Germany in … More NOT Clara Bow being a Nazi
This famous photo is shared all over the internet as supposedly being made during the cold war in Berlin on the border between east and west and showing West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other while a woman has just crossed from one side to the other. You will find this photo … More NOT an 1955 Berlin border crossing
This photo is used all over the internet, generally described as an 1920s photo showing some typical flappers.Even renowned websites used it and I wouldn’t be surprised if it made its way into a few books or documentaries. Here for instance, it’s used as a cover illustration for a book about youth culture before the … More Not a real 1920s photo of dancing flappers
This picture has been shared online countless time with the claim of it being a mugshot of Pep, the dog who was sentenced to life in prison for killing Pennsylvania governor’s cat, 1924. It is not.This story was debunked all the way back in the 1920s but keeps being shared online to this day. The … More Pep, NOT a cat murdering prison inmate
