Trends of the Decades - The 1950s
In the same way that the 1920s welcomed a time of uplifting change following The First World War, the ‘50s opened to a world cast in the light of a new high-spirited dawn.
It was a time that witnessed growing financial prosperity, the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll, and the birth of fast-food giant McDonalds. The iconic Mini launched onto the roads of Britain, and Sputnik 1 launched into the stratosphere. Elvis was checking in at the Heartbreak Hotel, whilst James Dean was a Rebel Without a Cause.
The Tempest Photography Timeline
For Tempest Photography and founder, Horace, this decade saw the business move to new heights, quite literally!
Having seen the opportunity for aerial photography, Horace took it upon himself to gain his pilot licence and take to the skies as Tempest’s new high-flying specialist. Meanwhile, the company relocated from their former Nottingham home to a new base on the outskirts of St.Ives, Cornwall. Landing at Trevethoe House, Tempest Photography had found a place that would become home and, spoiler alert, remains so a cool sixty years later!
Photography in the ‘50s
By the time we enter the ‘50s, the photograph has become the number one global diet for news consumption. The scope and versatility of the ever-evolving medium was attracting artists, visionaries and advertisers who saw how the camera was a powerful tool for communication in the mid-twentieth century.
The Big Moments
Elizabeth II becomes Queen of England and begins a reign that is destined to span 70 years and touch countless hearts.
In 1953, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, is published. Early readers are said to have been shaken but not stirred.
Rosa Parks created a storm that sparked change when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Alabama. Her actions that day inspired a civil rights movement that paved the way to abolish racial segregation in America. Rosa Parks continues to be a symbol of dignified strength to this day.
1958 brings the arrival of the Hula-Hoop, a toy designed to make anybody over thirty look a little silly. Doesn’t stop us though, right!
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Hillary spoke of his ‘great satisfaction’ at scaling Everest, considering himself an ordinary person who had done an extraordinary thing.
The Soundtrack
The youthful, rebellious sounds of rock ‘n’ roll were reverberating throughout the decade. Teens clamoured to scream and faint before Elvis, Chuck Berry was duck-walking across stages throughout America, and Fats Domino dreamed of Blueberry Hill. It was a landmark moment for music that saw the gentle blues of the ‘30s take on a new vibrancy and swagger in the ‘50s.
Our Favourites:
Elvis Presley – Hound Dog
Eddie Cochran – Summertime Blues
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
Chuck Berry – Johnny B Goode
Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue
The fifties are often remembered as a golden age. A time when the world was recovering from war, the youth of the day were unbridled and excited for the future, and science was carrying mankind into new discoveries both on, and off the planet.
Then came the sixties, and well, things only got wilder!
See you there!