Otto Bettmann

The Good Old Days—were they really good? On the surface they appear to be so—especially the period to which this term is most often applied, the years from the end of the Civil War to the early 1900’s. This period of history has receded into a benevolent haze, leaving us with the image of an ebullient, carefree America, the fun and charm of the Gilded Age, the Gay Nineties. But this gaiety was only a brittle veneer that covered widespread turmoil and suffering. The good old days were good for but the privileged few. For the farmer, the laborer, the average breadwinner, life was an unremitting hardship. This segment of the populace was exploited or lived in the shadow of total neglect. And youth had no voice. These are the people, the mass of Americans, whose adversities this book attempts to chronicle.

The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!

Otto Bettmann's new book, Johann Sebastian Bach: As His World Knew Him, shows Bach with all his human qualities: the capable management of his vast family - two wives and twenty children - Bach's humor, his considerable business acumen, the all too human touches of eroticism, even his attitude toward death.

Johann Sebastian Bach as His World Knew Him

Looks at the negative aspects of American society between the 1860s and the early 1900s, including housing, education, food, travel, work, and health, illustrated with contemporary cartoons, prints, and photographs.

The Good Old Days--they Were Terrible!

Library of Congress. Center for the Book

Offers a collection of quotes, essays, and anecdotes, ranging from Victor Hugo to Winston Churchill

Otto Bettmann

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