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The pictures behind the memories

These photographs come from public collections and photographers who have made their work available for reuse. A photograph’s date may differ from the period discussed in a story. Credits and licenses apply to the individual images.

Making a mixtape was half the fun

Hmvh / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

A collection of well-used audio cassettes, photographed in 2009.

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When the family phone belonged to the whole house

ProhibitOnions / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

A Western Electric Model 500 rotary telephone, photographed in the modern era.

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There was always a place for you at the diner

Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress. Public domain.

The Modern Diner in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The archive dates this photograph between 1980 and 2006.

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When a trip to the mall was the whole afternoon

Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress. Public domain.

An indoor shopping mall photographed by Carol M. Highsmith. The archive dates the image to 1980–1990.

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The day your music could go everywhere with you

Retired electrician / Wikimedia Commons. CC0.

A later Sony Walkman WM-28, a European-market model. This is not the original 1979 TPS-L2.

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Movie night began before you got home

Jacek Halicki / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and cropped for display; photograph remains under CC BY-SA 4.0.

A VHS cassette photographed in 2023. An illustration of the format, rather than a period video-store photograph.

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Before it was an icon, saving meant a floppy disk

Jacek Halicki / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and cropped for display; photograph remains under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Verbatim 3.5-inch floppy disks and packaging, photographed in 2023.

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