A Foreign Country is a comic about history that interprets everyday life from the past as found in old newspapers and photographs.
New project: A Foreign Country
The Distant Past
Illustrated Victorian Photo Albums
Made in the 1860s, these illustrated photo albums feel ahead of their time.
Train Travel in the US
Vintage maps of train travel time from New York to the West.
Bros
I do love little mysteries like this—I mean, who are these dudes my great-grandpa is hanging out with under a number of various photo shooting scenarios? Found in a box at my grandparent’s house, these are going to require a little sleuthing.
Name
My dad found another box of stuff in the basement at my grandparent’s house. Going through it, we found a book from my great-grandfather’s funeral as well as his obituary and this letter to my great-grandmother from Podbiel, Slovakia—all of which spelled their last name as “Salus” (though I think that the letter on the … Read More
1936 Roadtrip
It’s the end of summer. There is a part of me these last weeks that has longed to be home, to go on a road trip, to be “somewhere in the West”—or at least have a valid Euro-driver’s license that would allow me to do a little adventuring. This road trip taken by my grandma … Read More
Fourth of July.
Last year’s Fourth was a scorcher; we picnicked in the Mauerpark with no shade. Afterwards, I went to a birthday party. It was one of those rare Berlin evenings when it stayed warm well past dark…and then a thunderstorm rolled in. Little did we know, but it was to be the beginning of weeks of … Read More
Skating party
The E. O. Zimmerman Residence, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1896. I love their coats. Photo: Minnesota Historical Society.
Blizzard
This weekend, while Berlin was being blessed with a sloppy melt, Minneapolis had an old-fashioned blizzard; 24 in (61 cm) by the time it was over.
Training
Mound, Minnesota circa 1950 This is how we roll where I come from; let the babes loose in the snow and let them figure it out. And yet despite my lifelong training, I almost managed to break my head last night on the Berlin sidewalks. + Fisheye, macro, and wide angle lenses for your camera … Read More
New sheriffs in town
Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, 1952 I saw a ghost from my balcony on Friday evening. Dusk was underway and no one was out—except for one really short, old-fashioned ghost (you know, the huge white sheet with cutout eye holes kind). The ghost was kicking its way through the fallen yellow leaves. I hadn’t seen any other … Read More
Out at the lake
At the moment, the talk of the town in Berlin is going to the lake: What lakes are the best for swimming? What lakes are the least crowded? Good questions because truth be told…I am a lake snob. My trip to the Schlachtensee a couple of summers ago reduced me to a deep despair. I … Read More
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