← the american shelf

image credits.

Every object photograph on the shelf comes from an open collection: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NASA, and the National Archives. Images are public domain, CC0, CC BY, or CC BY-SA as noted; follow a source link for the full file history and author. Hero photographs are the maker's own.

1776
Dunlap broadside
File:Dunlap Broadside (Declaration of Independence) - NARA - 301682.jpg
Public domain
1777
thirteen-star flag
File:Old flag found in Betsy Ross house by Charies Mund (1890).png
Public domain
1778
powder horn
File:Powder horn, engraved Jonathan Gardner His Horn 1776, Concord Museum
Public domain
1779
whale-oil lamp
File:Whale oil lamp.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1780
Windsor chair
File:Windsor Armchair MET 154654.jpg
CC0
1781
field drum
File:Side Drum MET MUS590A.jpg
CC0
1782
Great Seal of the United States
File:First Die of the Great Seal of the United States - NARA - 596742 (page 2).jpg
Public domain
1783
Indian peace medal
File:Indian Peace Medal 1792 Obverse.jpg
Public domain
1784
Franklin bifocals
File:Bifocals by Benjamin Franklin - Franklin Institue - DSC06605.JPG
Public domain
1785
early US dollar (Continental dollar)
File:Continental Dollar, 1776, pewter - National Museum of American History - DSC00243.jpg
CC0
1786
American rocking chair
File:Rocking Chair MET DT323838.jpg
CC0
1787
US Constitution parchment
File:Constitution of the United States, page 1.jpg
Public domain
1788
The Federalist bound volume
File:The Federalist (1st ed, 1788, vol I, title page).jpg
Public domain
1789
Washington inaugural button
Metropolitan Museum of Art, object 1065, brass "Long Live the President" GW button, ca. 1789, images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ad/web-large/70273.jpg
CC0 |
1790
first US patent
File:United States Patent X1.png
Public domain
1791
The Bill of Rights
File:Bill of Rights Pg1of1 AC.jpg
Public domain
1792
first US Mint coin (1792 half disme)
File:1792 half disme obv.jpg
Public domain
1793
cotton gin
File:Model Eli Whitney Cotton Gin 1794.jpg
Public domain
1794
turnpike milestone
File:America's Highways 1776-1976 - Milepost 10 miles west of Philadelphia on the old Lancaster Turnpike.jpg
Public domain
1795
Conestoga wagon
File:Conestoga Wagon, about 1840-1850 - National Museum of American History - DSC06101.JPG
CC0
1796
American Cookery title page
Wikimedia Commons, File:American Cookery (1st Ed, 1796, cover).jpg
Public domain |
1797
cast-iron plow
Wikimedia Commons, File:Plow display, Red Mill, Clinton, NJ.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 | 19th-century walking plow at the Red Mill Museum Village; stand-in for the Newbold cast-iron plow
1798
contract musket (Springfield Model 1795)
File:Springfield Model 1795-NMAH-AHB2015q026641.jpg
Public domain
1799
Washington mourning art
File:Thomas Clarke, Sacred to the Memory of the Illustrious George Washington, 1801, NGA 169538.jpg
CC0
1800
Library of Congress
Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith, Main Reading Room dome, Thomas Jefferson Building, loc.gov/item/2007684367/
Public domain, no known restrictions |
1801
Finley chain suspension bridge
File:View of the Chain Bridge invented by James Finley Esqr. - Wm. Strickland del. ; B. Tanner sc. LCCN2015645685.jpg
Public domain
1802
du Pont powder keg
Wikimedia Commons, File:Pigon & Wilks gunpowder barrel at the Citadel Hill (Fort George) gunpowder magazine.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 | 100 lb gunpowder keg dated 1858 in the Halifax Citadel magazine; stand-in for a du Pont keg, none freely licensed
1803
Louisiana Purchase map
File:Geography 028 - Map of the Louisiana Purchase - 1803.jpg
Public domain
1804
expedition compass
Metropolitan Museum of Art, object 8029, American surveyor's compass, ca. 1800, images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ad/web-large/238384.jpg
CC0 | period American surveyor's compass; stand-in for the Lewis and Clark pocket compass
1805
apple seedling (Johnny Appleseed)
File:Johnny Appleseed 1.jpg
Public domain
1806
ice harvesting
File:NSRW Ice Harvesting - sawing.jpg
Public domain
1807
Fulton steamboat Clermont
File:Clermont replica.jpg
Public domain
1808
beaver pelt
File:Photograph of Beaver Pelt - NARA - 2128191.jpg
Public domain
1809
Knickerbocker History of New York
File:A History of New York (IA historyofnewyork01irvi).pdf page 1
Public domain
1810
circular saw blade
File:Sawmill Circular Saw Blade.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1811
National Road marker
File:Milestone Cumberland 289 - National Road Museum - DSC02759.JPG
CC0
1812
USS Constitution
File:USS Constitution fires a 17-gun salute.jpg
Public domain
1813
power loom
File:Power Loom MOSI-11 Textile gallery 5597.JPG
CC BY 3.0
1814
Star-Spangled Banner flag
File:Star-Spangled Banner in West Wing of Smithsonian Institution Building.jpg
Public domain
1815
percussion cap firearm
File:Percussion Cap Pistol (9885371016).jpg
CC0
1816
gas streetlamp
File:GasLight-Large.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1817
Erie Canal construction
File:Building a feeder for Erie Canal, with boat (4419913253).jpg
No known copyright restrictions
1818
tin peddler cart
File:The peddler's wagon - drawn by C.G. Bush. LCCN2004669981.jpg
Public domain
1819
SS Savannah
File:Savannah (1819 steamship).jpg
Public domain
1820
whaling harpoon
File:Harpoon head, whaling (AM 1968.12).jpg
CC BY 4.0
1821
Saturday Evening Post
Wikimedia Commons, File:Saturday Evening Post Cover 1917 01 13.jpg
Public domain | cover of the January 13, 1917 issue; the 1821 founding-era issues have no clean scans
1822
Lowell bobbin
Wikimedia Commons, File:Weaver in Weave Room (cd3123ca-155d-451f-678a-88b4cac9fae9).jpg, NPS photo, Lowell National Historical Park
Public domain | weaver at power looms in the Boott Cotton Mills weave room; looms and bobbins rather than a single bobbin
1823
A Visit from St. Nicholas
File:A Visit From St Nicholas - Troy Sentinel.png
Public domain
1824
Lafayette tour souvenir medal
File:Medal of the Marquis de Lafayette MET 25793.jpg
CC0
1825
Erie Canal keg
File:WLA nyhistorical Keg with stand from Erie Canal celebration.jpg
CC BY 2.5
1826
Last of the Mohicans
File:The Last of the Mohicans title page (1826).jpg
Public domain
1827
Audubon Birds of America plate
File:The birds of America. (Livraison) 1, Plate I, Great American Cock Male; Vulgo Wild Turkey - btv1b53144013v.jpg
Public domain
1828
Webster dictionary 1828
File:Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language Title Page.jpg
Public domain
1829
Burt typographer patent
File:Typographer patent 1829.jpg
Public domain
1830
Tom Thumb locomotive replica
File:Tom Thumb-1.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1831
McCormick reaper
File:McCormick Reaper, 1845.jpg
Public domain
1832
horse-drawn streetcar
File:Horse-drawn streetcar no. 148 of a New York City system LCCN2004667717.jpg
Public domain
1833
New York Sun penny press
File:The Sun (New York) N.1.jpg
Public domain
1834
cast-iron parlor stove
File:Cast iron stove with iron on top Yarmouth County Museum.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
1835
abolitionist pamphlet
File:Declaration of sentiments and constitution of the American anti-slavery society (IA declarationofsen01amer).pdf page 1
Public domain
1836
Colt Paterson revolver
File:Colt Holster Model Paterson Revolver No.5-01.jpg
CC0
1837
steel plow
Wikimedia Commons, File:Early John Deere plow.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 | early John Deere plow, ca. 1845, made in Grand Detour, displayed at The Henry Ford Museum
1838
Trail of Tears
Wikimedia Commons, File:A deep trail trace at Village Creek State Park in Wynne, Arkansas (9d6045d1-69d5-41b8-b1c2-ff475778bc76).JPG, NPS National Trails Office
Public domain | surviving trail trace on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail; used in place of an artifact, per guidance
1839
vulcanized rubber
Metropolitan Museum of Art, object 112774, rubber and silk overshoes, 1845-50, images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ci/web-large/1986.115.1ab_F.jpg
CC0 | rubber overshoes from the first decade of vulcanization
1840
daguerreotype portrait
File:Woman with an Accordion daguerreotype MET DP225645.jpg
CC0
1841
prairie schooner covered wagon
File:Covered wagon at the High Desert Museum Outside.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
1842
grain elevator Buffalo
File:Dart Elevator drawing.jpg
Public domain
1843
Oregon Trail guidebook
File:Guidebooks to the Oregon Trail in the 1840s.png
Public domain
1844
Morse telegraph
File:PSM V03 D423 Morse telegraph.jpg
Public domain
1845
Knickerbocker baseball club
File:New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club, circa 1847.jpg
Public domain
1846
Howe sewing machine
File:1846 - Elias Howe Jr.'s Sewing Machine Patent Model, from the National Museum of American History - NMAH-DOR2010-0923-000001.jpg
Public domain
1847
1847 US postage stamp
File:Stamp US 1847 5c.jpg
Public domain
1848
gold pan
File:Pan, gold (AM 1926.156-1).jpg
CC BY 4.0
1849
safety pin patent
File:Safety pin patent 4.jpg
Public domain
1850
fugitive slave notice
File:Female Runaway Slave, Illustrated Reward Broadside, Alexandria, Virginia, 1851.jpg
Public domain
1851
clipper ship Flying Cloud
File:Flying Cloud (ship, 1851)-The clipper ship era 1843-1869 (1910) frontispiece (14759524986).jpg
No known restrictions
1852
Uncle Tom's Cabin first edition
File:Uncle Tom's Cabin, vol 1 - title.png
Public domain
1853
The Steinway
File:Grand Piano MET DT8236.jpg
CC0
1854
Otis safety elevator demonstration
File:Elisha OTIS 1854.jpg
Public domain
1855
Leaves of Grass first edition
File:Leaves of Grass (1855) cover.jpg
Public domain
1856
Borden condensed milk can
File:Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk (front).jpg
CC BY 2.0
1857
Gayetty toilet paper ad
File:GayettysMedicatedPaperAdvertisement.jpg
Public domain
1858
Mason jar
File:Mason jar (26880076552).jpg
CC BY 2.0
1859
Drake oil well derrick Titusville
File:First Oil Well.jpg
Public domain
1860
Pony Express mochila
File:Pony Express mochila exhibit.jpg
Public domain
1861
minie ball civil war bullet
File:Civil War Minie ball, standing.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1862
greenback legal tender note 1862
File:US-$1-LT-1862-Fr-16c.jpg
Public domain
1863
Emancipation Proclamation broadside
File:Emancipation proclamation typeset signed.jpg
Public domain
1864
1864 two cent piece In God We Trust
File:1864 Large Motto Two-cent piece reverse.jpg
Public domain
1865
Stetson Boss of the Plains hat
File:Boss of the Plains hat (cropped).jpg
No known restrictions
1866
Vernors ginger ale bottle
File:Vernors ginger ale.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1867
Alaska purchase Treasury warrant
File:United States Treasury warrant in the amount of $7,200,000 for the purchase of the Alaska Territory from the Russians, dated (AL+CA 506).jpg
Public domain
1868
Sholes and Glidden typewriter
File:Remington No. 1 typewriter, made by Remington & Songs, Ilion, NY, 1873-1878, the first Sholes & Glidden model typewriter made by Remington - Wisconsin Historical Museum - DSC02802.JPG
CC0
1869
golden spike Promontory
File:The Last Spike 1869.jpg
Public domain
1870
15th Amendment celebration print
File:The Fifteenth Amendment. Celebrated May 19th, 1870 LCCN2003690776.jpg
Public domain
1871
Nast Boss Tweed cartoon
File:Boss Tweed, Nast.jpg
Public domain
1872
Yellowstone Moran painting
File:The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Thomas Moran.jpeg
Public domain
1873
Levi's 501
Wikimedia Commons, File:Copper-Riveted Blue Jeans -- after 1873 (53745883086).jpg
CC0 | period Levi Strauss and Co "Patent Riveted Clothing" trade label; no public domain 19th-century 501s exist
1874
Glidden barbed wire patent
File:Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire - NARA - 302051.jpg
Public domain
1875
baseball glove
Wikimedia Commons, File:Baseball glove, 1904.jpg
Public domain | 1904 glove illustration; earliest freely licensed glove image found
1876
Bell telephone liquid transmitter 1876
File:Bell liquid telephone transmitter 1876.png
Public domain
1877
Edison tinfoil phonograph
File:Edison's 1877 Cylinder Tinfoil Phonograph (photo 1 of 2) (Smithsonian)
Public domain
1878
glass milk bottle
File:Bottle, milk (AM 616675).jpg
CC BY 4.0
1879
Edison light bulbs 1879-1880
File:Thomas Edison Lightbulbs 1879-1880.jpg
CC BY 3.0
1880
early National cash register
File:Old National cash register "Muren" in Calico.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1881
American Red Cross service flag poster
File:Have you a Red Cross service flag?.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1882
Edison Pearl Street Jumbo dynamo
File:Edisons Jumbo dynamo in Pearl Street NYC.jpg
Public domain
1883
Brooklyn Bridge under construction
File:Brooklyn Bridge Under Construction 1878.jpg
Public domain
1884
Waterman fountain pen
File:Old waterman pen.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1885
Home Insurance Building Chicago
File:Home Insurance Building.JPG
Public domain
1886
drugstore soda fountain
File:Drugstore and soda fountain LCCN2013646069.jpg
Public domain
1887
indoor baseball team Chicago
File:Chicago in door base ball team LCCN89712595.jpg
Public domain
1888
Kodak camera patent drawing 1888
File:George Eastman patent no 388,850.png
Public domain
1889
coin operated phonograph (early jukebox)
File:First Juke Box in the World made by the Multi-Phonograph Company in Grand Rapids in 1904.jpg
CC0
1890
Hollerith punch card
File:Hollerith Punched Card.jpg
Public domain
1891
early basketball team
File:Ohio state basketball team 1899.jpg
Public domain
1892
Ellis Island ship manifest
File:Ellis Island Passenger Manifest - 1903 - Italy.png
Public domain
1893
1893 Ferris wheel Chicago
File:World's Columbian Exposition Ferris Wheel, Chicago, United States, 1893..jpg
Public domain
1894
Edison kinetoscope souvenir film strip
File:The souvenir strip of Edison Kinetoscope Eugene (i.e. Eugen) Sandow, the modern Hercules - taken and copyrighted by W.K.L. Dickson. LCCN2013645430.jpg
Public domain
1895
Yellow Kid comic
File:The Yellow Kid Well here's to happy days, see - R.F. Outcault. LCCN00650391.jpg
Public domain
1896
RFD rural mail delivery wagon
File:Photograph of Rural Free Delivery wagon with horse in Osseo, Minnesota (4011437780).jpg
No known restrictions
1897
Jell-O package advertisement c. 1912
File:Orange Jell-O (Culinary Ephemera - Gelatin and Tapioca, c. 1912).png
Public domain
1898
Kellogg's corn flakes advertisement 1908
File:Kellogg's TOASTED CORN FLAKES advertisement, United States, 1908.webp
Public domain
1899
Gem paper clips
File:Buroklammern -- 2021 -- 6481.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1900
Kodak Brownie camera
File:2014-365-233 The Basic Brownie Camera (14809795240).jpg
CC0
1901
Curved dash Oldsmobile
File:Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout 1902.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1902
Willis Carrier (air conditioning inventor, no clean apparatus photo found)
File:Willis Carrier 1915 (cropped).jpg
Public domain
1903
Wright Flyer 1903
File:Wright Flyer 1903.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1904
Early teddy bear
File:Teddy bear early 1900s - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
1905
Nickelodeon era movie theatre crowd, Yonge Street
File:CrowdsinfrontofYongeStreettheatre.jpg
Public domain
1906
Victrola cranking phonograph cabinet
File:File-Victrola cranking phonograph-Mahogany case with hinged 4-sided lid (c8df4981-4b11-4a19-af41-377ab29b2401).jpg
Public domain
1907
Thor electric washing machine
File:The Thor Electric Washing and Wringing Machine (cropped).jpg
Public domain
1908
Ford Model T
File:Ford Model T fra 1908.jpg
Public domain
1909
1909-S VDB Lincoln cent
File:1909-S VDB Lincoln cent obverse.jpg
Public domain
1910
Boy Scouts handbook 1910 (cover page)
File:Boy scouts of America - a handbook of woodcraft scouting, and life-craft.pdf
Public domain
1911
Marmon Wasp (1911 Indy 500 winner)
File:1911 Marmon Wasp (27380094131).jpg
CC BY 2.0
1912
Oreo cookies
File:Oreo-Two-Cookies.jpg
Public domain
1913
Ford assembly line Highland Park 1913
File:Ford assembly line - 1913.jpg
Public domain
1914
First electric traffic signal corner, E 105th and Euclid Ave, Cleveland
File:E.105th and Euclid Avenue.jpg
Public domain
1915
Coca-Cola contour bottle 1915 prototype
File:1915 proto hiRes.jpg
Public domain
1916
Piggly Wiggly store, 1918 photo
File:Piggly Wiggly 1918.jpg
Public domain
1917
M1917 Brodie helmet
File:M1917helmet.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1918
1918 influenza gauze mask, elevator operator NYC
File:Medical Department - Influenza Epidemic 1918 - MASKS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST INFLUENZA. Elevator operator in New York City, N.Y., wearing mask - NARA - 45499395 (cropped).jpg
Public domain
1919
hip flask
Wikimedia Commons, File:Flask, hip (AM 2003.99.13-2).jpg, photo Auckland Museum
CC BY 4.0 | WW1 soldier's aluminium hip flask engraved with battle names and dated 1915 to 1919; stand-in for a prohibition liquor flask
1920
Women voting 1920
File:Women's suffrage 1920 election 09 02 1920.jpg
Public domain
1921
Marconi Type 106 crystal radio receiver
File:Marconi Type 106 crystal radio receiver.jpg
Public domain
1922
Lincoln Memorial dedication 1922
File:Lincoln Memorial Dedication with President Harding crop.jpg
Public domain
1923
Q-tips pack
File:Q-Tips German Pack.jpg
CC0
1924
Clarence Birdseye (frozen food pioneer, no clean product photo found)
File:Clarence Birdseye 1930.jpg
Public domain
1925
The Great Gatsby first edition cover
File:The Great Gatsby Cover 1925 Retouched.jpg
Public domain
1926
Goddard liquid fuel rocket 1926
File:Dr Robert H Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926.jpg
Public domain
1927
Spirit of St. Louis
File:Spirit of St Louis Smithsonian 01 2012 258.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1928
Steamboat Willie
File:Mickey Mouse - Steamboat Willie (1928).jpg
Public domain (film PD since 2024)
1929
Stock ticker machine (Edison, Smithsonian)
File:Thomas Edison stock ticker NMAH-JN2014-3625.jpg
Public domain
1930
Clear adhesive tape rolls (cellophane tape)
File:Adhesive tapes clear.JPG
Public domain
1931
Empire State Building
File:Empire State Building (aerial view).jpg
Public domain
1932
Breadline, New York City, Great Depression
File:Depression, Breadlines-long line of people waiting to be fed, New York City - NARA - 196499.tif
Public domain
1933
CCC workers
File:Civilian Conservation Corps workers (8043611757).jpg
Public domain
1934
Pioneer Zephyr streamliner
File:Pioneer Zephyr.JPG
Public domain
1935
Social Security card
File:Photograph of a Social Security Card - NARA - 595679.gif
Public domain
1936
Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange
File:Lange-MigrantMother02.jpg
Public domain
1937
Golden Gate Bridge
File:San Francisco (CA, USA), Golden Gate Bridge -- 2012 -- 4504.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1938
Action Comics no. 1 / Superman
Wikimedia Commons, File:Massac County Courthouse 2022d.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 | front view of the giant Superman statue in Metropolis, Illinois; stand-in for the comic cover, whose PD status is contested
1939
Ruby slippers, Wizard of Oz, Smithsonian
File:Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Wizard of Oz 1938.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1940
DuPont nylon stockings in original packaging
File:Stockings knit of Du Pont Nylon original packaging DSCF2245.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1941
Willys Jeep WWII
File:Jeep Willys WWII (38977371164).jpg
CC0
1942
War Ration Book One
File:War Ration Book One - National Museum of American History - DSC00067.jpg
Public domain
1943
We Can Do It Rosie poster
File:We Can Do It! NARA 535413 - Restoration 2.jpg
Public domain
1944
Higgins boat LCVP
File:Higgins boat - LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) - Flickr - Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1945
Trinitite
File:Trinitite-pieces3.jpg
CC BY 3.0
1946
ENIAC computer
File:Eniac Aberdeen.jpg
Public domain
1947
Replica of first point-contact transistor
File:Replica-of-first-transistor.jpg
Public domain
1948
Polaroid Land Camera Model 95
File:Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 - MIT Museum - DSC03766.JPG
CC0
1949
RCA 45 rpm record and phonograph 1949
File:RCA 45 rpm phonograph and record Arthur Fiedler 1949.JPG
Public domain
1950
Diners Club card (modern card, no licensed vintage photo found)
File:Diners Club Regular Japan 2016.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1951
1950s television set
File:TV Nordmende alt.jpg
Public domain
1952
Mr. Potato Head 1952
File:Mr Potato Head 1952.jpg
Public domain
1953
1953 Chevrolet Corvette
File:1953 Chevrolet Corvette front.jpg
CC0
1954
First Salk polio vaccine shipment arriving at Schiphol
File:Eerste salk-vaccin voor polio arriveert op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 908-9046.jpg
CC0
1955
Rosa Parks bus, Henry Ford Museum
File:Rosa Parks Bus.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1956
Interstate highway shield sign
File:Interstate 95 begins southbound sign at US border.jpg
Public domain
1957
On the Road scroll manuscript
File:Kerouac On the Road scroll - Flickr - emdot.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1958
Replica of first integrated circuit (Kilby)
File:Replica IC.png
CC BY-SA 4.0
1959
Vintage Barbie doll (Gay Parisienne, 1959 outfit)
File:The "Gay Parisienne" Bisque Barbie Doll - DPLA - 8afdcfc39cc137d9f78a1a9178ebd5ac (page 1).jpg
Public domain
1960
Enovid oral contraceptive bottle
File:Bottle for Enovid 10 mg Oral Contraceptive - DPLA - 0cc9d42b69b6fd3d586205f5831cade0.jpg
CC BY 4.0
1961
Freedom 7 Mercury capsule
File:Mercury Space Capsule Freedom 7 (10438602474).jpg
CC0
1962
Silent Spring
Wikimedia Commons, File:1955. Ford tri-motor spraying DDT. Western spruce budworm control project. Powder River control unit, OR. (32213742634).jpg, USDA Forest Service photo by R.B. Pope
Public domain | 1955 aerial DDT spraying, the book's subject; stand-in for the first edition, no clean book photo found
1963
March on Washington 1963 program
File:March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom - Lincoln Memorial Program 1.jpg
Public domain
1964
LBJ signing Civil Rights Act
File:Lyndon Johnson signing Civil Rights Act, July 2, 1964.jpg
Public domain
1965
1965 Ford Mustang
File:1965 Ford Mustang Convertible Classic-Gala 2021 1X7A0275.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1966
Star Trek communicator replica
File:20090704-1971 StarTrekTOSCommunicatorReplica.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1967
Tie-dye shirt
File:Tie dye spiral.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1968
Earthrise Apollo 8
File:NASA Earthrise AS08-14-2383 Apollo 8 1968-12-24.jpg
Public domain
1969
Apollo 11 lunar boot on surface
File:AS11-40-5880 - Apollo 11 - Apollo 11 Mission image - Lunar surface with Astronaut boot in field of view - NARA - 16685067.jpg
Public domain
1970
Earth Day 1970 flag ceremony
File:Demonstrations. Protestors at the National Capital Region Earth Day flag ceremony in Washington DC. (14bcf26d172445cf9d03325dcf19d9dd).jpg
Public domain
1971
At sign
File:At sign.svg
Public domain
1972
Atari Pong arcade cabinet
File:Atari Pong arcade game cabinet.jpg
CC BY 2.0
1973
Martin Cooper with DynaTAC prototype
File:2007Computex e21Forum-MartinCooper.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1974
UPC barcode (Wrigley gum code)
File:UPC-A-036000291452.svg
CC0
1975
Altair 8800 computer
File:2019-08-04 Altair 8800 computer.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1976
Apple I computer
File:Apple Computer 1 (Apple I) from Smithsonian National Museum of American History.png
CC0
1977
Voyager Golden Record cover
File:The Sounds of Earth Record Cover - GPN-2000-001978.jpg
Public domain
1978
Paper airline ticket
File:AA paper ticket.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1979
VisiCalc on screen
File:Visicalc.png
Public domain
1980
Post-it note
File:Sticky Note on a white background.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1981
IBM PC 5150
File:IBM PC 5150.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1982
Thriller
Wikimedia Commons, File:Michael Jackson Thriller Jacket, Grammy Museum 2020.jpg, photo Mic JohnsonLP
CC BY 2.0 | signed red Thriller leather jacket on exhibit at the Grammy Museum; stand-in for the album art
1983
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
File:DynaTAC8000X.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1984
Macintosh 128K
File:Computer macintosh 128k, 1984 (all about Apple onlus).jpg
CC BY 3.0
1985
Air Jordan 1 sneakers
File:Air Jordan 1 Banned.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1986
Challenger STS-51-L mission patch
File:Aufnaeher STS-51-L Mission.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1987
Prozac fluoxetine capsules
File:Prozac pills cropped.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1988
Contact lens on finger
File:Contact lens.JPG
CC BY-SA 3.0
1989
Simpsons couch
Flickr, "Simpsons in couch" by Desiii, https://www.flickr.com/photos/70274636@N00/1064593435
CC BY-SA 2.0 | replica couch photo set with family figures from The Simpsons Movie theater promo, 2007; photo license clean
1990
Curb cut wheelchair ramp
File:Curb cut for wheelchair ramp (DSC 3500).jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
1991
Flannel shirt
File:Flannel Shirt For Abi.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
1992
Mall of America
File:Mall of America Exterior.jpg
CC BY 4.0
1993
Mosaic browser
Flickr, "The PS/2 family" by Marcin Wichary, https://www.flickr.com/photos/8399025@N07/2319873436
CC BY 2.0 | beige IBM PS/2 desktops with CRT monitors; era stand-in, no free Mosaic screenshot exists
1994
CD-ROM close-up
File:Rainbow on CD-ROM.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
1995
Plain cardboard shipping box
File:Caja de carton.png
CC BY-SA 4.0
1996
PalmPilot Professional
File:PalmPilot Professional.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
1997
Netflix red envelope
File:Netflixenvelope.jpg
CC BY 2.5
1998
Google garage
File:Google garage.JPG
CC BY-SA 3.0
1999
CD-R spindle
File:CD-R Spindle.jpg
Public domain
2000
Votomatic punch card voting machine
File:Votomatic III open.jpg
CC0
2001
9/11 ground zero flag (FEMA photo)
File:FEMA - 5399 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 09-28-2001 in New York.jpg
Public domain
2002
White iPod earbuds
File:IPod earphones.jpg
CC BY 2.0
2003
iPod classic
File:Ipod-classic-6th-gen.jpg
Public domain
2004
the profile (Facebook)
Wikimedia Commons, File:Facebook Like sign.jpg, photo Kevin Krejci
CC BY 2.0 | thumbs-up sign at Facebook headquarters, 1601 Willow Road; object-world stand-in for the profile page
2005
YouTube Silver Play Button
File:YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg
Public domain
2006
The first tweet
Recreated text card (tweet text and metadata, own render)
Own work
2007
Original iPhone
File:IPhone First Generation 8GB (3680480234).jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0
2008
The foreclosure sign
File:Sign of the Times-Foreclosure.jpg (Wikimedia Commons, by respres)
CC BY 2.0 | object changed from Hope poster, copyrighted art with no licensable photo
2009
The Dreamliner
File:Boeing 787 first flight.jpg
CC BY 2.0
2010
iPhone 4
File:IPhone 4, model A1332-6489.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2011
iPhone 4S
File:IPhone 4s.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2012
Tesla Model S
File:20180630 Tesla Model S 70D 2015 midnight blue left front.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2013
Remote with Netflix button
File:Philips remote control with a Netflix button, Finsterwolde (2019) 01.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2014
Amazon Echo
File:Alexa Amazon Echo Smart Speaker - Flashing Blue Ring (Creative Commons) (51049059491).jpg
CC BY 2.0
2015
Falcon 9 first stage landed at LZ-1
File:Falcon 9 first stage at LZ-1(two).jpg
CC0
2016
AirPods first generation
File:AirPods (cropped).jpg
CC BY 2.0
2017
MeToo protest sign
File:Can You Hear Me Now? -MeToo (39787332552).jpg
CC BY 2.0
2018
Ring video doorbell
File:Ring video doorbell.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019
Impossible Whopper
File:Impossible Whopper 1.jpg
CC0
2020
Sourdough starter jar
File:Sourdough starter.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021
CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card
File:CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022
the chat box (ChatGPT)
Wikimedia Commons, File:Mobile phone with ChatGPT on yellow background (52917075654).jpg, photo Jernej Furman
CC BY 2.0 | phone displaying chat.openai.com; wordmark below threshold of originality per Commons
2023
Ozempic semaglutide pen
File:Ozempic 3ml.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024
April 2024 solar eclipse glasses
File:2024 April Solar Eclipse Glasses (1).jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2025
Waymo Jaguar I-Pace robotaxi
File:Waymo Jaguar I-Pace in San Francisco 2023 dllu.jpg
CC BY 4.0