Living Pictures — by Mole and Thomas

"Englishman Arthur S. Mole and his American colleague John D. Thomas took these incredible pictures of thousands of soldiers forming icons of American history. Arthur's great nephew Joseph Mole, 70, says: 'In the picture of the Statue of Liberty [above] there are 18,000 men: 12,000 of them in the torch alone, but just 17 at the base. The men at the top of the picture are actually half a mile away from the men at the bottom."

Back story here.

Below,

"The Living Uncle Sam: 19,000 officers and men at Camp Lee, Virginia, January 13, 1919."

Below,

"The Living Emblem of the United States Marines, formed by 100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men at the Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina."

"It would take a week to get all the outlines right, but just 30 minutes to move all the men into position to take the shot. It must have been amazing to watch."

Below,

"A portrait of President Woodrow Wilson, formed of 21,000 officers and men at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1918."

"When it came to the day of the photograph Arthur would then be able to put all the pieces together, he could say to 157 men 'move there and you can be Woodrow Wilson's ear.'"

Below,

"The Human Liberty Bell, formed by 25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey, 1918."

Below,

"The Human U.S. Shield: 30,000 officers and men at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1918."

"Mole and Thomas' work was the first to use a unique technique to beat the problem of perspective after they devised a clever way of getting so many soldiers in the pictures. Arthur's great nephew Joseph explains: 'Arthur was able to get the image by actually drawing an outline on the lens, he then had the troops place flags in certain positions while he looked through the camera."

Below,

"The Human American Eagle: 12,500 officers, nurses and men at Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1918.

[via The Telegraph and Milena]