LIFE’s biggest Bangkok photo shoot, and the one which supplied most of the images in this story, was done by Dmitri Kessel in 1950, for a story that ran in a 1951 issue of the magazine devoted entirely to the wonders of Asia.

In that issue LIFE declared Bangkok “the most impressive Buddhist city in all the world.” Here’s that declaration in its fuller context, as part of a larger ode of praise:

The city is laced by placid canals on which housewives ride in sampans to market, scented in perfume, which the Siamese love, and lulled by the endless soft tinkling of tiny silver bells that swing from the ornate eaves of the temples. The streets swarm with yellow-robed priests.

All things in Bangkok—the temples, bells, priests and people—combine in honoring the Lord Buddha, and they make Bangkok the most impressive Buddhist city in all the world. Its serenity, almost unique in Asia’s cities now, is rooted in that religion, and because of it, Bangkok is the one city that still fulfills the most romantic fairytale dreams of the Orient. It is Buddhism’s remarkable monuments that seem to lift Bangkok up from its plain into a never-never-sky that even the most unimpressionable Westerner might think was heaven’s own curtain.

Kessel’s photographs do show Buddhist shrines, and that is what the magazine emphasized in its coverage, but he also captured everyday street scenes as his eye wandered. One of the most striking images was taken on the rural outskirts of the city, and shows local farm girls gathered underneath a billboard for Coca-Cola.

LIFE’s other ventures to Bangkok include a shoot by Howard Sochurek for a 1955 story headlined “The Path of Buddhism.”

And in 1948 Jack Birns went to Bangkok to document the combat sport known as Muay Thai. Birns’ photos did have a Buddhist element, as he captured fighters praying in the ring before going at each other. Today the sport is more familiar to Westerners, owing to the popularity of mixed martial arts and also the use of Muay Thai training in workout routines. But back in 1948 LIFE presented the sport as an exotic oddity. The magazine’s story concluded “If at the end of three five-minute rounds both principals have managed to avoid hospitalization they often embrace, possibly because they are relieved that the ordeal is over.”

A billboard on the outskirts of Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Temple of Emerald Buddha in the center of Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The inner courtyard near Buddhitst shrine in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Buddha in the caves of Phetchaburi, south of Bangkok, was the destination of many pilgrimages, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ruins of the 37-foot Buddha in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmirtri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In Bangkok a man sold melons in a floating market, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fishing in canal near Don Mueang airport, which serves Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Farm girls going fishing in a canal near Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Chinese dyers with their cotton material hanging in the yards, Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A mother gave her baby a bath in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Chinese graveyard in center of Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Arann Reongchai (left) and Prasong Chaimeeboon during a Muay Thai boxing match, 1948.

Jack Birns/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The ref counts out a competitor in a Muay Thai match, Bangkok, 1948.

Jack Birns/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Monks begging for food at dawn on main thoroughfare of Bangkok, 1954.

Howard Sochurek/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Monks walking outside a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, 1954.

Howard Sochurek/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A billboard in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Billboard advertising in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cockfighting in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A canal vendor sold bean sprouts in Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A water buffalo, Bangkok, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Bangkok: “The Most Impressive Buddhist City in All the World.” appeared first on LIFE.

LIFE reported that the desegregation process in Clinton (a town that had been involved in court battles on the subject for years) had seemed to be moving relatively peacefully until a white supremacist named John Kasper came to town from New Jersey. He helped instigate citizens to rebel against the law that required the town’s white high school to serve citizens of all races starting in the new fall term that year. Though Kasper was sentenced to a year in jail by a federal judge in Knoxville, his influence had already contributed to mob violence that peaked that Labor Day weekend.

The situation in Clinton was bad enough that town leaders asked for state help. The governor called in the state police and the National Guard to help a local band of newly recruited deputies make sure the order for integration was followed. Even though many of the officials involved had previously acted to support segregation, they recognized that this law had to be obeyed.

The week of violence ended with a dozen African-American high-schoolers in class at the integrated high school. Though problems in the area would continue for months and de facto school segregation remains a serious problem in many places in the United States today, that September the presence of those 12 students was a victory.

“In spite of agitation, in spite of zealots and the misgivings of the majority, the pattern was changing,” LIFE noted. “This fall 45,000 Negro students were free to attend integrated schools for the first time. It was a slow, small, painful change but it began to look inevitable.”

A line of National Guardsmen faced off against a night crowd on Clinton’s Main Street.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A mob rocked African-Americans in an out-of-state car passing through Clinton. For four hours the town police stood by helpless as cars were dented and windows smashed. A policeman persuaded part of the mob to attack only Tennessee cars.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A group of teenage boys with signs on their car protesting school integration in Clinton, Tenn.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A crowd attacked cars driven by African Americans to protest integration in the schools in Clinton, Tenn.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The National Guard was on the streets during race riots in Clinton, Tenn.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Deputies threw tear gas bombs and the mob broke up briefly but then regrouped, until state police quelled them.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The national Guard on the streets, Cinton, Tenn., 1956.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fourteen-year-old student Ronald Hayden held his school books outside his home in Clinton, Tenn.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from the African-American section of Clinton, Tenn., with some of the youths who would be going to Clinton High School.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Students Robert Thacker (left) and Minnie Ann Dickey relaxed in the African-American section of town in Clinton, Tenn.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Major General Joseph Henry Jr. led the two Guard battalions.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pro-segregation agitator John Kasper, center, being led off in handcuffs..

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

White rioters stood around during the demonstrations regarding school integration in Clinton, Tenn.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The National Guard patted down prisoners in Clinton, Tenn., 1956.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The National Guard brought M-41 tanks to Clinton.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Heading to school after the National Guard had moved into town and begun patrolling, ten of Clinton High’s 12 African-American students started the half-mile walk. Previously they had had to ride 16 miles to a segregated school in Knoxville. Clinton’s principal told this group, “You have all shown great courage.”

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

National Guardsmen escorted African-American teens through the front door of school, while white students watched on in Clinton, Tenn.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from inside Clinton High School on the first day of integration.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“The Halting And Fitful Battle For Integration.” From the Sep. 17, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine.

“The Halting And Fitful Battle For Integration.” From the Sep. 17, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine.

LIFE Magazine

“The Halting And Fitful Battle For Integration.” From the Sep. 17, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine.

“The Halting And Fitful Battle For Integration.” From the Sep. 17, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine.

The post Before Little Rock: Mob Violence Over Desegregation in Clinton, Tennessee, 1956 appeared first on LIFE.

“Some animals fought back,” the magazine stated. “A monkey grabbed a woman’s lipstick. A baboon hit a boy. A llama who had had his fill of popcorn discovered a way to say so, and a loud-mouthed mother stalked away, yelling, ‘That dirty brazen creature poked me in the rear!'”

The zoo quickly made modifications to the animals’ fencing so as to prevent another love-fueled fiasco. But in these pictures, you can see why the kids had a hard time keeping their distance.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

This duck’s long neck provided a nice handhold for one boy.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Hands swarmed over a dazed linon cub, Caesar.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Children were drawn to a baby kangaroo.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Children visited Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Baby llamas at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The attraction here was a sea elephant who had left its pool.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“He feels funny,” one child remarked about the elephant.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A baby kangaroo was bottle-fed at Brookfield Children’s Zoo, Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A lion cub was displayed in a basket at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Elephant, Brookfield Children’s Zoo in Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The original LIFE story was titled “Zoo’s Babies Get Overdose of Love.”

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A goat perched on a table at the Brookfield Children’s Zoo, Chicago, 1953.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Popcorn-stuffed baby llamas, too full to walk, were carried to their cage.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Then, as Now, Kids and Baby Animals are an Adorable Combination appeared first on LIFE.

The models parading through Moscow that day were in the Russian capital ahead of a five-night Christian Dior fashion show. Yves Saint Laurent had recently taken over the brand’s Parisian atelier and reimagined the seductive “New Look” for which the House of Dior had been known. Gone were the corseted jackets, crinolined ballerina skirts and towering stilettos, replaced instead with practical blazers, loose skirts and shorter kitten heels.

While Dior was undergoing its transformation, so too was the USSR under Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier who envisioned a more liberal, dynamic future for his country. The world of Soviet fashion would not be exempt from “Khrushchev’s Thaw,” as the government brokered person-to-person exchanges with Western design houses to help revitalize the Soviet fashion industry, and French couturiers like Dior were especially coveted as guests.

Of all the designers to pierce the Iron Curtain during the 1950s, Saint Laurent’s Dior paired most harmoniously with Soviet reality. After all, the newly refashioned “New Look,” with its functionalist philosophy, embodied the socialist-realist trope that form should follow function, that art should accommodate reality, and that the masses rather than the elites should determine what it meant to be “cultured.”

Yana Skorobogatov is a doctoral student studying history at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dior Fashion Models in Moscow, 1959

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Haute Couture and the Cold War: Dior in Moscow, 1959 appeared first on LIFE.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

— From “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

He will not go behind his father’s saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

— From “Mending Wall”

Then there’s the famously short, sharp “Fire and Ice,” first published in December 1920:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Frost won four Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry—one of a very small handful of writers to have won so many—and remains, a full half-century after his death in 1963, one of the most celebrated and popular American literary voices of the 20th century. Here, LIFE.com pays tribute to the man (b. March 26, 1874, in San Francisco) and the artist with a series of photos made by Howard Sochurek in England in 1957.

When 83-year-old Robert Frost went to England this summer [LIFE told its readers] it was officially to receive that country’s highest scholastic acclaim, honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. Unofficially, it was a fine opportunity for the famous American poet to “round off his life,” as he put it, and revisit the peaceful haunts of Gloucestershire where he had lived as a younger man. In 1912, unknown as a poet in the U.S., Frost had begun a two-and-a-half-year sojourn in England and his first two books, “A Boy’s Will” and “North of Boston”, were published by an English firm. Accompanying him on his nostalgic return was LIFE’s Howard Sochurek, who caught the poet reminiscing in scenes that inspired at least eight of his later works. Back in the U.S. now, Frost regards his trip as “one of the biggest adventures of my life.”

Frost’s life was marked by enormous loss: only two of his and his wife Elinor’s six children outlived him. Elinor died in 1938. Frost himself suffered from depression, as did several other members of his family. And yet he left behind a body of work as clear-eyed and as uplifting as that of any American writer before him, or since.

In an English field where ‘Surging, the grasses dizzied me of thought’ (from ‘My Butterfly’), Frost recalled another day.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“In ‘the thick old thatch, Where summer birds had been given hatch” (from ‘The Thatch’), Frost looked from the cottage in Dymock where his friend, poet Wilfrid Gibson, lived in 1914.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Malvern Hills, in England, where Robert Frost once lived.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frost, who once wrote, ‘I never heard of a house that throve . . . where the chimney started above the stove,’ examined the stove of his old kitchen at Little Iddens, Gloucestershire

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Malvern Hills, England, where Robert Frost once lived.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Nature lover Frost, who once farmed “a pasture where the boulders lie/As touching as a basket full of eggs,” stooped suddenly in this English pasture to grasp a stone and throw it.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Past the tree which could have been model for his line “Tree at my window, window tree . . . ,” Frost gazed sadly in the direction of the cottage, now in ruins, where he wrote it.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Malvern Hills, where Robert Frost once lived.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Robert Frost in 1957, during a visit to the English countryside where he once lived.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Robert Frost in an English meadow, 1957.

Howard Sochurek The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Robert Frost: Revisiting Sites That Inspired His Verse appeared first on LIFE.