50 Must-See Historical Images That Reveal The Curious Realities Of The Past
Interview With Expert
Looking at a historical picture is kind of like entering a time machine. Each image transports us to a moment that captures the essence of bygone eras. They provide us insights into the events, people, and cultures from the past.
And the Facebook page called ‘Cool Old Pic of the Day Club’ is known for sharing photographs spanning different eras. They include a wide range of subjects like classic advertisements, fascinating portraits, intriguing landscapes and more.
Ready to look at some impressive photos from the past? Maybe they'll give you a fresh perspective into history and how it shaped our world. Continue scrolling to broaden your mental horizons.
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E. Lilian Todd, Self-Taught Inventor Considered To Be The First Woman In The World To Design And Build Her Own Aircraft, 1909
We got in touch with Toby Binder, a renowned photographer, who documents the lives of teenagers in global conflict zones. He kindly agreed to share his professional insights regarding this topic.
"I believe documentary photography has a lot of power to change things in a positive way," Binder, who also shares his works on Instagram, told Bored Panda.
"By depicting reality, I can draw attention to the everyday lives of people with whom the viewer of my photos has little intersection and thus arouse empathy and understanding. It can therefore be a unifying medium that can create more cohesion in society that is drifting further and further apart at the moment.”
Life Is What You Make It
Binder is interested in topics of post-war and crisis situations as well as in the daily lives of people. "Even before but especially in times of AI, the power of documentary photography is the truth, the honesty, the soul. Getting there often takes perseverance and time."
He doesn't see this as a challenge, however, because the photographer loves working like this. That being said, Binder believes there needs to be more appreciation for it. "Editors today often want to know exactly what stories will be like or individual pictures look like before they even give an assignment. The chances of discovering things, looking and documenting what is really happening on site has become pretty much more difficult for some time.”
Engineer Karen Leadlay Working On The Analog Computers In The Space Division Of General Dynamics, 1964
Binder has a deep passion for historical photographs. “Of course the iconographic shots that everyone associates with certain events, but also photos that may have seemed significant at the time they were taken but have great power today.”
Julia Child Makes Spaghetti With Mr. Rogers, 1974
Reflecting on his journey, Binder shares, "For a long time, all I wanted to do with my own photography was to capture a certain moment in the present in the strongest possible image and I didn't think about the historical context that much. But since I always try to stay in touch with the communities I work with, it was only much later that I realized the significance of time! ”
“I recently reconnected with people I photographed 20 years ago. Through their description of the serious changes in this neighborhood, I also became really aware of the historical significance of photos I take.”
This goes on to show how photography captures not just the present, but also the ever-changing narratives of communities and the world around them.
The Rocket Express, A Monorail That Carried Kids Around The Toy Department 8th Floor At The John Wanamaker Department Store In Center City, Philadelphia, 1950s
Children Cross A River Using Pulleys On Their Way To School In The Outskirts Of Modena, Italy, 1959, Technically Uphill Both Ways
What is it with this post and pics of unique/fun transportation methods across rivers lol
Hollywood Boys Choir, 1973. From Top Left Kent Mccord, Martin Milner, Charles Nelson Reilly, Ed Asner, Glenn Ford, Red Foxx, Jack Carter, Ernest Borgnine, John Wayne And Howard Cosell
Many of these guys had such unique voices makes it hard to imagine them in a choir.
Sent The Crumb-Snatcher To Gramma's! A Postman With A Baby In His Mailbag When It Was Possible And Legal To Send Children Through The U.S. Postal Service, 1913
5 Megabyte Hard Drive Being Shipped Out, Ibm, 1956
Unlike modern cameras, which have automatic settings and are easier to use, photographers whose images we see on pages like ‘Cool Old Pic of the Day Club’ were required to manually adjust these settings for every shot. While digital cameras can adjust exposure in real-time, earlier photographers had to wait until the film was developed in order to see the results.
Riding The Broughton Lumber Flume, Hood River Junction On The Columbia River At The Washington/Oregon Border
A 1932 American Bantam That Was Used For Ferry Service Over The Pudding River In Oregon
The operator removed the tires and placed rubber bands on the rims for traction. Three cables were strung, two for the wheels and the third attached through the top of the car for stability. It was said that one gallon of gas was enough for 1500 trips across the 120 foot span
Roland, A 4,000 Pound Elephant Seal, Getting A Snow Bath From His Handler At The Berlin Zoo, 1930s
Also traditional film cameras had a limited number of exposures meaning they couldn’t store hundreds of photos like a smartphone. Photographers had to be selective about what they wanted to capture as these rolls typically contained anywhere from 12 to 36 frames.
Civil War Veteran Jacob Miller (Company K 9th Indiana Vol. Inf) Was Shot In The Forehead On Sept.19th, 1863 At Brock Field At Chickamauga And Left For Dead
He lived with an open bullet wound for many years, with the last pieces of lead dropping out 31 years after he was first shot
What Will They Think Of Next? Bell Telephone’s Picturephone, 1964
And in the 21st century, all of us would rather text than even talk much less talk face to face.
1915 Eruption Of Mt Lassen As Seen From Red Bluff, California
I hadn't heard of this so I looked it up. On May 22, 1915, a powerful explosive eruption at Lassen Peak devastated nearby areas, and spread volcanic ash as far as 280 mi (450 km) to the east. This explosion was the most powerful in a series of eruptions from 1914 through 1917. Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helens in Washington were the only two volcanoes in the contiguous United States to erupt during the 20th century.
USS Los Angeles Airship Lands On The USS Saratoga, January 1928
Ellie Mae & Ms. Hathaway Getting Ready For A Dip In The Cement Pond, 1962
Women Assembling The Beatles' ''rubber Soul'' Album At The Hayes Vinyl Factory, 1965
Once clicked, the picture couldn’t be printed at home or at any shop, the film had to go through a series of chemical processes in order to develop the latent image.
Capturing images in the 19th and 20th centuries required patience and a willingness to accept the unpredictability of film photography. Back then each frame was precious and valuable.
50,000 Book Kerfuffle, Lorain Public Library, Lorain, Ohio, 1971
Empire State Building Window Washer, 1936
Ming The Panda Photographing Bert Hardy’s Son, Mike, At London Zoo, December 1938
Building Empire State Building, 1930, The Entire Building Went Up In Just Over A Year, Under Budget (At $40 Million) And Well Ahead Of Schedule
In 1945, a B-25 crashed into the Empire State Building, 79th floor. Interesting photos for that, too.
Properly Equipped Bike, Check. All The Neighborhood Girls To Show Off To, Check. Close Adult Supervision, Check. Knowing Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This, Priceless
Summertime
So such images not only give us a peek into history, they also show the dedication and hard work of those involved in capturing them. They document significant moments in time and enrich our understanding of the world around us.
Continue scrolling to look at some rich pictures from the past. Feel free to immerse yourself in the visual narratives of yesteryears with more historic pictures and rare moments from the past. Let us know which one you find the most fascinating.
CBS Employee Barry Manilow In The File Room, 1965
Farm Boy At Pop Stand, General Store In Lamoille, Iowa, Arthur Rothstein, 1939
Reminded me of the old ad from there: "Nesbitt's soda pop pop", the sound of popping your cheek with your finger
Until I was in high school, there was an old store in Nashville, AR, where my dad grew up that had coke coolers like these. We went every time we visited my grandmother. Walking in from a hot summer day and grabbing an ice cold bottled drink...there was not much better than that. Old wood floor that creaked when you walked. Aisles filled to the brim with candies and oil and cleaner and everything a general store had. The same man owned it from when my dad was a tyke. It's gone now but we still have the memories.
Famous Italian-American Chef Ettore Boiardi (1897-1985)
Better-known by the anglicized version of his name, Hector Boyardee, who was famous for his namesake brand of food products, “Chef Boyardee. That's a one a spicy meatball
That wasn't one spicy meatball! The spicy meatball was from an Alka Seltzer commercial. Shame on you!
4.5 Megabytes Of Data In 62,500 Punched Cards, 1955
Mum was a punch card puncher. We used to have stacks of used and reject ones to draw on.
Twenty Mule Team Drawn Farm Combine, Walla Walla County, Washington, 1941 Americana
Downtown Los Angeles In 1901, Then 2001
How To Avoid Overbooking, Airline Reservations, 1945
Wilbur Wright Flies Around The Statue Of Liberty, 1909
The reason it took a couple of bike mechanics is because they were the first ones to realize that like a bicycle, an airplane is inherently unstable. Everyone else before them was trying to make something inherently stable like a boat. Lots of dihedral in the wings but that makes turns difficult to impossible and crosswinds downright dangerous. The Wright Fliers were built with very slight anhedral wings that made all the difference.
Shemp Howard 25, And Moe Howard 22, Performing On Stage As Howard And Howard In Vaudeville, 1919
Barbara Eden And Chuck Yeager During Yeager's Cameo Appearance On I Dream Of Jeannie, 1965
Never Heard Of Personal Space Buddyyy?
Stonehenge Repair Around 1919
A Women Demonstrates A Futuristic Typewriter Chair Complete With Headphones And A Light, Paris, 1972
Martin Joe Laurello, The Only Man With A Revolving Head Appeared In Sam Wagner's Freak Show On Coney Island, 1938
Reputedly, He Could Rotate His Head 180 Degrees. The Human Owl He Was Called
Riding
Kirk Douglas Using A Pole To Lift His Sons, Joel And Michael While Training For His Famous One-Armed Pushups, 1955
A Seal Puts On A Show By Balancing A Doll Before Young Viewers At A Performance Of The Krone Circus In Aachen, Germany, 1961
A Family In Their Trailer Home At Glenn L. Martin Trailer Village, A Farm Security Administration Housing Project In Middle River, Maryland,1943
It would be interesting to see how this might be colorized. I can see some wood paneling that would probably be bringing in a bit of warmth to the space.
What Do We Want? When Do We Want It?? 1932
A lot of people were surprised when prohibition kicked in because most people didn't consider beer to be booze. 3%-5% beer was just a beverage before then. Kids drank it. Hell in Russia, they still serve Kvas with dinner to kids.
Santa Claus Rides A Motorbike With A Sidecar Down Oxford Street In London, 1949
Golf Ball Collector, 1920
Yeah, This Oughta Help. Santa And Two Clowns Visiting Children In Hospital During The 1950's
Millworker's Children Eating Watermelon On Porch Of Rented House. Six Miles North Of Roxboro, Person County, North Carolina, 1939. Dorthea Lange
Lumberjacks Shaving With An Ax, 30s
Motorcycle Racer Roland Free Lies Horizontally On His Bike As He Breaks The World Speed Record On Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats On September 13, 1948
Howard Hughes Test Flying A Radio Controlled Scale Model Of The Spruce Goose In California, C.1947
Or: testing pic of the Convair Tradewind XPB5y-1 radio control model at Lindbergh field, San diego. Take your pick, whatever floats your boat!
Note: this post originally had 80 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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