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The Victorian era gave us many great inventions that we still use today - bicycles, Morse code, ice cream as we know it, and even the telephone. The era of Queen Victoria's reign, though, had some pretty bizarre happenings too. Such as ladies getting stuck in doorways because of their extra big dress skirts and constantly fainting as a result of very tight corsets. Also, the London fog did exist, and it comprised of nothing else than heavy pollution from coal mines and the city being in regular fires. Victorians were oddly obsessed with Egyptology and makeup, especially lipstick, which was compared to witchcraft. To add even more fun to the mix, the social rules and behavior codes were amazingly strict.
With life this pleasant, it's no wonder that nobody was smiling in the creepy pictures taken in the Victorian era. Everybody looks so severe that it seems as if people in the 1800s just didn't have the time, or strength to have fun. But as these rare vintage photos prove, that wasn't always the case.
There are many theories as to why Victorians always look so dour in pictures. Long exposure times made smiling difficult (and by long we mean several hours. Seriously. Ever tried smiling for several hours? It hurts) and the high cost of portraits gave people very little to smile about. Poor dental hygiene made people reluctant to show their teeth (or whatever teeth they had left), and let's not forget that many Victorians simply had it too rough a life to take funny pictures. But as you can see from the vintage photography exemplars below, some still found something to smile about. From gentlemen cross-dressing as fair ladies of the times, to probably the first awkward family photos in history, the few Victorians, who managed to have some fun, are all here. (h/t: whizzpast)
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#1
A Victorian Couple Trying Not To Laugh While Getting Their Portraits Done, 1890s
Natalia Sanchez 9 years ago
There was a journalist / comedian called Jorge Ginsburg here in Argentina who looked just like this fellow.
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#2
Cakewalk Dance
#3
A Unique Tea Setting For Two
#4
A Snow Lady, 1892
#5
Unusual Portrait Of A Victorian Lady, 1840
#6
Three Fashionable Young Men At Yale, 1883
Faith Highlander 9 years ago
They really do look like women! Their hands & wrists or feminine... especially the one in the middle.
leilak1 3 years ago
Welcome to today's world of transgenders...Many famous women in the entertainment industry are trans and the public doesnt even know it...
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Samantha Bear 9 years ago
I have pictures in my head of Jack Lemmon looking to this photo for inspiration for Some Like It Hot :P
Jovy Jergens 9 years ago
I think in those days, all of the student body was male and had to play female parts in school plays. Then again, maybe they just like 'dress-up" night. Not exactly my dream dates.
Summer Smith 9 years ago
This was probably the theatre department and not considered a joke at the time, as theatrical acting was only considered proper for men. Still today, some older colleges only have men play the parts in "traditional" plays.
Carmine Pescatore 5 years ago
They had something called The Hasty Pudding Club and they did shows in drag.
Irene McIver 9 years ago
I believe it, but not all drag queens are / were homosexual.
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#7
Awkward Family Photo, Victorian Edition
#8
Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899
#9
Vintage Humor
#10
Piggy Nose
#11
Men And Women Cross Dress In This Silly Victorian Snap, 1880-1900
#12
Say That Again, And I'll Dip You In, 1897
#13
Unknown Victorian In Mid-jump
#14
Vacation Sports At The Seaside
Lena Hunter 9 years ago
if this wasn't their normal beach attire, i'd say it was actually rather fashionable.
#15
Richard Freiherr Von Krafft-Ebing
Ramon Burnet 9 years ago
He came op with the words sadism and masochism. And made a very popular book about sexual behaviors, partly in Latin so not every one could read it.. quote wiki: Krafft-Ebing's principal work is Psychopathia Sexualis: eine Klinisch-Forensische Studie (Sexual Psychopathy: A Clinical-Forensic Study), which was first published in 1886 and expanded in subsequent editions. The last edition from the hand of the author (the twelfth) contained a total of 238 case histories of human sexual behaviour.
#16
The Victorians From France
#17
Courting In The 1800s Never Looked Better
#18
This Is As Close To A Victorian Selfie As It's Going To Get
Kati Alyssa 9 years ago
I have found actual selfies from the early 1910s. They were by college girls and were preserved in a scrapbook I found at an antique store.
#19
Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899
#20
Smiling Victorians
#21
Smiling Little Girls
#22
Victorians Pulling Face, 1900
#23
Smiling Victorians, 1900s
#24
Victorians, 1800s
#25
Tsar Nicholas II, 1899
#26
Men Dressed In Drag In The Victorian Era
#27
Fashion Victorians Women, 19th Century
#28
A Smiling Queen Victoria In An Open Coach, 1892
#29
Smiling Victorian, 1800s
#30
Miss Barton Dressed In A Late Victorian Tennis Outfit
#31
Man Pulling A Funny Face
#32
A Woman Riding A 'scorcher', A Victorian Bicycle, In St James' Park, London
Mary Paquette 8 years ago
It is a photo, a woman on a bike in a photographer 's studio with an fake background.
#33
Smiling Victorian Servants
#35
A Group Of Smiling Edwardians
#36
Man Pulling A Comical Face, 1900
#37
A Group Of Women To Celebrate The Centenary Of The London Bus
Emily Bryant 9 years ago
I don't think this picture is actually from the victorian era. Its way to clear and sharp.
#38
Gibson Girls
#39
Evelyn Winchester
#40
The 20th Century Victorian Man With Banishing Woman
#41
The Smiling Victorians
#42
Smiling 1850s Lady
#43
Smiling Victorians, 1900s
Suzanne Bitterlich 9 years ago
Even then they had photo bombers. Lol. The man laying in the background.
#44
Victorians Pulling Face, 1900
#45
Smiling Victorian, 1800s
#46
A Family In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900
#47
A Young Couple A Photographed In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900
#48
Slicker-Looking Guy
#49
Young Ladies
The fascination with historical beauty standards isn't limited to just one period. Just as the Edwardian era had its unique trends, the Victorians were known for their curious mix of strict societal norms and whimsical eccentricities.
These vintage photographs of smiling Victorians capture a rare glimpse of humor in a time often painted as somber, drawing parallels to the charming allure of Edwardian elegance.
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What do you think ?
Rose Thorne 9 years ago
Most people were unable to afford photographs taken with a quick exposure camera, which would explain Czar Nicholas having the fastest shutter speed. I've seen a few others on this list before as examples of experimental photography from the time: the woman jumping is a good example, and I've seen it before. To be fair, several appear to be Edwardian, but I'm a photographer, not a historian.. the processes on a few appear newer and on silver nitrate.
Burl Lampert 9 years ago
I was suspicious of a few of them too, but what the hell, it's fun.
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Austin Berube 3 years ago
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82802764/james-h-mcconnell This is the guy from #48 in the picture with a cigar in his mouth
Ben Button 5 years ago
I remember Robin Williams in 'Dead Poets Society', "food for worms boy's."
ABigail Mercy 7 years ago
weird..but intriguing. Nice to see the humorous side of Victorians instead of the scary and serious photos we keep seeing
Patrick Korolewicz 8 years ago
Great to see joy and humor instead of the dour faces we have been accustomed to asspciated with the era
Lulu Girard 9 years ago
Of course Victorian and Edwardian people had lives, and a great sense of humor. Must read some literature during that era, and it's very evident.
Rose Thorne 9 years ago
Most people were unable to afford photographs taken with a quick exposure camera, which would explain Czar Nicholas having the fastest shutter speed. I've seen a few others on this list before as examples of experimental photography from the time: the woman jumping is a good example, and I've seen it before. To be fair, several appear to be Edwardian, but I'm a photographer, not a historian.. the processes on a few appear newer and on silver nitrate.
Burl Lampert 9 years ago
I was suspicious of a few of them too, but what the hell, it's fun.
Load More Replies... Austin Berube 3 years ago
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82802764/james-h-mcconnell This is the guy from #48 in the picture with a cigar in his mouth
Ben Button 5 years ago
I remember Robin Williams in 'Dead Poets Society', "food for worms boy's."
ABigail Mercy 7 years ago
weird..but intriguing. Nice to see the humorous side of Victorians instead of the scary and serious photos we keep seeing
Patrick Korolewicz 8 years ago
Great to see joy and humor instead of the dour faces we have been accustomed to asspciated with the era
Lulu Girard 9 years ago
Of course Victorian and Edwardian people had lives, and a great sense of humor. Must read some literature during that era, and it's very evident.
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