Pictures hold something truly special—a speck of time that once was and shall never be again. They’re the closest thing we have to a time machine, allowing us to glimpse through a window of film and into the past.
Although technology has come leaps and bounds since the very first photograph, and we’ve gotten used to its magic, it still feels like a pirate treasure to come across old pictures from a time not-too-long-ago. From close families, to celebrities, there’s something for everyone, and the Facebook group called “Historical Pictures” is just the hub of it all.
Today, we’ll be featuring some of the photos the members of the group have shared, and hope that it’ll tickle your fancy to go dig out your own photo albums. So, dear readers, I invite you to look at this photograph (brownie points if you read that in Nickelback), well a couple dozen of them, upvote your faves, leave some comments, and have a good time!
If you’re craving another Bored Panda article that’s similar to this, I got you covered: here’s one and here’s another. Now let’s get into it!
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"I'd Rather Eat Pasta And Drink Wine Than Be A Size 0." ~Sophia Loren, 1965
Our history as humans is as long and complex as math felt back in 10th grade. I passed by the skin of my teeth if you’re curious. Sadly, we only discovered the magic of photography in the 1800s, the first photo ever dating back to 1827. Can you imagine how incredible it would have been to see moments from the 1500s or 900s?
We’ll just have to settle for pictures from the past couple of centuries, which is still longer than any human would have survived. The members of the “Historical Pictures” Facebook group have been sharing their finds, be it pictures of family moments, portraits, or well-beloved celebrities, bringing us all closer to the past.
My Sweet Sixteen Self. I Will Be Eighty In February 2023
An Officer Halts Traffic To Make Way For A Cat Carrying A Kitten Across The Street, 1925
A natural question comes up—why are we so drawn to old photographs, regardless of the fact that we’ve most likely never met the people, known the places, or experienced anything close to what their lives were like. Well, it’s for all those reasons, ironically enough! It’s a learning opportunity, a true touch upon history, and the fleeting moments of time.
As someone wrote on The School Of Life, it’s kind of a bittersweet discovery. “We realize that we want to live inside photographs, not the life they purport to tell us about,” they said. An intriguing kind of nostalgia, a craving to have been there to witness the events, to see that one special person again, to be a child without worries all over again.
Camberley Kate, And Her Stray Dogs In England. She Never Turned A Stray Dog Away, Taking Care Of More Than 600 Dogs In Her Lifetime. (1962)
Ha! My dad would wait for someone to walk through the living room to have them change the channel. If he lost the remoteEven if he hated what was on
Each picture tells a story of the moment it was taken. The people, the location, the fashion sense, the actions, the pose, the grimace. All of it builds a picture, yet it is only speculation what happened to those people before or after the event of the photo being taken. Those gaps are then filled with stories and photographs before and after the initial one, but nothing really paints a full picture.
Maureen A. Taylor, when speaking on the importance of photography as a whole, notes 3 points. The first one was conveniently made at the very beginning of this section—every picture tells a story. Each one is a time portal. And each one is an artifact. Your old photos are ancestral artifacts just like furniture and silver, and they’re worth just as much if not more.
First Nations Husband And Wife, (A. Ross, 1886)
This Innuit Girl Descending Into Her Home, An Ice Igloo
This powerful image transcends time, and continues to go viral over 70 years later.
Helen Konek is 91 years old now. But she was 17 when photographer Richard Harrington asked to take images of her family near Arviat, Nunavut. This one is in the massive igloo her father Pipqanaaq built.
A Photo Of My Grandfather, Clyde Hensley, Lived Deep In The Appalachian Mountains Of Western North Carolina
Lived off the land, kept bees, grew tobacco, dried it, twisted it, made molasses. You name it.
I always knew him as happy and content. For no special reason.
True Grit.
1912-2002
But why do we feel a sense of happiness when looking at these pictures? According to multiple bits of research, it has to do with happy chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin. A new study from CEWE has found that people find looking back at old photos even more relaxing than meditating. The activity triggers feelings of primary and positive emotions such as joy and love, but it also strengthens our memory and relationships.
Leading UK behavioral psychologist Jo Hemmings says: “Taking the time to look back on our treasured memories can be truly beneficial for our wellbeing as it can help to evoke feelings of positivity and happiness. Because of this, and especially at times like this, we should take more time to appreciate and look back on them.”
Cheryl Browne, First African-American Contestant For The Title Of Miss America In 1971
Cheryl Adrienne Browne was born in New York City in 1950 and studied dance at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan. After high school, she moved to Decorah, Iowa to study dance at Luther College. After winning the Miss Decorah contest, on June 13, 1970, she beat 19 white contestants to win Miss Iowa, making her eligible to compete for the 1971 Miss America crown.
Cheryl became the first black woman to compete for the Miss America title, the first African American contestant to make it to the final, even though competition rule number seven, instituted during the 1930s, which read: “Contestants must be of good health and of the white race,” had been abolished 30 years before in 1940.
Dolly Parton In The Late 60's
Lucille Ball. A Timeless Beauty
She was beautiful. Too bad the tv execs had her act like she was just a flighty dumb broad.
Our mantelpieces, windowsills, shelves and sideboards, where many of us display our treasured photos in frames, have been shown to be among the most peaceful places in our homes. As explained by Louise Carey, this is because of the immediate sense of well-being that we get by looking at photos of our loved ones at various stages in their developing lives.
Research has also shown that having ‘real’ photos in our homes provides regular psychological positive reinforcement by reminding us of what and who are important to us. This emotional bubble then fuses with our wider memories of the occasion that we might not have photographed and transports us back to a happier place.
Three Young Ladies Posing With A Friend, 1930
Soldier Coming Home To His Daughter After WWII, 1945
A Young Woman Posing For A Studio Portrait, Kentucky, 1890-1910
I knew subjects had to sit still for photographs back then, but 20 years seems a long time
We’re all here for a limited time, so we might as well capture as much of it as possible so that future generations have some semblance of our existence, at least for a little while. Take those photos, print your favorites, deck out your whole home, and enjoy!
As you continue to scroll through this list, make sure you’re upvoting your favorites and leaving comments along the way, and I shall see you all in the next one! Bye-bye for now!
Two Gentleman From The Early 1900s
Sophia Loren, Circa 1955
This Is Jim Thorpe. Look Closely At The Photo, You Can See That He's Wearing Different Socks And Shoes
This wasn't a fashion statement. It was the 1912 Olympics, and Jim, a Native American from Oklahoma represented the U.S. in track and field.
On the morning of his competitions, his shoes were stolen. Luckily, Jim ended up finding two shoes in a garbage can. That's the pair that he's wearing in the photo. But one of the shoes was too big, so he had to wear an extra sock. Wearing these shoes, Jim won two gold medals that day
“Les Nouvelles Meirveilleuses”. In The Spring Of 1908, Three Women Walked Onto The Longchamp Racecourse In Paris And Jaws Dropped
he elite society event was known for debuting the latest couture creations to the public, but no one had seen fashion quite like this before. Dressed in blue, white and havane brown creations, according to newspapers, spectators called the three women a “monstrosity”, accused them of being semi-naked and showing revolting *décolletage. *It was these three dresses however, which would forever change fashion that day and launch the twentieth century silhouette. As for the designer? Well, no one really bothered to remember her name…
But perhaps you might like to know who it was. Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix was her name, a young Parisian designer who had taken over her mother’s long-established couture house and was starting to gain popularity in turn-of-the-century Paris for her lightly corseted dresses featuring minimum boning and more elastic material…
Long before Lycra or Spanx came along, she soon began making dresses made from stretchy elastic silk jersey, outlining the hips and thighs and slimming the figure. To debut her creations to society, she hired three beautiful models and chose the Parisian racetracks of 1908 as her catwalk.
If you look at the women in the background you can see how different the clothes the models are wearing were. Very beautiful.
My Great-Great Aunt Helen Taken In 1913 When She Was 16 Years Old. She Passed Away At 90 Years Old In 1987
The Champion Watermelon Eater At The 4th Of July Celebration In Brooklyn, 1935
“Girls In The Windows”
In 1960, photojournalist Ormond Gigli assembled 43 women, dressed them in refined, colorful garb, and situated them in 41 windows across the facade of the classic New York City brownstones. Years later, the image ended up being his most famous artwork.
Portrait Of A Young Grumpy Girl From The 1850s
A Roman Toddler's Footprint In A Red Clay Tile, Imprinted As It Was Drying ~2000 Years Ago
The Baby In This Picture Is My Grandmother Born In 1893. Along With My Great Grandmother, Great Great Grandmother And Great Great Great Grandmother
Richard Lasher Was On His Way To Ride His Dirt Bike When Mt. St. Helens Erupted In Front Of Him (1980)
My uncle was supposed to have been hiking on Mt. St. Helens that day, but he had an epileptic seizure and collapsed while in the shower. Unfortunately, he bumped the faucet on his way down and ended up with very severe burns that took him almost a year to recover from, but at least he was alive - he'd have certainly died if he'd made it to his hike.
This Is Economy Class Seating On Pan Am 747 In The ‘60’s
A Ghostly Yet Mesmerizing Image From 1900
Ron Howard's Wedding To His (Still) Wife Cheryl In 1975--With Henry Winkler
Silent Film Actress, Delores Costello, Drew Barrymore's Grandmother, 1928
Mother And Daughter Photographs From 1900
Cute but I swear the mother looks like the wicked witch of the West in the bottom left pic
Irish Seaman And Antarctic Explorer Thomas Crean Photographed In 1915 Aboard The Endurance In Antarctica During The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Of 1914–1917 LED By Ernest Shackleton
The Endurance was trapped in ice for 492 days and sank, so the 28-man crew had to use lifeboats to reach the uninhabited Elephant Island. Crean was one of 6 members of the crew to make the 800 miles (1300 km) journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia in the small-boat James Caird to seek rescue for the rest of the crew. Once they reached South Georgia after 17 days at sea, 3 of the men, including Tom Crean, trekked across the island to a whaling station on the north side of South Georgia. There they were able to organize rescue efforts for the 3 men left on the south of the island and the remaining crew on Elephant Island. The entire crew of the Endurance returned home without loss of life.
Titanic Survivors Marjorie And Charlotte Collyer In New York Immediately Following The Sinking Of The Liner In 1912
Bride Leaving Her Recently Bombed Home To Get Married, London, Nov 4, 1940
My father grew up in Kent and recalls spitfires over his head in the 1940era
Marilyn Monroe Circa 1954
Nora Washington With A Catfish She Caught With A Cane Pole, No Less In The Colorado River, Bastrop, Texas 1950s
My Grandmother From 1947
Portrait Of Lillian, Cora And Luvenia Ward. Taken In Worcester, Massachusetts, Circa 1900
Women Grocery Shopping In The 1960s
Fun Before The Internet, 1960s
The kid at the top of the rail looks like they are away to have a bad time very soon.
This Boy And His Dog Were Photographed By Photographer J. E. Williams In New Athens, Ohio In The Late 1890s-Early 1900s
This was another one that was cracked but the damage wan’t in critical areas and I was able to clone some image from the photo taken at the same time. From my glass negative collection
Cicely Tyson And James Earl Jones
I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a young James Earl Jones before.
Charging An Electric Car In The Garage, New York, 1911
In the early 1900's Edison had an electric car company. His car was able to get 100 miles per battery charge (the next most was 30 miles), but took 48 hours to charge to full. Also the battery cost the same as 3 Model T's, not including the rest of the car. The Technology wasn't ready yet, and it lost popularity other than short distance cars (15-20 mile range) for rich urban women.
Benton County, Tennessee, 1930's
Caption
Carl Mydans was a photographer that worked some for the federal government during the Great Depression. He took several heart breaking pictures of rural families, especially in the South. This family was photographed near Benton County, Tennessee. He titled this one "Rural Mother
Bedouin Couple In Front Of Their Tent, Adwan Tribe. 1898. (Colorized By Frédéric Duriez)
My Grandparents, Poland 1952
Taken In 1972 Us Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant
As a father of 2 girls Thank God this has changed from the "norm"
Christmas Dinner, 1936. Dinner Consisted Of Potatoes, Cabbage And Pie
This sounds like the day before payday when I was a kid. Who am I kidding this is still the day before payday😔
Elvis, His Father Vernon, And His Grandmother Minnie Mae, 1959
An American Mother And Daughter Hold The American Flag In The Early 1900’s
That baby is trying to read my inner most desires to use against me I swear
A 19 Y O Teddy Roosevelt At Harvard
I took one look at this picture and instantly became pregnant with triplets.
London, England In 1890
A 23-Year-Old John Wayne, Circa 1930
A Couple Of Victorian Travellers, 1890s
Portrait Of A Young Woman From Denmark. Photographed In 1895
Mother And Son, Ireland, 1890
Teenage Sisters Gertrude And Ursula Falke. Germany, 1906
Unpacking Mona Lisa After The End Of World War II In 1945
Happy New Year 1907
Statue Of Liberty Towering Over Paris Just Before It Was Disassembled And Shipped To New York, 1886
A Casual Portrait Of A Woman Smiling, 1880
"Martha! You've ruined the shot. Now put your hands in your lap, sit up straight, and FROWN!"
Old Photos Of All Hallows’ Eve (Late 1800s + Early 1900s)
A Group Of ‘Victorian Street Urchins’ Taken In Birmingham, England Circa 1898
Winona Ryder, Jodie Foster & Julia Roberts, 1989
Circa 1910, These Children Were Playing With Their Little Wagon But Stopped Long Enough For This Picture To Be Taken
Little Girl Tending To The Care Of Her Dolls. Early 20th Century Glass Negative
She really took good care of them too. Plus, that’s a really crisp picture, for such an old glass negative.
A Little Boy And His Mom
I remember walking around following my mothers legs. Then I’d look up and I have been following a stranger and had to listen for my mothers cough or voice to find her. She would have no idea I’d even been lost when I’d find her.
A Coal Mining Dad With His Children, 1945
Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s Grandmother, Cradling Her In 1926
Another Look At Barbara E. Tripp, Age 3, On The Steps Of Her Home In New Bedford, Mass., September 10, 1916. Glass Negative Photo From The William H. Tripp Collection
These Photos Shows The 16-Year-Old German Soldier Hans-Georg Henke After He Was Captured By The Us 9th Army On April 3rd, 1945
Little Twins With Their Dog On Porch
Looks like my brother from another mother Jimi Thunder (Kelpie X). Hes not my pet he's my mate lol
Rolling Stones Concert At Jfk Stadium In 1978.... Something Bands These Days Have Never Been Able To Duplicate
Mulberry Street, New York City, 1900
28 Students Of A One-Room School At La Forge Farms. Missouri, January 1939
Even The Window Cleaners Wore Suits 100 Years Ago
Café Waitresses Serving Chips In Liberated Paris, 1940s
Reckless Kids Having Fun!
Freakily Accurate Newspaper Article From April 18, 1963
Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, And Rob Lowe In A Publicity Still For The Outsiders, 1983
Look at Tom Cruise! He had some seriously messed up teeth in his early career!
The Rms Queen Elizabeth Pulling Into New York With Service Men Returning Home After The End Of World War 2, 1945
Us Cavalry Soldiers Pose In Front Of A Tree Known As The "Grizzly Giant" 1900. The Tree Still Stands
Roadside Camping (With A Great Auto-Tent), 1920
My dad born in 1925, had a father with a car that loved to drive around New England. Dads memory is that, "there were no paved roads, y'know, so every ride was long and sometimes painful. You might have to get and move somethin in the way, trees and stuff. Always carried an axe and some water. For the radiator first, then you."
The Hoover Dam Under Construction In 1934
A Police Officer Transporting A Prisoner In A Holding Cell In 1921
Lmao. You could knock out the cop. But I’m guessing you would get your teeth knocked out if you did
Photo Of A Family Gathered Around The Fireplace In Their Home
The small cabin home was located in Loyston, Tennessee. The community of Loyston no longer exists as it was flooded when Norris Dam was built.
Safety Standards In 1960s....no Way!!!
Hands up who else would be clinging onto that pole for dear life with both arms, eyes tightly closed and crying like a baby.
These Daguerreotype Portraits Show The Oldest Generation Of People To Ever Be Photographed, 1840-1850
Many of these people were born in the 1700s and some of them even lived through the American Revolutionary War
The Second Class Saloon, Nome, Alaska, When Owned By Wyatt Earp And His Wife Between 1887 And 1901
My Grandfather Around 1908 Wayne Michigan
Hey OP, I have a pic (somewhere) of my Great Grandfather and his brother (great uncle) as paper boys in Oakland County around the same time
Home Prices In 1950s
They would still be affordable if they were built for living in and not for investing in.
Waltis Kilburn, His Wife And 14 Children Pose For A Photo At Their Home In Leslie County, Ky 1949
Witches From 1875
The Interior Of A Commercial Plane In 1936. The Plane Belonged To Imperial Airways, The First British Commercial Airline
Pioneers Traveling In A Covered Wagon And A Carriage, Probably In Colorado, 1880s
My Great-Great Grand Parents And Their Family
My maternal great-grandmother is on the far left, dark dress, with the bow in her hair. Time period is mid to late 1800's. She lived to the ripe old age of 103
That smile on the the girl on the left and the look of retirement on the rest
Left To Right: Cher's Mom, Georgia Holt, Cher, Georganne Lapiere, (Cher's Sister) And Sonny Bono Having Fun In The Sun! - March 1972
1924 My Dad At The Top With His Sister And Brothers, Irish Section Of The South Side Of Chicago
Northumbrian Miner At His Evening Meal, 1937
Most Likely A Father And His Offspring. Glass Negative Photo From Around 1910
Looks so old to have a baby. Looks like a grandfather but it’s probably just a 50yr old man with a 17yr old wife. Which happened back then
A Woman On The Frozen Mississippi River At St. Louis, Missouri In 1905
John Lennon And Yoko Ono Waiting For The Maid To Make The Bed So They Can Continue Protesting Against The System 1969
Agents Dump Seized Liquor During The Prohibition In The 1930s
John Adams Was Born In 1745. He Was The Earliest Born Human To Have Been Photographed. A Shoemaker, He Died In 1849, Aged 104
Hey BP said that about another picture just the other day 🤷🏼♀️🤔
Dinner Party At The Hotel Astor. New York City. 1904
This Is Mrs. Robert E. Lee. The Child Is Their Son, Robert E Lee Jr
Yes, upper class boys were dressed in dresses and curls back then - but isn't this the same child as the 'grumpy' one in another entry?
In The Late 1800s Early 1900s, It Was Tradition That On The 31st Of December, The Wife Would Kneel In Front Of Her Husband And Apologise For Everything She Got Wrong During The Course Of The Year
This one is false, the picture has been going around the internet for years, and the "tradition" explanation only got attached to it recently on Facebook. Got flagged as fake news there and subsequently was investigated, no evidence was found to support that this was an actual tradition
Great pics! You guys might like these two of my British grandparents in the 1920s (they got married in the backyard, couldn't afford the big church deal) and walking by the sea wall in the 1980s (same spot my Gramps and I would walk over the years). They were married for a little over 60-odd years when he passed away. Two of my favourite people in the world. Grandma-an...25a8b3.jpg
Your grandma was a beauty, and your handsome grandpa obviously cherished her. Thank you for sharing these pictures!
Load More Replies...Are we getting uglier? Are the beauty context pictures of old lying to us? Did they selected just the ones with beautiful people here? What is going on? Theories?
Even photos from the 19th century were often touched up. The negatives themselves could be touched up by hand.
Load More Replies...People seemed so much more beautiful and glamorous in the past!
Ah, the good old days...when you could die of polio, choke on other people's unfiltered cigarette smoke, bathe once a week, start work in the coal mine at age 10, or have your neighborhood wiped off the map because white folks were jealous
Load More Replies...Great pics! You guys might like these two of my British grandparents in the 1920s (they got married in the backyard, couldn't afford the big church deal) and walking by the sea wall in the 1980s (same spot my Gramps and I would walk over the years). They were married for a little over 60-odd years when he passed away. Two of my favourite people in the world. Grandma-an...25a8b3.jpg
Your grandma was a beauty, and your handsome grandpa obviously cherished her. Thank you for sharing these pictures!
Load More Replies...Are we getting uglier? Are the beauty context pictures of old lying to us? Did they selected just the ones with beautiful people here? What is going on? Theories?
Even photos from the 19th century were often touched up. The negatives themselves could be touched up by hand.
Load More Replies...People seemed so much more beautiful and glamorous in the past!
Ah, the good old days...when you could die of polio, choke on other people's unfiltered cigarette smoke, bathe once a week, start work in the coal mine at age 10, or have your neighborhood wiped off the map because white folks were jealous
Load More Replies...