50 Important Historical Photos That Reveal What It Was Like To Live In the 1800s and 1900s (New Pics)
When thinking about the past, it feels like a surreal reality that sometimes could be more difficult to imagine than the future. But seeing photos from 1800 and 1900 feels even weirder since it is actual proof of it happening. And more importantly, people's lives don't seem to be boring or dull. On the contrary, they look risky, weird, fun, and simply put - entertaining to my futuristic human eyes. I am sure, if these people had the internet back then, we would be greeted with quality memes from past times. So, after all, we are not that different, just with other possibilities.
But I don’t want to romanticize the olden times. They did have pretty harsh legislation, and it wasn’t easy if you did not fit into the ideology of that time. And even though we have our own challenges nowadays, I’d rather be here and now. Though it feels interesting to see how the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower looked when they were still under construction, as well as simpler things, such as people's fashion, their lazy Sunday afternoons, and even dogs doing chores.
Thankfully, a Facebook page called 'Old Photos' keeps us posted on the past, and today we want to invite you to delve into these vintage photos part 2. Feel free to check out part 1 here, and for more, you can also visit our posts of important historical images and old photos in real life.
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A Beautiful Little Girl In New York, 1958
A Snow Lady, 1892
It's Not About Where You Are, Its Who You're With
With the first camera, there came the first photo ever that was taken in 1826. French scientist Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, after taking a photo titled View from the Window at Le Gras, at his family’s country home, became the first photographer in the world.
Photography is an important part of our lives that has been used in a variety of ways up to this day. Unlike paintings of events or portraits of certain people, photography finally gave society an option to capture those true moments of what was happening.
Going through these old images allows us to travel to the craziest places, like the Saloon in 1890, where children were not only allowed but also could order child-sized beers. What a time.
A Ghostly Yet Mesmerizing Image From 1900
Yellow Magpie, Arapaho Man, 1898
Net Fix And Chill, Irish Fishermen, Ireland 1910
The last thing we need on the internet is more trawls lurking around
When going through images of olden times, you can also notice improvements in photo cameras by the quality of the pictures. But that is not the only thing that gives it away. Smiles can also be a factor. If you see a person refusing to smile in an old image, that does not necessarily mean that living in 1800, for example, was sad or depressing. Very early technology could not capture those beautiful smiles.
The explanation behind that is a long exposure - the time that the camera needed to take the picture in - which meant that people had to stay as still as possible to avoid blurriness.
Annie Oakley Shooting A Gun Over Her Shoulder Using A Hand Mirror, 1899
Witches From 1875
Apache Woman And Child, 1898
The other reason, which is also valid in explaining why people seemed so unhappy in the old photos, is because photography was heavily influenced by painted portraits. Paintings were used to immortalize a representation of a person in time, while today, it is used for capturing a moment in life. Even after technological advances in cameras made it possible to photograph people faster, the tradition hadn’t made that transition as quickly. If you think of it, that can be seen even today, where technology has advanced in milestones, while some people still choose to live by the traditions of the past.
A Cat's Life On The Farm, 1951
A Young Edwardian Lady From 1910
Kiowa Couple Lone Wolf And Etla, 1860
He's pretty chill but she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. I feel so bad for them.
Some more bizarre ideas of early photography were that it was considered a passage to immortality. So instead of photographing alive, happy people, there are many portraits of individuals who recently passed.
Compared to today, when it is considered weird to take photos at funerals, it only shows how far we have come. It is interesting to think of how photography will evolve in the future, and maybe one day, we will be looking back at the photos from these days with confusion and relief that it is not ok to do what we did anymore.
Anne Frank Pokes Her Head Out Of Her Family's Flat In Amsterdam, 1942
Photographer Above The Skies Of Berlin, 1912
A Couple Dancing On Ice-Skates On Whitestone Pond, Hampstead, London, 1933
Even The Window Cleaners Wore Suits 100 Years Ago
Women Boxing On A Roof, 1938
Inuit Man Warms His Wife’s Feet, Greenland, 1890's
Mother Home Schools Her Children In Transylvania, Louisiana, 1937
No, there is a Transylvania, Louisiana - it's filled with crawfish-eating Creole vampires.
Two Ladies Leaving A Polling Station, London, 1929
Two Girls Standing Outside Of A Snow Fort, 1910
I hope at least one of them grew up to be an architect... that's a very impressive fort!
Grandma Patching The Only Pants Of Her Grandson, 1907
Do We Have Such Accurate Halloween Costumes These Days?
Stylish Victorian Woman
Queen Elizabeth II In 1945
A Portrait Taken Of A Woman While She Was Mid-Sneeze
1850s Young Fashionable Teen With A Slight Smirk
Leola King, America’s First Female Traffic Cop, 1918
Real Japanese Samurai, 1866
A Saloon That Allowed Children Their Own Child-Size Beers, Wisconsin, 1890
Two Amphicars Crossed The English Channel In 1965
Tattooed Family In 1910
One Of The First Original Selfies, Taken With A Stick, 1934
Soldiers Peel Onions While Using Gas Masks To Stop Them From Crying, 1941
No One Is Helping These Guys Clean The House!
Albert Einstein Plays His Beloved Violin, 1941
Tourists Drink Tea Atop The Great Pyramid, 1938
First Photograph Of A Tornado Near Garnett, Kansas. April 26, 1884
A Family In Front Of Their Summer Home. Stockholm, Sweden, 1867
I am sure it was an amazing family, but it looks like a horror movie scene to me
Mother And Son, Ireland, 1890
The Hand And The Torch Of The Statue Of Liberty Being Built In A Paris Studio Around 1876
A Boy And His Owl, 1933
Old Fashion Playground
Northumbrian Miner At His Evening Meal, 1937
The Earliest Known Photo Of Abraham Lincoln, 1840
There are 130 known photographs of Abraham Lincoln. I don’t believe this is one of them
J W Waldron's Smith & Bicycle Works In Brighton, England. C. 1900
Frank Lentini, An Owner Of 3 Legs, 4 Feet, 16 Toes, And 2 Functioning Sets Of Genitals
A Young Man Enjoying His First Dance
Rear View Of Young Couple Snuggling Behind The Wheel Of His Convertible As They Watch Large Screen Action Behind Rows Of Cars At A Drive-In Movie Theater
Hershey Kisses Being Individually Hand-Wrapped, 1935
Father And Son Goofing Off, 1910s
A Woman Riding An Autoped
Oglala Girl With Her Puppy Sitting In Front Of A Tipi, Pine Ridge Reservation, 1891
London Nomads, 1877
Loving the PC title BP, these are travellers, not nomads, nomads are more synonymous with deserts.
A Graduation Ceremony, 1895
Testing Of New Bulletproof Vests, 1923
Protesters March During Prohibition, Chicago, 1920's
A Cameraman Filming Over Baker Street , London 1930
Learning To Ride A Bicycle, 1895
She reminds me of someone..I can't put my finger on it.
This Is How People Went To The Beach In 1910
A Woman At A Cafe In Paris With Her Pet Cheetah, 1932
Newsgirl And Newsboy. New York, 1896
Mrs. Dyson In Her Kitchen. Saint Mary's County, Maryland In 1940
Well done for posting her name. Aside from the late QE2 and a former president, her's is the only one I have seen in this thread so far.
A Policeman Judges An Ankle Competition At Hounslow, London, 1930
Woman Stomping Grapes In Frascati, Italy In 1957
Bricklayer, 1928
Female Worker Bottling Ketchup At The Original Heinz Factory Circa 1897. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Us
Golf Ball Collector, 1920s
McDonald Brothers In Front Of Soon To Open 1st Ever Mcdonald’s, 1948
New Parents Of Quadruplets, Late 1880s
A Lazy Sunday Afternoon, 1908
American Woman Welders During World War II
Inside A Train, 1800s
A Policeman Holds Up Traffic To Allow Four Egg Chicks To Cross A Bridge, 1966
Driver Of Combine Threshing Oats, 1940
A Family Is Forced To Leave Their Home During The Great Depression, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, June, 1938
Man Standing On Lap Of Colossal Figure Of Ramses, 1856
Atlantic City Beach, 1890s
I think this is actually the south of England in the late 1800s. There wasn't so much money around in those days so you had to save where you could. Here is a picture of a husband preparing to throw his wife across the English Channel into France, rather than pay for two tickets.
Drunken Women Fighting On A Rooftop. London, 1902
A Salesman Has His Motorized Roller Skates Refueled. Connecticut, 1961
Teacher Tantie Huckabee At The Palmetto-Covered One-Room School Near Taylor Creek And Lake Okeechobee, Florida In The 1890s
Daredevil Jammie Reynolds In 1917
Firefighters Trying To Stop Fire At The Equitable Life Building During A Snowstorm, Manhattan, 1912
US Mail, 1912
The First Class Gymnasium On Board The Titanic
The left side equipment looks fun. Full suit at the gym - not so much.
New York Hair Salon, Early 1970s
New York City, 1888
"Hey Marge! Come look out da window! It snowed last night!" "Oh yah?! How much?" "ALL OF IT!"
Forge Workers Beside Part Of The Titanic’s Anchor Chain
Dr. Elizabeth Bruyn Sits In The Rear Of Her Horse Drawn Ambulance In The United States, 1911
Ferris, 7 Years Old, Newspaper Boy In Alabama, 1900's
Women Having Tea, New Zealand, 1890
A Horse Smiles, Circa 1958
Niagara Falls In 1912
A Man Looses His Umbrella On A Windy And Snowy Day, 1962
A Group Of Montana Men Advertising For Wives, 1901
A Rare Look Inside Of A Barbershop, 1869
A Family Auto Camping In Oregon, 1918
Empire State Building Construction Workers In The 1930s
Newsies And Other Child Laborers Gather Outside A Newspaper Office. February, 1910
It was a way for a kid to make some change. Sometimes for a bike, and sometimes to help feed the family. Honorable.
Carving Eye On Mount Rushmore, 1930s
Robert Wadlow, The Tallest Man In History, With His Family In 1935
A Lector Reads A Newspaper To Workers In A Cigar Factory, 1900s
Steelworker Touching The Tip Of The Chrysler Building During The Construction Of The Empire State Building, 1931
A Scottish Farmer Shoeing A Horse, 1921
Britsh Tourists In Front Of The Great Sphinx, 1910
Wearing The Latest Style At Longchamp Race's Paris France, 1919
Conjoined Twins Of Mustaches, 1890
So.... You are telling me that if I date you your brother will always be in the picture? Oh, *ahem* I suppose I could easily adapt😉
Chicago, 1929
A Rare Look Inside The Original Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Factory, 1924
Three Homeless Boys Sleep On A Stairway In A Lower East Side Alley, New York, 1890s
Vancouver, Canada, 1907
Family Of Cherry Pickers, 1940
Butter-Making In Appalachia, 1917
A Fireman From The London Fire Brigade, Wearing A Smoke Helmet, 1908
Woman Talking On A Hand Crank, Oak Telephone, 1900s
"... And you wouldn't believe what Erline said down at the general store today. I swear that hussy just gets on my nerves sometimes."
A Young Woman In A Skirt Working Out With Boxing Gloves And A Punching Bag, 1890
I'm glad they told us that she's in a skirt, so we didn't have to spend all that time figuring it out for ourselves.
Two Women Train At A Boxing School In Berlin, Germany, 1909
Traffic Officer Operating A Mechanical Traffic Signal, Philadelphia, 1922
View From The Top On The Opening Day Of The Empire State Building, 1931
12 And 14 Year Old Boys Packing Cones At The Workshop Of Sanitary Ice Cream Cone. Oklahoma, 1917
Construction Workers Taking Lunch Break On The Edges Of The Building They're Working On, London, 1929
The Oldest Known Documented Wheelie, 1936
A Coca Cola Company Delivery Truck In Knoxville, 1909
"Lets Bury Dad!", 1915
Saturday Afternoon In Florence, Alabama, 1942
An Old West Saloon With A Tough Looking Clientele
Sherwood Logging Camp, 1900
I'm glad we still have some giant trees. They've wiped out the really old cypress trees here. There are pictures of them being logged and I've never seen a cypress like that much less a grove of them but I've seen some that were cut and started growing from the base again. They look like weird giant bonsai trees in the water.
Workers Reinstall Clock At The Information Booth In Grand Central, New York, 1954
Those clock faces are considered priceless, or nearly-priceless (I believe I once heard they’re made of opal). It turns out that appraisers from Sotheby's and Christie's have valued the four-sided brass masterpiece at between $10 and 20 million! The brass beauty might be one of the most iconic timepieces in Manhattan, but it was made in Brooklyn, by the Self Winding Clock Company, at 205 Willoughby Avenue.
"The Old Lady And Her Pets", 1886
The Eiffel Tower Is Shown Under Construction In 1887
Women Learn To Shoot, 1915
Two Women Crossing The Street During A Blizzard, New York, 1903
Also a couple of men crossing the road in a blizzard all look f.ucking freezing
Singer Johnny Hallyday Admires A Bizzarrini 5300 Gt In Paris, 1960
Studebaker Motor Car In Repair Shop With Garage Mechanic. San Francisco, 1915
Some Of The First Volkswagen “Beetles” Produced In West Germany, 1945
Writing Out A Parking Ticket In Manhattan, 1952
But you know BP, they put in 20 old a*s pics and say "new pics" just cause there is a few sprinkled in
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What do you think people will say about us when they see pictures 100 years from now? " And this is the first person to ever do "duck lips" for their selfiie" 🤣
But you know BP, they put in 20 old a*s pics and say "new pics" just cause there is a few sprinkled in
Load More Replies... What do you think people will say about us when they see pictures 100 years from now? " And this is the first person to ever do "duck lips" for their selfiie" 🤣
