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People Are Sharing Historical Pictures Of Everyday Life In This Dedicated Online Group (50 Pics)
Looking at old pictures can be fascinating: people dressed in what could be considered the latest fashion trends (grandpa’s pants are soooo back in style), homes and surroundings that could only be seen on movie sets nowadays, and so much more all frozen in time for us to marvel at.
Covering the good, the bad, and the ugly of life as it was, the subreddit titled ‘The Way We Were’ is a treasure trove of such moments frozen in time. If you’re a fan of time travel enabled by browsing old photographs, you ought to love today’s list, so wait no longer, scroll down to find it and make sure to upvote your favorite pictures from the subreddit.
Upon scrolling down you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with an assistant professor of history at the Department of History, Philosophy, and Geography at Columbus State University, Dr. Laura June Davis, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions on the charm and significance of old pictures.
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#1
A Young Black Man, In An Act Of Resistance To South Africa's Apartheid Policies, Rides A Bus Restricted To Whites Only, In Durban, South Africa, 1980s
RELATED:
#2
Three Best Friends From Nebraska Circa 1910
#3
My Father & Grandparents, Louisiana, 1965
Browsing through old photo albums entails more than just looking at pretty pictures. They all tell a story—be it one of an extended family or many that somehow ended up in the same bunch—and it's the person with said album in their hands that gets to unravel it.
Nowadays, physical photo albums have largely been replaced by galleries on people’s phones or computers, or in the online world. However, that is not necessarily worse; while it is true that they don’t have the same feeling, digital albums allow more people to access them, consequently reaching a wider audience of curious humans.
And if you’re at all curious about what life was like back in the day, you ought to love the ‘The Way We Were’ subreddit, which, in their own words, covers “What **normal everyday life** was like for people living 50, 100, or more years ago”.
#4
Tuskegee Airmen Getting Briefed Before A Mission. 1945
#5
Flora And Sikes, 1905 - On The Back It Said "Love's Old Sweet Song"
For people whose job it is to delve deeper into the stories of the past, pictures have immeasurable value. “Photographs are an invaluable primary source resource for historians as they provide a window into the past,” Dr. Laura June Davis pointed out in an interview with Bored Panda. “They might capture a specific event, reveal the clothing, culture, or values of the time, or put a face to a long-forgotten name. Sometimes, photographs are the only historical evidence we have of a person.”
#6
A Black Man And A White Woman Embracing On A New York Subway - A Controversial Image For It's Time. Late 1960s. (Image - Ernest Cole)
#7
My Mom, An Engineer, In Her Office, One Month Before I Was Born. 1967, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
#8
Three Young Girls And A Dog Pose For The Camera. 1930
“For many key moments in our nation's past, it was the photographic evidence that not only captured the event but helped give it meaning,” Dr. Davis continued, discussing the value of old pictures. “Photography was relatively new during the Civil War but photographers like Mathew Brady captured the carnage of the conflict and made Americans (from both sides) comprehend the human costs of war.
“Jacob Riis, the famous muckraker, highlighted the plight, dangerous working conditions, and unsanitary living conditions of the turn-of-the-century New York City slums, prompting reforms. And the graphic violence endured by peaceful protesting civil rights activists and captured by the media helped garner popular support for change, leading to things like the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.”
#9
My Grandparents On Their Wedding Day. March 1969, West Sumatera, Indonesia
#10
My Sister And Me 1963. The Photographer Told Us To Not Smile Which Made Us Giggle
#11
My Grandparents' Wedding, 100 Years Ago Today
Some historical pictures are so significant, they can even be recalled in the memories of people millions of miles away from where—or decades of years later from when—they were taken.
Take the picture of construction workers having lunch on an unfinished skyscraper in New York, for instance; chances are you already have the image of eleven men hanging above the city in your head – an iconic picture taken back in 1932, known under the title “Lunch atop a Skyscraper”.
#12
Mad Magazine Artists Al Jaffee And Will Elder, In The Lunchroom At The High School For Music And Arts In New York City, 1936
#13
Two Women Grinding An Axe, 1918
Spocks's Mom 1 year ago
Do you have an ax to grind? These two lovely ladies will help you bury the hatchet.
#14
Grocery Shopping In The 1960s
In an interview with Bored Panda, Dr. Davis emphasized that by processing, digitizing, and archiving old photographs, we can help preserve our history.
“On a personal level, it's a great way to preserve our family stories, relive key moments of a collective past, and give faces to our long-lost loved ones. It's also a way to honor those who came before us, and remember where we came from,” she added.
#15
Great Grandmother & Great Aunt (~1946)
#16
I'm The Tall American With My Sri Lankan Family In 1980. Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
#17
My Date And Me All Dressed Up For A Fancy Party, 1974
Research suggests that on a personal level, browsing old pictures can even help alleviate low levels of pain, as the nostalgia it evokes can reduce activity in areas involved in pain perception.
According to Professor Huajian Cai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences responsible for carrying out the research, “As a predominantly positive emotion, nostalgia serves various adaptive functions, including a recently revealed analgesic effect,” The Mirror reports.
#18
Summertime In The 1940s
#19
Occupants Of A Sod House In Drenthe, The Netherlands, Photographed Standing Outside In 1936
#20
Man With Down’s Syndrome, 1890s
Emma London 1 year ago
This is interesting! Photographs were expensive, so this must have been either a picture of a beloved son, or an independent man, when the history only tells us a story about disabled people being killed or hid in the murky backrooms.
Whether it’s history-based research, curiosity, or a mild headache you’re trying to alleviate that encourages you to browse old pictures, we have plenty of them in store here at Bored Panda. So, when you’re done going through this list, feel free to continue to our previous editions on ‘The Way We Were’ here or here, or check out Bored Panda’s history category for more of similar content.
#21
Disco Sally, 78 Year Old Studio 54 Regular, 1978
#22
A Selection Of 1890s To Early 1900s Mugshots From Nebraska
#23
A Couple Of Victorian Travellers, 1890s
#24
May 1922: 78-Year-Old Robert T. Lincoln (Son Of Abraham Lincoln) Is Helped Up The Steps At The Dedication Of The Lincoln Memorial In Washington D.c
sofacushionfort 1 year ago
“White uniform lacks definition. I’ll just touch it up and nobody will notice.”
#25
Swimsuits And Roller Skates, Chicago, Il, C. 1947. Photo By Wayne Miller
#26
My Grandparents And Mom Around 1960 In Chicago
#27
One Of America’s Youngest Newsboys (4 Years Old) Florida, 1913
#28
This Behemoth Of A Flip Cut, 1960s
#29
That’s A Lot Of ‘70s Going On In One Pic
Damned_Cat 1 year ago
Ah! The old set of World Book encyclopedias! Back in the day when you got information from books and not just that square thing in the middle.
#30
Three Jolly Sisters In Failsworth, Greater Manchester, 1970s
#31
The Wright Family, Wokingham UK - 1967 - In Their Matching Dresses When Mums Used To Make Your Clothes
#32
Great-Grandparent’s Home Around The Late 1800s/Early 1900s. Eventually 7 Kids All Lived Here With Them
#33
Annie Edson Taylor And Her Cat, Pose With The Barrel She Went Over Niagara Falls In, 1901
#34
Easter 1969
#35
The Crowd At Woodstock 1969
Richard Graham 1 year ago
I was there. You can see me in the photo (467 rows back, 278th from the left).
#36
Wedding Portrait, Minnesota, 1911. Note The Delicate Lace On The Bride’s High-Necked Blouse
#37
At The Age Of 16 In 1946 My Grandfather Worked In A Paper Factory, This Is His Work Badge
#38
My Great Great Aunt Louise Hayes Née Andersen, Circa 1929
#40
My Terrified Dad (20) And His First Wife (19) Days After The Birth Of Their First Child (Maine, USA, 1961)
#41
My Grandma (Still Alive At 96) And Her Dad Baling Hay On The Family Farm In Clintonville, Wi. 1940s
#42
A Grocery Store Clerk In Tallahassee, Florida, 1962
#43
In This Image From 1955, We See A Woman Hanging Her Laundry On The Clothes-Line In Her Backyard. When I Was Growing Up - In The 1960s And 1970s - Every Backyard On My Street Had A Clothes-Line. While Hanging Out Their Laundry, The Neighbors Would Holler To Each Other
Piwakawaka 1 year ago
In NZ clotheslines are still used mostly. Dryers are for wet days or winter, if you have one.
#44
Linda Ward (And Two Admirers) Dublin, Early ‘60s
#45
Woman In Knee-Length Dress And Pants, Ca. 1860s. From A Bound Photo Album I Bought Years Ago. Subject And Photographer Unknown. [1457 X 2361]
![Woman In Knee-Length Dress And Pants, Ca. 1860s. From A Bound Photo Album I Bought Years Ago. Subject And Photographer Unknown. [1457 X 2361]](https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/662db829377ce_i7ovezimplrc1-jpeg__700.jpg "Woman In Knee-Length Dress And Pants, Ca. 1860s. From A Bound Photo Album I Bought Years Ago. Subject And Photographer Unknown. [1457 X 2361]")
Richard Smith 1 year ago
While memento mori were common, exposure took so long stands were used on the living to prevent blurs.
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01BMW01M101FAN01 1 year ago
That hussy, LOL. No just kidding. I didnt think women could of were allowed to wear pants back then?
Shaunn Munn 1 year ago
And she was probably castigated for trying to appear "manly". As if a man would be caught dead in that attire.
#46
A Chinese Lady Whose Feet Were Bound From Childhood. Late 1800s
#47
Beautiful Vintage Photos Collection, 1962-1980
Spocks's Mom 1 year ago
If you are sensitive to animals getting hurt like I am, DO NOT click the link. Some of the pictures are good, but one just made my heart hurt.
#48
Western Saloon
#49
Grandpa’s Photo From The Dorms Freshmen Year At Purdue University 1956
Panda Kicki 1 year ago
Poor guys, such crowded dorms they had to share beds. Look at their sad little faces...
#50
My Great Grandmother’s Brother, Perry. He Was Beaten To Death In A Bar Fight In 1949 At The Age Of 31
#51
Vintage Image Of A Sign
#52
People Taking Selfies, C. 1890’s - 1940’s
#53
Boys In Los Angeles Show Off Diving Helmets Made From Sections Of Hot Water Heaters, Boilers And Other Junk, 1933
#54
In Honor Of My Late Sister’s Birthday Tomorrow, Here Are Some Pics Of Our Childhood
#55
My Dad And Late Mum On Their Wedding Day - 1983. I Forgot How Beautiful She Was
#56
There Were 357 Residential Schools In The U.S., Where Native American Children Were Sent, And, By 1926, More Than 80% Of Native American Children Were Attending Such Schools. The First Such School - The Carlisle Indian Industrial School - Was Established In 1879. The Photo Here Is From 1885
Ross Shaw 1 year ago
A new Department of the Interior report shows there were 417 such boarding schools, and 973 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children died while attending them. Children were taken from their families, denied their culture and language, and subjected to all forms of abuse.
#57
This Book From 1908 Shows How Photo Retouching Was Around Long Before Photoshop Ever Was
Me Oh My (He/They) 1 year ago
Yes, but it's not as awful as today. They just removed blemishes and lightened shadows, not changed the entire facial structure.
#58
Esbon High School District Champion Girls’ Basketball Team. Kansas, 1925. I Think At Least Some Of The Girls Are Wearing Bloomers
#59
Nimrod Depue, 1920, Aged 20
#60
The Hobble Skirt Trend From The 1900’s And 1910’s
#61
Dinner Time In The 1950’s
#62
Scanned Some Of Dad’s Old Climbing Slides (1970’s)
#63
Atlanta High School Basketball Player Shooting Underhand, A Free Throw Against Tech High School In 1921
#64
Two Girls Doing Their Easter-Shopping, London, April 8, 1936
#65
My Dad Eating Cake For His 2nd & 3rd Birthdays, Atlanta, Tx 1955 & 1956
Me Oh My (He/They) 1 year ago
2 and 3 and he already looks like a tiny old man. Look at that smile!
#66
Purchased A Box Of 35mm Slides From An Abandoned Business (Ontario, Canada) [est. 1950's]
![Purchased A Box Of 35mm Slides From An Abandoned Business (Ontario, Canada) [est. 1950's]](https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/662db9cc122de_2f1qbgm036sc1__700.jpg "Purchased A Box Of 35mm Slides From An Abandoned Business (Ontario, Canada) [est. 1950's]")
#67
My Dad's Family Leaving Missouri For California Cicra 1944. My Dad, 1st Row All The Way To The Right. Crazy Thing Is There Are 8 Older Kids Not In The Picture
Achiel Meirsman 1 year ago
That amount of kids means they didn’t outgrow the house, they outgrew the state…
#68
Schnuck's Grocery Store Cashier, St. Louis, Mo 1970s
#69
Mother On A Couch With Her Baby On Her Lap, Bronx, N.y., 1966
#70
The Danish Bakery At Publix From The 1976 Annual Report
Emma London 1 year ago
I love this, it has the same feel with the "abundance pictures" of the cookbooks at the time, where they crammed all the foods or baked goods in the same picture because the special color photo pages were expensive.
#71
These Photos From The 1930s Through The 50s Show Polio Victims In The Dreaded Iron Lung Machine Prior To The Invention Of The Polio Vaccine
#72
Haunting Portraits Of Surgery Patients Of Dr. Harvey Cushing From The Early 20th Century
the_avenging_knight (her/she) 1 year ago
Dr. Harvey Cushing was an american neurosurgeon in the early to mid 1900s.
#73
The Woman In These Photos Was A Swedish Immigrant To The Us, And Was Sixteen And Pregnant When She Married In 1924. She Died In 1925 At Age Eighteen
#74
My Granma And Her Boyfriend Before My Grandfather
#75
(1953) Ford Executives Selecting That Year's Automobile Colors From 76 Different Scale Models Of Them
TBS 1 year ago
Look around now if you live in the U.S. We just bought a car and could only get grey, white, or black. We were told companies knew those colors would sell, so dealerships rarely get fun colors anymore, and when they do, they don't know what colors are coming and cannot order special colors from the factory.
#76
Rickards High School Principal Checking Skirt Length In Tallahassee, 1965
atheist_cleric 1 year ago
My 15 minutes of relevance: I was the first girl to be sent home from Aurora Central high for my skirt being too short.
#77
Jane Lucy Thompson (Later Lesich) Poses With Her Brother, Grover, And Mother, Agusta, In I Think The 1920s
#78
Teenagers' Marriage Criteria From Progressive Farmer October 1955
#79
My Mom (Bottom Left) And Her Family Dressed Up For A Bicentennial Celebration 1976
#80
Northern Ireland During The Troubles, Late 60s And Early 70s, By Akihiko Okamura
Blue Bunny of Happiness 1 year ago
“The Troubles” aka a low grade war where over 3,600 people were killed and thousands more injured. Only us Brits could refer to it in such gentle terms.
#81
My Parents, The Couple In The Front, On Their Flight Home After Going On A Mexican Cruise In March, 1977. The Couple Behind Them Were Friends Of Theirs That Also Went On The Cruise
#82
Party On!
#83
American Family On Easter Sunday, 1968
#84
Birthday At Nadine's Dollhouse Grave, 1934c
Barry Patterson 1 year ago
Lanette Alabama. She wanted a dollhouse for Christmas but died on Dec.18th. Daddy didn't let her down.
#85
A Minnesota Woman, Lempi Raattama, And Her Baby Son, Minnesota, Circa 1924
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What do you think ?
Elvira394 1 year ago (edited)
I'm reaching the age where these photos evoke more than a nostalgia for my time, but a growing sense of how my time is rapidly becoming historical. My world is gone, and this world belongs to my children. The problems of yesterday seem so simple now, while the problems of today seem so impossibly complex. And then I begin to realize how, as time goes on and my world fades into history, it becomes easier and easier to imagine being ready to let go of this new world I don't belong to. Maybe that is what age is supposed to do, let you be ready for when time runs out. It feels both terrifying and comforting at the same time, to join the history books where we all eventually will belong.
Swinger Panda 1 year ago
Beautiful people living life to the fullest, taking opportunities to grow and love and learn. It's always nice to remember that not the "whole" world is burning.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
These articles always make me want to go back and look at my own family history photos. I know a lot of the stories of the people in them because my grandad told and wrote a lot of them for me but I would love to know more.
Elvira394 1 year ago (edited)
I'm reaching the age where these photos evoke more than a nostalgia for my time, but a growing sense of how my time is rapidly becoming historical. My world is gone, and this world belongs to my children. The problems of yesterday seem so simple now, while the problems of today seem so impossibly complex. And then I begin to realize how, as time goes on and my world fades into history, it becomes easier and easier to imagine being ready to let go of this new world I don't belong to. Maybe that is what age is supposed to do, let you be ready for when time runs out. It feels both terrifying and comforting at the same time, to join the history books where we all eventually will belong.
Swinger Panda 1 year ago
Beautiful people living life to the fullest, taking opportunities to grow and love and learn. It's always nice to remember that not the "whole" world is burning.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
These articles always make me want to go back and look at my own family history photos. I know a lot of the stories of the people in them because my grandad told and wrote a lot of them for me but I would love to know more.
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