We took a trip to the History Lovers Facebook page and gathered some of their most captivating pics down below. Some might make you nostalgic for a time period you never experienced, while others might make you appreciative of modern technology, but they’re certainly all entertaining. Enjoy scrolling through these photos, and be sure to upvote the ones that you’d like to have hanging on the wall in your home!
#1 A Japanese Postcard Of A ‘Bijin’ (Beautiful Person) With Her Kitten. Circa 1907
Image credits: History Lovers
#2 Royal Artillery Private Posing With His Little Friend, During WW1
Image credits: History Lovers
#3 Winner Of The Most Scary Woman In The UK Award In 1883 Was Hattie ‘The Mad Hatter’ Madders – The Only Woman Ever To Hold The Boxing Heavyweight Championship Of The World Title. She Won The Belt In 1883, Stopping Scottish Pugilist Wee Willy Harris In The First Round Of Their Bout. A Gentle Woman At Heart, Hattie Later Retired To Ireland Where She Became A Dairy Farmer
Image credits: History Lovers
For the vast majority of human history, we have no photos to show us what life was really like. We have books, artifacts, paintings, mummies and more. But we can’t really see the world through the eyes of those who were there. Until the 1800s. According to the Nashville Film Institute, the first camera was developed in 1816 by the Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, and life has never been the same since.
Obviously, cameras back then were very different from the ones we use today, especially considering that most of us are shooting from our phones nowadays. But thanks to the invention, and innovation, of cameras over the past couple of centuries, we’re now able to document almost everything. And we’re lucky to be able to look back on the past 200 years and see in vivid detail what the world was like.
#4 Portrait Of Hattie Tom, An Apache Native American, 1899
Image credits: History Lovers
#5 Three Women In Marshall, Texas C. 1899. Photographed By Gabriele Munter
Image credits: History Lovers
#6 A Bride Leaving Her Recently Bombed Home To Get Married In London. November 4th, 1940
Image credits: History Lovers
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of our world through the lens of a camera, the History Lovers Facebook page is a great place for you to check out. This account, which has amassed an impressive 87K followers since its inception in September 2022, is all about sharing moments from the past that most of us have never seen before.
A quick scroll through this page will show Norwegians in 1895 smiling for the camera, Edwardian youth playing outside, a troupe of Australian clowns in 1917, Dutch shopkeepers from 1906 and much, much more. We’ve all seen snapshots of some of the most iconic moments in history, but these scenes of everyday life are arguably just as fascinating! These are the moments that most of us normal people would have experienced had we been around back then.
#7 “The Kiss Of Peace” Tatler, London, England, September 27, 1905
Image credits: History Lovers
#8 A Somewhat Rare Picture Of Laughing Victorian Woman, Believed Circa 1880s!
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#9 ‘Antarctica’. By Herbert George Ponting. Circa 1911
Image credits: History Lovers
It’s difficult to imagine living in a time when there weren’t cameras in everyone’s homes (or pockets), so there’s no question that the advent of the camera changed the world. Great Big Photography World explains that, along with the invention of taking photos, came the ability to freeze moments in time. Never before could people take a snapshot to perfectly preserve a moment, document their lives and share experiences with others who weren’t around to see them with their own eyes. We no longer had to solely rely on oral and written storytelling.
#10 Double-Exposed Photograph Of French Illusionist Henri Robin With A Ghost. Photo: Eugène Thiébault, 1863
Image credits: History Lovers
#11 Female Firefighters In Action In London Circa 1916
Image credits: History Lovers
#12 Young English Victorian Lady Posing With Her Pet Cat C1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
Photography has also had a major impact on social events. Pictures are now essential for capturing important moments in history, as well as things we experience in our day to day lives. Pics or it didn’t happen, right? You can share photos of your recent vacation with loved ones who couldn’t come along, and journalists can snap pics during political protests to prove how impactful they were. It’s a lot harder to get away with lying when there’s photographic evidence of everything nowadays, but this accountability can be a good thing.
#13 Portrait Of Young Girl With Her Pet Cat In Pram And Doggie Liking On, Sunbathing. This Photo Was Taken In Cleveland, Ohio, USA Circa Early 1900′s
Image credits: History Lovers
#14 Poe, 1912 – By Jacques-Henri Lartigue (1894 – 1986), French
Image credits: History Lovers
#15 A Female Mason Perched High Above Berlin (C. 1910)
With The Rise Of Industrialization, The Number Of German Women Who Worked Outside The Home Also Increased. This Usually Meant Factory Work. But In Some Families With Their Own Businesses, Daughters Also Learned A Trade So That They Could Help Out: Here, We See A Master-Mason’s Daughter During The Renovation Work On The Old City Hall Tower In Berlin
Image credits: History Lovers
Even the art world has changed since photography has become such an important part of our lives. Prior to the advent of photography, art was typically used to transcend reality and portray aspects of the human experience without necessarily being literal or extremely accurate, Great Big Photography World notes. But once artists had access to cameras, a new sense of realism and authenticity emerged in the art world. Capturing moments and people as they truly are became the goal of many photographers.
#16 A Kitty Basking In The Beard Of Louis Coulon, A French Metallurgist, Taken In 1890
Image credits: History Lovers
#17 French Postcard Of Edwardian Era Lady With Her 2 Puddy Cats
Image credits: History Lovers
#18 Portrait Of “Child With Cat”, C.1890. By John A. Wheeler, Photographer
Image credits: History Lovers
Photography also democratized art in a new way. Before, paintings and sculptures required plenty of skill and resources to be able to create. And typically, only people of a certain class had access to even be able to see and experience these pieces. But with cameras, creating visual art became much more accessible. Plus, anyone can look at a photo and interpret it however they like. This empowered many more people to get into the art game, as they might not have had the money or resources to do so prior.
#19 A Victorian Lass With Rather Long Hair In A Fashionable Pic C1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
#20 Portrait Of Amelia Van Buren, Photographer, With Her Cat Taken Circa 1880s – By Her Tutor, Fellow American Photographer Thomas Eakins
Image credits: History Lovers
#21 Late Victorian Mountaineers, Including A Lady Fully Dressed And Corseted, Cross A Crevasse In The Alps, 1900
Image credits: History Lovers
I would be remiss to talk about the ways in which photography has transformed our world without mentioning the fact that it has had a significant political and cultural impact. War time photographers, for example, allowed the general public to see for the first time some of the horrors of war. It’s one thing to hear about brutal violence (or to have it kept under wraps by your government), but it’s a completely different experience to witness these atrocities with your own eyes.
#22 Portrait Of Another Victorian Batwoman, Shown As Marie Schleinzer, Taken At Adele Kuk Hof-Atelier, Vienna Circa 1890
Image credits: History Lovers
#23 A Line Up Of Men Dressed As Ladies In Brazil C 1913
Image credits: History Lovers
#24 A Couple Of Victorian Travellers Looking Rather Dandy Taken Around 1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
Photography also keeps politicians accountable. Unfortunately, it’s easy for photos to be manipulated nowadays, but in theory, keeping accurate photos of events allows the public to know what really happened. While politicians or news outlets might try to bend the truth about what occurred at a protest, rally, etc., it’s much harder to deny the truth when hundreds of people at the event captured it on their phones.
#25 Women In Virginia, C, 1909-1912 By Hugh Mangum- And No Duckface In Sight!
Image credits: History Lovers
#26 French Postcard Of Arlette Dorgère (Born Anna Mathilde Irma Jouve, 8 June 1880 – 1965) Was A French Actress, Dancer And Singer. Dorgère Appeared In Dozens Of Plays Throughout Her Career. She Is Represented On A Large Number Of Postcards Of The Belle Époque. Picture Taken Circa 1900s
Image credits: History Lovers
#27 Yet More Creepy Victorian Santa Claus Circa 1900s
Image credits: History Lovers
We hope you’re enjoying this blast from the past pandas. Keep upvoting the pics that you find particularly fascinating, and let us know in the comments below if you have any favorite historical photos. Then, if you’re interested in checking out even more pics that could have been included on this list, we recommend reading this Bored Panda article next!
#28 Late Victorian / Edwardian Family Frolics
Image credits: History Lovers
#29 1890s Three Women On Bicycles (Photo By Jakob Ljungqvist), Helsinki, Finland
Image credits: History Lovers
#30 Group Photograph Of Members Of The Brighton Swimming Club. Brighton, England. Circa 1863
Image credits: History Lovers
#31 A Mother And Her Children Making Matchboxes
The children were sent to fetch the chip and paper from the match factory and to return the finished boxes. This was one of the lowest paid sweated industries with families earning just two pence for 144 boxes made, and normally buying their own paste and string for tying the bundles. Taken circa 1900 as part of the book Charles Booth’s London Poverty Maps, a magnificently-illustrated tome which publishes the philanthropist’s famous hand-coloured maps alongside anecdotes from the researchers, and contemporary photos, in one volume © Museum of London
Image credits: History Lovers
#32 Unknown Couple Posing By A Lake Circa, 1899, Sweden
Image credits: History Lovers
#33 Portrait Of American Pioneering Female Photographer, Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870-1942) Posing With Her Camera On The Streets Of Manhattan, New York Circa .1901
Image credits: History Lovers
#34 Portrait Of 2 Lads With Their Baby Sibling Taken In Manhattan, New York Circa 1918
Image credits: History Lovers
#35 Lovely Picture Of A Victorian Lass “Attempting” To Ski
Image credits: History Lovers
#36 Tomigiku, 1910s, Japan
During the years Taisho 10 and Taisho 11 (1921 and 1922), Tomigiku was one of the great beauties of Kyoto. With her long eyelashes, and watery eyes reflecting the light, it is said that she was worth her weight in gold. She turned heads wherever she went. If anyone walking around the Maruyama and Gion areas happened to catch a glimpse of her walking by, just the mere sight of her stopped them in their tracks, and they saw her on her way as someone seeing off a person of high rank or great fame
Image credits: History Lovers
#37 Portrait Of Lady Kathleen Pilkington With 2 Dogs Circa 1903
Image credits: History Lovers
#38 Victorian Stereograph Card Photo Of A Couple Giving Little Albert A Bath In Their Casserole Pot! Circa 1860s
Image credits: History Lovers
#39 Artists’ Excursion On The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad], Unknown, 1858, Metropolitan Museum Of Art: Photography
Image credits: History Lovers
#40 Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna, Sister Of The Last Empress Of Russia. C 1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
#41 Portrait Of An Unknown Woman With A Pigeon In Her Palm Taken By Photographer J.e. Williams In New Athens, Ohio In Late 1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
#42 The Art Of Domestic Dentistry:
A mother helping her son with a loose tooth, taken by American photographer A. Granger in New York circa 1897. Photo originally a stereograph
Image credits: History Lovers
#43 Three Edwardian Couples Doing ‘Selfies’ In The Mirror. Location Unknown Circa 1900s
Image credits: History Lovers
#44 Portrait Of Two Girls Washing Clothes In The Street In Spitalfields Area, East London, Circa 1901/2. Photograph: Horace Warner/The Religious Society Of Friends In Britain
Image credits: History Lovers
#45 Amateur Victorian Dramatics C 1890s Source And Theatre Unknown
Image credits: History Lovers
#46 A Young Lady Posing In Croydon Road, Caterham, England Circa 1894
Image credits: History Lovers
#47 London Bar Scene With Pub Landlord And His Barmaids, With Lone Drinker. С. 1893
Image credits: History Lovers
#48 This Is Dowager Empress Marija Fjodorovna Of Russia (Or Princess Dagmar In Denmark) And Queen Alexandra Of The United Kingdom At Their Home Hvidøre In Denmark Which They Didn’t Acquire Until 1906. Photo Possibly Late 1900s
Image credits: History Lovers
#49 Faerie Sisters. Cabinet Card Photo From Around Early 1890s
Image credits: History Lovers
#50 Wittelsbach Sisters : Queen Elisabeth Of Belgium (Seated) Posing With Her Sisters, Crownprincess Marie Gabrielle Of Bavaria (Standing Left) And Sophie,countess Zu Toerring Jettenbach (Standing Right). They Three Were Daughters Of Carl Theodor, Duke In Bavaria And His Second Spouse, Maria Jose, Neé Infanta Of Portugal. Circa 1900s
Image credits: History Lovers
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Author: Shelly Fourer
