What They Saw, What They Knew: 50 Breathtaking Historical Images From Eyes Long Closed

Nowadays, people take photos of anything and everything. Selfies, their food, pets, travel, random objects, and nothing in particular. The invention of the digital camera and mobile photography has made it uber easy to snap away somewhat nonchalantly at times. Our phone galleries and hard drives are filled to the brim with photographs. Sometimes four or five of the same thing.

But it wasn’t always like that. Back in the day, people didn’t have the luxury of whipping out their devices or a digital camera to capture a memory. They were a lot more intentional about what they used their rolls of film for, and how they executed the shots. There’s something precious about holding an actual physical photograph. Like a book, it has a feel, a smell, and certain characteristics that can only be picked up through time. It can almost transport you right back to the past as you hold a tangible piece of history in your hands. Even digital versions of old photos have the ability to stir up nostalgia.

If you’re a sucker for rare and interesting historical photos, you’re in for a treat. Bored Panda has put together a beautiful compilation of moments frozen in time, that we collected from the Old Historical Pictures Facebook group and the Historical Pictures IG page. They have a combined following of over 360,000 people, so they must be doing something right! Keep scrolling for a cozy trip down memory lane and don’t forget to upvote your favorites. Don’t miss the super interesting chat we had with Denise Levenick. She’s the founder of The Family Curator and spoke to us about preserving and digitizing old photographs and heirlooms.

#1 Two Apsaroke Native Americans On Horseback Outside Of A Tipi In A Snow-Covered Forest In Montana In 1908

What They Saw, What They Knew: 50 Breathtaking Historical Images From Eyes Long Closed

What They Saw, What They Knew: 50 Breathtaking Historical Images From Eyes Long Closed

#1 Two Apsaroke Native Americans On Horseback Outside Of A Tipi In A Snow-Covered Forest In Montana In 1908

#2 ‘Mother And Children’ Spain (1920s). Photo By Antoni Arissa

#3 Vespa Family, 1950s

#4 Barcelona (1955) Photo By Ramón Masats

#5 Rescuing A Horse That Fell In The Canal, Amsterdam, 1929

#6 Trollhättan, Sweden In The Early 1900s

#7 View Of The Pyramids, Eclipse Of The Sun Of August 30, 1905. By Gabriel Lekegian

#8 The Passing Of The Train, Nailsworth, At Dudbridge On 23rd August 1965

#9 The Future Queen Elizabeth II Being Carried Up The Steps Of Balmoral Castle In 1927

#10 Lincoln Cathedral: From The Castle 1898. By Frederick H. Evans

#11 Mother & Child, And It’s A Typical Day, San Francisco 1952. By Dorothea Lange

#12 A Wooden Roller Coaster In Edinburgh Scotland In 1900

#13 Battery Powered Scooter From 1918

#14 Winter Landscape From Herstedvester’. Peder Mørk Mønsted. 1923

#15 The Ss Princess May Was A Steamship Built In 1888. The Ship Is Best Known For Grounding In 1910, Which Left The Ship Sticking Completely Out Of The Water. This Is One Of The Most Famous Shipwreck Photographs

#16 Budapest (1914). Photo By André Kertész

#17 An Unidentified Woman Taking A Selfie, Circa 1900

#18 Wentworth Street In London’s Eastend In 1908

#19 Barber And Beauty Shop, Bedrock City, Rts. 64 And 180, Valle, Arizona, 1987

#20 “Mother’s Touch” Kentucky (1960). Photo By Warren Brunner

#21 ‘Roman Bridge,’ Mosul, Iraq (1930s) Photo By Aurel Stein

#22 53rd Street And 7th Avenue, Manhattan, 1957

#23 Piccadilly Circus, London, 1954. By Cecil Beaton

#24 The Sagrada Família, Barcelona, In 1905

#25 Ice Skating At Night In Vienna, 1910. By Emil Mayer

#26 View From Notre Dame, Paris, 1955. By Ernst Haas

#27 Angie Means Stands On A Giant Amazonian Water Lily Pad, Victoria Regia, In The Victoria Room At Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory And Botanical Gardens In 1898

#28 Tower Bridge Under Construction London 1889

#29 Shakespeare’s Birthplace Before Restoration Photographed In 1850

#30 ‘father And Son’ Italy (1962). Photo By Elio Ciol

#31 Selling Chocolates And Sweets On The Street Kensington London ,1930

#32 A Large Crowd Watches The First Balloon Rise In A Balloon Race In Berlin Germany In 1908

#33 Relaxing By A Pool In California, 1940. By J. Baylor Roberts

#34 17 Year Old Pele In Sweden Before The World Cup In 1958

#35 Lecco, Italy (1968). Photo By Paolo Monti

#36 Glasgow, Scotland (1980). Photo By Raymond Depardon

#37 Getting Some Ice Cream, Times Square, New York City, 1982

#38 Lunchtime, Paris, 1920s

#39 25.8 Inches Of Snow This Is A View Looking Down From 121st Street On Eighth Avenue On The Day After The Big Snowfall Of 1947

#40 A Sunday Morning In North Aurora, Il Kodachrome Slide Taken By Clifford R. Illyes. 1951

#41 San Francisco, Chinatown ,early 1950s

#42 Dublin, C1896. Photo By John J Clarke

#43 Sweden (1966) Photo By Sune Jonsson

#44 From The Back Window, New York, 1915 – By Alfred Stieglitz

#45 The Wooden Sibley Breaker, Pennsylvania, Built In 1886 And Destroyed By Fire In 1906

#46 Passengers On A NYC Municipal Ferry.. (Staten Island) In 1895 ( Library Of Congress)

#47 Roof, “Latin Quarter” Paris, 1926. By André Kertész

#48 Canoeists In A Boat Cave, Wisconsin Dells, C. 1890-95. Photo By Henry Hamilton Bennett

#49 Budapest, 1963 – From The Budapest Municipal Photography Company Archive

#50 Amsterdam, 1901. By Bern Eilers