The Victorian era gave us many great inventions that we still use today – bicycles, Morse code, ice cream as we know it, and even the telephone. The era of Queen Victoria’s reign, though, had some pretty bizarre happenings too. Such as ladies getting stuck in doorways because of their extra big dress skirts and constantly fainting as a result of very tight corsets. Also, the London fog did exist, and it comprised of nothing else than heavy pollution from coal mines and the city being in regular fires. Victorians were oddly obsessed with Egyptology and makeup, especially lipstick, which was compared to witchcraft. To add even more fun to the mix, the social rules and behavior codes were amazingly strict.
With life this pleasant, it’s no wonder that nobody was smiling in the creepy pictures taken in the Victorian era. Everybody looks so severe that it seems as if people in the 1800s just didn’t have the time, or strength to have fun. But as these rare vintage photos prove, that wasn’t always the case.
There are many theories as to why Victorians always look so dour in pictures. Long exposure times made smiling difficult (and by long we mean several hours. Seriously. Ever tried smiling for several hours? It hurts) and the high cost of portraits gave people very little to smile about. Poor dental hygiene made people reluctant to show their teeth (or whatever teeth they had left), and let’s not forget that many Victorians simply had it too rough a life to take funny pictures. But as you can see from the vintage photography exemplars below, some still found something to smile about. From gentlemen cross-dressing as fair ladies of the times, to probably the first awkward family photos in history, the few Victorians, who managed to have some fun, are all here. (h/t: whizzpast)
#1 A Victorian Couple Trying Not To Laugh While Getting Their Portraits Done, 1890s
#2 Cakewalk Dance
#3 A Unique Tea Setting For Two
#4 A Snow Lady, 1892
Image source: The Strand magazine
#5 Unusual Portrait Of A Victorian Lady, 1840
#6 Three Fashionable Young Men At Yale, 1883
#7 Awkward Family Photo, Victorian Edition
#8 Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899
Image source: statearchive
#9 Vintage Humor
Image source: statearchive
#10 Piggy Nose
#11 Men And Women Cross Dress In This Silly Victorian Snap, 1880-1900
#12 Say That Again, And I’ll Dip You In, 1897
Image source: James M. Davis
#13 Unknown Victorian In Mid-jump
#14 Vacation Sports At The Seaside
Image source: Strohmeyer and Wyman
#15 Richard Freiherr Von Krafft-Ebing
Image source: Krafft-Ebing
#16 The Victorians From France
#17 Courting In The 1800s Never Looked Better
Image source: Hulton Archive
#18 This Is As Close To A Victorian Selfie As It’s Going To Get
Image source: S. Ray
#19 Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899
Image source: statearchive
#20 Smiling Victorians
Image source: The Smiling Victorian
#21 Smiling Little Girls
#22 Victorians Pulling Face, 1900
Image source: Northumberland Archives
#23 Smiling Victorians, 1900s
#24 Victorians, 1800s
#25 Tsar Nicholas II, 1899
Image source: statearchive
#26 Men Dressed In Drag In The Victorian Era
#27 Fashion Victorians Women, 19th Century
Image source: 19thcenturymodern
#28 A Smiling Queen Victoria In An Open Coach, 1892
Image source: Hulton Archive
#29 Smiling Victorian, 1800s
#30 Miss Barton Dressed In A Late Victorian Tennis Outfit
Image source: London Stereoscopic Company
#31 Man Pulling A Funny Face
Image source: Northumberland Archives
#32 A Woman Riding A ‘scorcher’, A Victorian Bicycle, In St James’ Park, London
Image source: Hulton Collection
#33 Smiling Victorian Servants
#34 Kid Pulling A Funny Face
Image source: Northumberland Archives
#35 A Group Of Smiling Edwardians
#36 Man Pulling A Comical Face, 1900
Image source: Northumberland Archives
#37 A Group Of Women To Celebrate The Centenary Of The London Bus
Image source: Fox Photos
#38 Gibson Girls
#39 Evelyn Winchester
#40 The 20th Century Victorian Man With Banishing Woman
Image source: H. Armstrong Roberts
#41 The Smiling Victorians
#42 Smiling 1850s Lady
#43 Smiling Victorians, 1900s
#44 Victorians Pulling Face, 1900
Image source: Northumberland Archives Report
#45 Smiling Victorian, 1800s
#46 A Family In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900
#47 A Young Couple A Photographed In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900
#48 Slicker-Looking Guy
#49 Young Ladies
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