110 Moments Nearly Lost To History That Everyone Should See

When we think about the past, it’s easy to think of the same familiar photographs—the ones we’ve seen so often that they’re etched into our minds as a kind of shorthand for entire chapters of history. That isn’t to say they’re not impressive. Many of them became part of our collective consciousness because they’re often some combination of visually striking, historically significant, or representative of their time.

But not every photograph becomes part of the history we know best. Some remain tucked away, overlooked, or simply less familiar. And that’s part of what makes accounts like Lost in History so fascinating. By sharing lesser-seen photos from decades gone by, they bring images that could have simply languished out of sight back into the light, often reminding us that there are, in fact, many ways to look at the past.

#1 A Vietcong Operating Room In The Vietnam War, 1970

110 Moments Nearly Lost To History That Everyone Should See

Image source: lostinhistory_returns, Marina Amaral

#2 Anne Frank Writing At Her Desk In Her Room In The Merwedeplein Apartment, Amsterdam, 1941

110 Moments Nearly Lost To History That Everyone Should See

Image source: lostinhistory_returns, Anne Frank Foundation

#3 In 1878, Isabella Bover, A Renowned French Model, Was Carefully Selected To Embody The Spirit Of The Statue Of Liberty

110 Moments Nearly Lost To History That Everyone Should See

110 Moments Nearly Lost To History That Everyone Should See

#1 A Vietcong Operating Room In The Vietnam War, 1970

#2 Anne Frank Writing At Her Desk In Her Room In The Merwedeplein Apartment, Amsterdam, 1941

#3 In 1878, Isabella Bover, A Renowned French Model, Was Carefully Selected To Embody The Spirit Of The Statue Of Liberty

#4 LEGO Was Patented In 1958. The Design Of Its Bricks Has Not Changed Since

#5 Transportation Of The Base For The Drilling Rig. UK, 1980s

#6 This Photo From 1902 Shows French Knife Grinders. They Would Work On Their Stomachs In Order To Save Their Backs From Being Hunched All Day

#7 An Unknown Soldier In Vietnam From 1965

#8 A Little Girl Hands A Posy Of Lilies To A Police Officer On Duty At The Porte Saint-Denis In Paris, Circa 1920

#9 A Small Dog Does Its Best To Look Brave In Front Of Four Great Danes At The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show At Madison Square Garden In 1937

#10 Women Marching For The Right To Vote. 1913

#11 Ww2 Drag Queen Show At A Us Military Base, 1942

#12 Sigourney Weaver On The Set Of Alien

#13 Queen Victoria With The Russian Tsar Nicholas II. To The Left Sits Tsarina Alexandra With Her Little Daughter Grand Duchess Olga. Balmoral Castle. 1896

#14 In 1199, Pope Innocent III Approved The Uniform Of The Knights Of The Teutonic Order – A White Tunic And A White Cloak With A Black Cross

#15 Rainy Nights In London, 1899

#16 By Yevgeny Khaldei – A Shell Shocked Reindeer Looking On As World War II Planes Drop Bombs

#17 Colorized Photo Of Ned Parfett, Best Known As The “Titanic Paperboy” April 16, 1912

#18 A Lady With Her Horse On A Snowy Day In 1899

#19 A Father Searches For His Two Sons Who Went Missing During The Kosovo War In 1999

#20 Evelyn Nesbit, The First American Supermodel, 1902

#21 Babies Left To Sleep Outside, Enforcing Immune Sistem, Moscow 1958

#22 An 11-Year Old Coal Miner Named Otha Porter Martin In 1908

#23 Gentleman Seeking Employment In The 1930’s

#24 A Tattoo Artist, 1920s

#25 Street Scene In Guangzhou, China, 1880

#26 A Rather Unusual Photo Of One Of The More Than Hundred Intrepid Window Cleaners

#27 Camouflaged Road In Finland During Ww2. The Trees Are Hung Up With Rope So Enemy Watch Towers Don’t See The Road. June 27, 1941

#28 Sunday, West Germany. 1965

#29 A Navajo Man Wearing A Ceremonial Mask And Dress Of Nayenezgani, 1904

#30 View From The Window At Le Gras (First Photograph Ever Taken) Between 1826 And 1827

#31 This Rare 1894 Photograph Shows A Young Indigenous Woman Smiling At The Viewer

#32 African American Man Drinking At “White Only” Fountain, Circa 1956

#33 Frank Lentini, Owner Of 3 Legs, 16 Toes, And 2 Functioning Sets Of Genitals (1884-1966)

#34 19th Century Egypt Women

#35 Teaching The Physics Of Surfing, California, 1970s

#36 Criminals Masquerading As Women Are Arrested During A Police Raid. USA, 1927

#37 Che Guevara, At The Battle Of Santa Clara, 1958

#38 A Woman Is Ticketed For Wearing A Bikini, 1957

#39 The Cast Of Star Wars Out Of Costume In C. 1977

#40 Kaiser Wilhelm II Of The German Empire Photographed Smoking In Silesia In 1913. 📷 Oscar Tellgmann

#41 Selknam Natives (Native From Chile) En Route To Europe For Being Exhibited As Animals In Human Zoos, 1899

#42 Boy Sitting On The Tomb For Dionysios Of Kollytos, Kerameikos Cemetery, Athens – 1895. Photo: Wilhelm Von Plüschow

#43 September 3, 1940. Color Photograph Of British Children Taking Cover In A Trench, Watching Aerial Combat During The Battle Of Britain

#44 A High Stakes Card Game In China, Around 1902

#45 Selknam Initiation Ceremony, 1923

#46 Ancient City Of Sigiriya (Lion Rock) Is An Ancient Rock Fortress Located In The Northern Matale District Near The Town Of Dambulla In The Central Province, Sri Lanka, 477 – 495 Ad

#47 Lunch At A Detroit Drugstore 1955. Photo By Robert Frank

#48 A Plane Flies Over Christ The Redeemer Statue Under Construction In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, C. 1930, Photo By Sydney Henry Holland

#49 Empire State Building, 1941, A Bit Lonely At That Time, Photo By Andreas Feininger

#50 Temple Of Olympian Zeus In Athens. 1930

#51 Terracotta Army In Xi’an, China

#52 Earliest Known Photograph Of The Taj Mahal, 1850s

#53 Children Crossing The River On Their Way To School, Italy, 1959. Photo By Tino Petrelli

#54 Leather Bottle In The Shape Of A Whale. Netherlands, CA. 1675-1700

#55 1888 Construction Of Neuschwanstein Castle. It Appeared In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – The Film Premiered In 1968

#56 Building Of The Statue Of Liberty’s Base, New York, 1884

#57 Axe (Detail) From The Tomb Of Ahhotep, Thebes. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, 16th Century Bce. Gold And Copper With Semiprecious Stones

#58 Us Air Transport Command C-47 Skytrain Aircraft Flying Over The Giza Necropolis In Egypt 1943

#59 Abu Simbel, Egypt

#60 Hanoi During The Air Raid. Vietnam, 1967. Photo By Lee Lockwood

#61 A Small Child Who Is Part Of Indonesian Guerilla Troop Stand Bravely After Captured By The Dutch. Circa 1947

#62 Athens – Acropolis

#63 In Front Of The Panathenaic Stadium. Athens. 1929

#64 Country Storefront In 1939

#65 Gypsy Boy With Cello Hungary 1931 By Eva Besnyö

#66 A Couple Portrait Photos. 1880s

#67 The Hell Of Serra Pelada Mines, A Large Gold Mine In Brazil, Circa 1986. Photograph By Sebastião Salgado

#68 Egypt, Aswan, Temple Of Isis, Philae Island, Between 1900-1920

#69 Two Soldiers Pay Their Respects At A British First World War Cemetery, 5 November 1939. France

#70 Bertha Boronda – 5 Years In Prison For Cutting Off Her Husband’s Manhood For Adultery, USA, 1907

#71 Ottoman Authorities Surrender Jerusalem To The British.1917

#72 Walt Disney As A Red Cross Ambulance Driver In France, 1919. Notice His Drawing On The Ambulance’s Side

#73 “Business As Usual” Undaunted By A Night Of German Air Raids In Which His Store Front Was Blasted, A Shopkeeper Opens Up The Morning After For “Business As Usual” In London

#74 The Covenanter’s Tomb, Greyfriars Churchyard, 1846 David Octavius Hill And Robert Adamson

#75 Priest In Camouflage Cassock, 1968, Vietnam. Photo By Horst Faas

#76 Rain In The Face, A Sioux Chief From Standing Rock, North Dakota, Circa 1910. He Fought Sitting Bull At The Little Bighorn In 1876. Photo By Frank Bennett Fiske

#77 An Elder Irish Woman, Using A Spinning Wheel For Thread Or Yarn, In Ireland, The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland, C. 1890 – 1900

#78 A Nurse With A Sick Child During Smallpox Epidemic, Wroclaw, Poland, 1963. Photo By Stanisław Jakubowski

#79 Marie Of Edinburgh, Queen Of Romania, With Her Dog. 1900’s