From 1837 to 1901, Britain was shaped by the reign of Queen Victoria, giving rise to what we now call the Victorian era.
Today, many think of it as a dark and mysterious time—sometimes even morbid—with somber fashion, spiritual séances, and ghost stories. But how often do we actually stop to see how people really lived back then?
If you haven’t yet, this is your chance. Below, you’ll find a series of photographs from the Victorian era, capturing people in all kinds of moments, from the everyday to the strange and curious. Scroll through and let us know which ones stood out to you!
#1 Photo Captures The Moment A Baby Burst Out Laughing And Her Mother Fights So Hard To No Laugh With Her
Image source: Beeninya
#2 Victorian Strongwomen Laverie Vallee Also Known As Charmion
Image source: Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
#3 Adorable Series Of Mother And Daughter Photographs From 1900
Image source: pumpkinmum
#4 Two British Victorian Women Make A Victorian Snow Lady In 1892
Image source: The Strand Magazine, The Strand Magazine
#5 A Victorian Era Woman Getting Photographed For The First Time. Can Only Imagine How Striking Her Eyes Were
Image source: saraboulos
#6 Woman In Knickers Smoking Cigarette And Looking At Man Doing Laundry
Image source: Underwood & Underwood
#7 I’ll See Your 1876 Batman And Raise You Victorian Era Bat Woman
Image source: systemadministrator8
#8 A Victorian Woman And Her Pets
Image source: reddit.com
#9 The Victorian Solution For The Homeless: The 4 Penny Coffin
For 4 pennies a person could geat a blanket, pillow and single coffin to sleep in the warm of a building for the night.
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#10 The London School Of Medicine, Physiology Laboratory. Women Students At Work, 1899
Image source: Wellcome Collection
#11 “The Devil’s Auction”. Female Burlesque Performer In Horse Costume
Image source: J. Gurney & Son
#12 Victorian Girl Posing With Her Beloved Dog. Dog Alive, You Can See It Blurring In The 2nd Shot. Circa Mid XIX Century
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#13 Mountain Hiking Around 1910
Image source: National Archives / Spaarnestad Photo
#14 A Victorian Era Candle-Lit Christmas Tree (Late 1800s)
Image source: rr27680
#15 Victorian Photos Showing The Complex Progress For Wearing A Crinoline Dress. Circa 1850
Image source: Lord_Cornwallis_III
#16 A Peanut Vendor Wearing A Suit Made Of Peanuts, Circa 1890
Image source: Iangator
#17 A Young Girl And Her Very Large Doll, Ca. 1900
Image source: SerlondeSavigny
#18 Before Alarm Clocks Were Affordable, “Knocker-UPS” Were Used To Wake People Early In The Morning. UK, Around 1900
Image source: Lowcrbnaman
#19 Pluto Lamps: The Victorian Gas Lamps That Sold Cups Of Hot Coffee, Tea And Cocoa. Inauguration Of The First Pluto In Exmouth Street, London, 1899
Image source: GaGator43
#20 All Eyes On You, 1892
Image source: 99OBJ
#21 Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, London, 1880s. The First Dinosaur Sculptures In The World, Unveiled In 1854, Before The Publication Of Charles Darwin’s Origin Of Species
Although There Are Many Inaccuracies, The Sculptures Are “Grade I Listed Buildings”, The Same Status As St Paul’s Cathedral.
Image source: FNaXQ
#22 Visiting Quarantined Family And Friends At Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, 1905
Image source: StcStasi, Anders Beer Wilse
#23 Bathers And Bathing Carriages On The Beach Of Blankenberge
Image source: Rijksmuseum
#24 A Picture Taken At The Photography Studio Of J. Hart On City Road, East London – Circa Late 1870s
Image source: TheAfternoonStandard
#25 Victorian Working Women On Their Work Clothes. Miners Most Likely. Some In Pants, Others Still In Dress, Circa Late 1880s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#26 Pubic Wig Seller 1860
Image source: thebigchil73
#27 The Only Female Elephant Trainer In The World, Understood The Value Of Publicity
Here She Is Pictured With Her Outsized Pets, Who, A Little Internet Digging Has Unearthed, Were Called Jemona And Abdella.
Image source: FarStrawberry5438, National Museums Scotland
#28 A Young Girl Is ‘Hired’ As A Domestic Servant By A Middle-Class Woman In Carlisle’s Greenmarket. Circa 1895
A coin has been pressed into the girl’s hand to confirm her employment.
Image source: Albertbailey
#29 The Dissecting Room Of St. George’s Hospital, London. The Person At The Cadaver’s Feet Is Henry Gray, Author Of Gray’s Anatomy
Image source: wellcomecollection
#30 Men And Women Cross Dress In This Humorous Victorian Era Snap, 1880-1900
Image source: reddit.com
#31 Woman Buttons Up Her Boots 1895
Image source: World-Tight
#32 Clowns From The Victorian Era… I Can Understand The Fear People Have Of Clowns
Image source: OkGeologist5828
#33 Harry Houdini And Bess Houdini With Members Of The Welsh Bros
Image source: digitalcollections
#34 Victorian Living Room, Late 1800s
Image source: R. K. Mellon Family Foundation
#35 Ma Rolinson Of Bethnal Green Making Mattresses
Image source: Heritage Images / Getty Image
#36 Girl Group. Ca. 1890
Image source: SerlondeSavigny
#37 Vassar Class Day On The Lawn. 1895
Image source: kirbyfood
#38 Misses Fannie Mills Aka “The Ohio Big Foot Girl”
She had a disease called Milroy’s disease which caused for legs and feet to become gigantic.
Image source: wikipedia, Charles Eisenmann
#39 Victorian Women With Long Thick Weavy Hair. Circa Second Half Of The XIX Century
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#40 Woman Reading On A Sofa Illustrating The Use Of John Carter’s Literary Machine With Lamp, Table And Adjustable Couch
Image source: nationalarchives
#41 Cabaret Of Hell
Image source: Harry C. Ellis
#42 Brighton Beach Bathing Machines. UK 1864
Image source: OtherwiseTackle5219
#43 European Tourists Having A Picnic In A Temple, In Egypt
Image source: LL / Getty Image
#44 A Young Independent Shoeblack Shines The Boots Of A City Gent
Image source: John Thomson / Getty Image
#45 Professional “Mute Mourners”, An Obligatory Attribute Of The Funeral Of Any Well-To-Do Deceased In Victorian England, 1896
Image source: Unique_District_9381
#46 Chimney Sweep
Image source: Historical Picture Archive / Getty Image
#47 Parlor Maid At Little Gillions, Croxley Green (1880s – 1890s)
Image source: wellcome collection
#48 Tintype Of Two Victorian Chaps Who Really Want To Show You Their Feet, Circa 1870s
Image source: dannydutch1
#49 Victorian Life 1890s
Image source: parijatwashere
#50 Young Women Are Admitted To Full Communion In A London Church. Ca 1860
Image source: Dhorlin
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