50 Fascinating Images That You Probably Didn’t See In History Class (New Pics)

One of the most special things about photographs is that they freeze a moment in time—a split second that happened that we will never get back. They can transport us to thepastand give us aglimpseinto a time when we were decades younger or even before we were born.

Photography plays an important role in preserving our family history and legacy and keeping memories alive. Without photos, we might never really know what our parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents looked like when they were younger. Or what everyday life was like for people living 50, 100, or more years ago.

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A Sweet Photo Of A Brother And Sister. Charlottesville, Va, C. 1916

Halloween 1977: Me As C-3po, My Sister As R2-D2. We Won Our Elementary School Costume Contest!

My Grandma And Grandpa, 1961

Clémence Scouten is a personal historian. She’s an expert when it comes to preserving family histories and legacies. As the founder ofMemoirs And More, she has a wealth of experience in viewing, selecting, and organizing old photos and using them to tell a captivating story of how people once were—and are. Scouten is a firm believer in the power of photos.“Photos are a great way to enter familyhistory, like a window into history,” she told Bored Panda when we reached out to her. “We can see before we read. So even a small child can see pictures in an album or book and start to associate that with their family. Once that child gets older, they can read about the family and learn the details a photo can’t convey.”Photos are visual examples of our lives, and they tell the stories of our heritage, says Julie Kessler. She’s the owner of a company calledPicture This Organized. And spends endless hours helping families “organize their life treasures so they can share their life stories.”

“Photos are a great way to enter familyhistory, like a window into history,” she told Bored Panda when we reached out to her. “We can see before we read. So even a small child can see pictures in an album or book and start to associate that with their family. Once that child gets older, they can read about the family and learn the details a photo can’t convey.”

Photos are visual examples of our lives, and they tell the stories of our heritage, says Julie Kessler. She’s the owner of a company calledPicture This Organized. And spends endless hours helping families “organize their life treasures so they can share their life stories.”

London Punks And An Interested Gran In Chelsea, 1982

My Grandmother With My Mother In The Early 1970s. My Grandma Had A Pretty Sweet Fro!

Lotta Atsye, The Chief’s Daughter Of The Laguna Pueblo, 1904

Scouten says that while it’s important to preservefamily history, not everyone wants to. And that’s okay. “There’s a lot oftraumasome people want to leave behind, and we never want to force people to talk about that or be confronted with it,” she explained.Old family photographs can be particularly triggering. Looking at old photos reminds us of who we (and others) once were. “Someone might realize how very young they had been when they experienced a transformative event,”notesPsychology Today. “They might suddenly understand how vulnerable and innocent they had been.”These reminders could trigger positive or negative emotions. They could change someone’s understanding of how their past played a part in who they are today. They could increase or decrease feelings of anger, guilt, or resentment. Photos—and the feelings associated with viewing them—could even prompt us to forgive. Or sometimes, fall in love all over again.

Old family photographs can be particularly triggering. Looking at old photos reminds us of who we (and others) once were. “Someone might realize how very young they had been when they experienced a transformative event,”notesPsychology Today. “They might suddenly understand how vulnerable and innocent they had been.”

These reminders could trigger positive or negative emotions. They could change someone’s understanding of how their past played a part in who they are today. They could increase or decrease feelings of anger, guilt, or resentment. Photos—and the feelings associated with viewing them—could even prompt us to forgive. Or sometimes, fall in love all over again.

Summer 1972, Boston, Massachusetts: “Abortion Is A Woman’s Right”

Scouten says we can get a lot of information from an old photo. “For people who enjoy research, photos give us many clues to when the photo was taken. Clothingfashionsand background info (buildings, cars, etc.) can help place the photo in a timeframe and a place,” revealed Scouten.“The material the original photo was made out of tells us when it was printed (from metal plates in the 1800s to “calotypes” which are paper negatives to glass plates in the mid-1880s and so on).““Pay attention to details such as the photography studio, dates on the border, and information written on the back of the photo. These can help identify the person, timeline, and location,” adds Kessler when we ask her what to look out for when viewing old photos.Kessler warns that old photographs should always be handled with care. “These items are often fragile, and it’s especially important to use gloves when reviewing them,” she said.

“The material the original photo was made out of tells us when it was printed (from metal plates in the 1800s to “calotypes” which are paper negatives to glass plates in the mid-1880s and so on).”

“Pay attention to details such as the photography studio, dates on the border, and information written on the back of the photo. These can help identify the person, timeline, and location,” adds Kessler when we ask her what to look out for when viewing old photos.

Kessler warns that old photographs should always be handled with care. “These items are often fragile, and it’s especially important to use gloves when reviewing them,” she said.

Women Fighting For Healthcare And Abortion Rights In The 1960s

A Sami Woman, Toddler, And Infant In Lapland, Finland, 1917

“Then, within the family, you can identify people and organize them chronologically. Most often, the volume of photos from older collections is significantly lower than that of digital ones. So, photos of your great grandfather as a child will likely be minimal.”

Kessler says you should then store the content in an archive-safe box and use index cards or archive-safe folders to identify who is in that container or grouping.

My Grandmother’s Sister Tamara 🤩

My Grandmother’s Modeling Photos 1940s-50s

Actors Who Were To Portray The Munchkins In The Wizard Of Oz Arriving At Mgm Studios In 1938

Scouten says while she loves photographs, there are manyotherthings that reveal how we were once upon a time. “My favorite is correspondence and diaries,” she told Bored Panda. “People tell their stories, and the reader can learn not just what was going on but how the writer FELT about it.“She explains that while photos, especially formal portraits, capture how a person wants to look, correspondence or diaries often offer a much more intimate window into the subject’s personality.“In those old photos, no one smiles! But letters/diaries usually tell what’s really going on as well as the mundane details of everyday life: chores, school,travel, work, and family, which you can’t get from a photo.”

She explains that while photos, especially formal portraits, capture how a person wants to look, correspondence or diaries often offer a much more intimate window into the subject’s personality.

“In those old photos, no one smiles! But letters/diaries usually tell what’s really going on as well as the mundane details of everyday life: chores, school,travel, work, and family, which you can’t get from a photo.”

My Grandfather In New Orleans, Late 50’s

A Picture Of 3 Sisters Taken Almost 100 Years Ago

A Girl Walking Her Rabbit In A Summer Kimono. Shinagawa, Japan, 1973

Old photos can also help jog our memory. Sometimes, we don’t remember things exactly as they were. But, a photograph can correct the inaccurate details of how a person, animal, place, or object looked or even how an incident felt. If you’ve ever looked at a photograph and felt instantly transported back to that moment, you know exactly what we mean.

My Teenage Mom In The 70s With Her First Horse, One She Paid For By Working Underage At A Movie Theater

Scouten says working on your familyhistoryis bound to bring back many memories of people and times past, adding that this is something that should be embraced. She suggests taking the opportunity to reach out to a relative you haven’t spoken to in a while to reminisce about a shared experience in your family history.

My Mother And Me At A Picnic. Seoul, South Korea. C. 1977

Between 1900 And 1930, A Destitute Seed Pedlar Took More Than 5000 Photographs Of Daily Life In An Isolated Valley To The South Of The Alps. They Were Rediscovered Long After His Death. I Can’t Convey How Amazing These Images Are

My Grandparents, “Lou Buck” And “Hootie” 1953. She Was My Last Living Grandparent, And We Said Goodbye To Her Today

Portrait Of A Family. Florida, Circa 1900

One Of My Favorite Pictures Of My Father. I’m Guessing He Was In His Early 20s In This Picture

My Grandma With Me In My Swanky Panorama Pram, 1976

Callie Campbell, 11 Years Old, Picks 75 To 125 Pounds Of Cotton A Day, And Totes 50 Pounds Of It When Sack Gets Full. “No, I Don’t Like It Very Much.” Photographed In Potawotamie County, Oklahoma. On October 16, 1916

Plain Clothes Detective Foils Razor Yielding Thug In Glasgow, Scotland, 1971

Photo Taken In Front Of The Colosseum, 1897

My Grandmother, Circa 1957. Picture Taken By My Grandfather

My Grandmother As A Child, Late 30s-Early 40s, Toronto

Fleet Street. London 1897

Child In Her Pedal Car, Ca. 1922

My Grandma And Great Aunt As Little Girls (1940s Or Late 1930s)

I Found These Photos While Thrifting And Reunited Them With Family

My Dad And His Best Friend. We Think The Picture Was Taken In 1972

My Grandmother Photographed By Her Father (Circa Late 1940s)

My Mom As A Teenager With A Moose Calf In Alaska, 1952

My Grandmother (1925-)

Having A Little Fun On The Beach In 1940

A Diver Photographed After Ascending From The Oily Interior Of The Sunken Battleship Uss Arizona. Photograph Taken At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii In The Days Following The Attack On Pearl Harbor In December 1941

My Wife At The Berlin Zoo

Alien Costume My Dad Made For My Brother In 1979

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Understanding the variety of human experiences on public transport could provide fascinating insights, much like delving into family histories. The unpredictable nature of the metro journey is quite similar to the sometimes surprising ancestry we uncover in our family trees.To elevate your knowledge of unique human experiences in urban settings, explore thequirky encounters on the Berlin subwaythat reflect the diversity and spontaneity of city life.

To elevate your knowledge of unique human experiences in urban settings, explore thequirky encounters on the Berlin subwaythat reflect the diversity and spontaneity of city life.

My Great-Aunt & Uncle On Their Wedding Day, Circa 1948. She Was A Survivor Of Auschwitz, And He Served With The Us Army In Wwii