50 Fascinating ‘Old-Time Photos’ That Show You Just How Much The World Has Changed

Taking aphotohas never been easier than it is today. You can swipe up on your cell phone, snap hundreds of pics in only a few minutes and almost instantly upload them online for others to see. And while the convenience and accessibility of being able to document our lives is amazing, knowing how much work it took to developfilmin the past makes photos from a century ago even more special.One page that is dedicated to celebrating photography fromhistoryisOld-Time Photoson Facebook. This account shares digitized versions of photos from the late 1800s all the way up to the 1980s. So enjoy scrolling through these historical pics, pandas, and be sure to upvote the ones that you’re glad were captured decades, or perhaps even a century, ago. And keep reading to find a conversation with Ed Padmore, founder ofVintage Photo Lab!This post may includeaffiliate links.

One page that is dedicated to celebrating photography fromhistoryisOld-Time Photoson Facebook. This account shares digitized versions of photos from the late 1800s all the way up to the 1980s. So enjoy scrolling through these historical pics, pandas, and be sure to upvote the ones that you’re glad were captured decades, or perhaps even a century, ago. And keep reading to find a conversation with Ed Padmore, founder ofVintage Photo Lab!

This post may includeaffiliate links.

Blackfoot Tribe In Glacier National Park, 1913

A Smartly Dressed Lady From Kentucky, C.1900

Tricycle Gang In Brooklyn. New York City (1930s)

To learn more about the fascinating world of photography fromthe past, we got in touch with Ed Padmore, founder ofVintage Photo Lab. Ed was kind enough to have a chat withBored Pandaand discuss why it’s so important to preserve these old pictures.

A Portrait Of Hollow Horn Bear, A Man From The Brulé Native American Tribe. 1907

Unbelievably Stunning Couple (Love How Their Hands Are Clasped Together), 1960s

Lota Cheek, Winner Of A NYC Beauty Contest In 1922

“My generation (Generation X) came along, and we had ‘real’ cameras and developed prints, but also lived the transition to digital,” Ed continued. “So, between us, this generational triumvirate accidentally became the creators – and keepers – of what was the printed, non-digital photographic memorabilia that tell the stories of our recent family ancestors.““All of the stories and information are held in the brains of parents and grandparents, and if we don’t record that information now, it will be lost forever,” the photo expert shared. “We’ve all sat round and listened to Grandma say ‘…and that’s your Great Aunty Mabel, she was an acrobat and married the ring master and ended up touring the continent’, or something along those lines. Humans have been telling stories for centuries, and now is no different.”

“All of the stories and information are held in the brains of parents and grandparents, and if we don’t record that information now, it will be lost forever,” the photo expert shared. “We’ve all sat round and listened to Grandma say ‘…and that’s your Great Aunty Mabel, she was an acrobat and married the ring master and ended up touring the continent’, or something along those lines. Humans have been telling stories for centuries, and now is no different.”

A Cowgirl From The 1880s

Settler Family On The American Prairie In The 1880s

A Japanese Woman Carrying Her Children In A Bucket On Her Head, Japan 1900s

A Young Jimmy Carter Working As A Nuclear Engineer In The Us Navy In 1948

Farmhouse Kitchen, Ireland, 1910

Three Sisters, 1926, Portrait By James Van Der Zee

“That’s whyfunny, unexpected and random events in old photos always seem so much more magical to me,” Ed continued. “The odds of capturing that moment were infinitesimally smaller than now. Photographs cost money to take as well. Buying the camera, buying the film, developing the film. You’d didn’t just shoot randomly, willy-nilly. Which, thankfully, means less photos offood, and certainly less selfies! So in a way, it’s a more honest snapshot throughout time. Because it was more real.”

A Skateboarder Zipping Through Central Park In The 1960s

Teenage Sisters Gertrude And Ursula Falke. Germany, 1906

1970s

But Ed doesn’t necessarily think it’s a good thing that it’s so easy to take photos today. “I don’t know anybody who doesn’t think it’s ridiculous, the number of photos we now have amassed on our phones,” he shared. “We ran a straw poll recently, and the average was 23,000. What are you even going to do with all those? Which ones are people using or doing anything meaningful with? If you’re organized, you might order a print of a super-special one, or print a photo book to commemorate an event like a holiday or birthday. But it’s a fairly rare that people are that organized.”

Young Girl During The Great Depression, 1930s

Men In Harlem Gather In Front Of A Shop To Listen To The Radio, 1940

A Beautiful Couple From 163 Years Ago!

In fact, Ed believes it’s a real problem that so many of us have thousands upon thousands of photos. “How will people pass down those images to the future generations? There’s likely quite a bit of sorting most people would want to do before they let anybody have full access to their entire digital camera roll. But when will we get around to that? Have people made provisions for allowing relatives access to their digital life? Some people might include passwords to their digital world in their will but not all.”

Wilt Chamberlain At 17. 1954

A Mother And Her Eight Sons, All Served, All Came Home

San Francisco (1960)

“And you can think again if you’re hoping Apple will help you access a device that isn’t yours,” the photo expert continued. “There’s actually lots of sad stories about this happening and couples losing photographic memories that they can’t access from each others' phone and Cloud accounts. But I suppose future generations will learn a lot more about our day to day lives from the avalanche of digital photos they might receive one day. There’s just more. Even if half of that is shared pictures fromotherpeople via WhatsApp or random memes that were topical or even mildlyfunnyin that moment but which now might not make all that much sense.”

The Hindenburg Floating Past The Empire State Building In 1936

The Opening Of The Eiffel Tower During The 1889 World’s Fair

A Cable Worker During The Construction Of The Empire State Building

Ed says that he’s always loved looking at old photographs, so he’s lucky to live in a time where his grandparents didn’t leave behind 25,000 selfies.“I love the way it feels like a form of timetravel. I particularly like everyday shots of real people just going about their business, but in the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s especially,” he shared. “They also reveal a much simpler time. If you look at street scenery or pictures of town centers several decades ago, it just feels calmer. There’s no street signs telling you not to do this or not to do that, or not to park here, or to only park there. They don’t have metal barriers at every road junction because apparently people were trusted to cross the road sensibly back then.““There’s signs and street ‘furniture’ everywhere you look these days. But I suppose that’s all just rose-tinted spectacles and something that easily gives away my age,” Ed added. “Most generations think their childhood was the best, butgrowing upthe 80’s was pretty hard to beat. But possibly only if you grew up in the 80’s.”

Ed says that he’s always loved looking at old photographs, so he’s lucky to live in a time where his grandparents didn’t leave behind 25,000 selfies.

“I love the way it feels like a form of timetravel. I particularly like everyday shots of real people just going about their business, but in the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s especially,” he shared. “They also reveal a much simpler time. If you look at street scenery or pictures of town centers several decades ago, it just feels calmer. There’s no street signs telling you not to do this or not to do that, or not to park here, or to only park there. They don’t have metal barriers at every road junction because apparently people were trusted to cross the road sensibly back then.”

“There’s signs and street ‘furniture’ everywhere you look these days. But I suppose that’s all just rose-tinted spectacles and something that easily gives away my age,” Ed added. “Most generations think their childhood was the best, butgrowing upthe 80’s was pretty hard to beat. But possibly only if you grew up in the 80’s.”

Behind The Scenes Photos From The Making Of The First Godzilla Movie, 1954