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History has a surprisingly small photo album. The same handful of famous images appear in documentaries, textbooks, and social media posts so often that it can start to feel like we have already seen everything worth seeing. Of course, photographers were capturing far more than presidents, wars, and major disasters. Their cameras also caught strange inventions, ordinary people having fun, cities before they became recognizable, and little moments that somehow avoided becoming famous. Those less familiar images can sometimes make the past feel more real than the classics everyone already knows. Dig a little deeper into the archives and there is still plenty left to discover. Here are 15 old photos that might look new to you.
A Father and Son Goofed Around for the Camera
A series of photos from the 1910s captures a father and son laughing and playing instead of posing stiffly. Their expressions make the century-old snapshots feel surprisingly modern.
A Horse Got Its Own Roller Skates
In the early 20th century, performers experimented with putting specially designed skates on horses for entertainment. The resulting photographs look considerably more like an internet joke than vintage photography.
People Used a Giant Camera to Photograph a Train
Photographer George R. Lawrence built an enormous camera in 1900 to capture a detailed image of a new luxury train. The camera was so large that more than a dozen men were needed to operate it.
William Howard Taft Rode a Carabao
Future U.S. president William Howard Taft was photographed riding a carabao in the Philippines in 1904. Without the context, the unusual presidential photo is particularly difficult to place.
A Family Took Their Portable Radio to the Beach
Portable entertainment existed long before Bluetooth speakers. Photos from the early radio era show families hauling sizable wireless sets outdoors so they could listen away from home.
A Traffic Cop Was the Traffic Light
Before automated traffic lights took over, officers could manually operate STOP and GO signs at busy intersections. This early system made controlling traffic a surprisingly hands-on job.
A Man Rode a Motorized Surfboard in a Suit
Hollywood inventor Joe Gilpin demonstrated his electric Motorboard on Toluca Lake in 1948. Riding around in a full suit and hat somehow makes the experimental surfboard look even stranger.
A Photographer Took a Picture From a Flying Kite
Before drones, photographers found considerably more complicated ways to get aerial shots. George R. Lawrence used a system of large kites to lift cameras high above cities in the early 1900s.
People Had Vending Machines Nearly a Century Ago
Automated vending was already surprisingly sophisticated by the early 20th century. Old photographs show machines dispensing everything from postcards to food without a cashier anywhere in sight.
A Mailman Delivered Letters on Roller Skates
Postal workers have experimented with plenty of ways to speed up deliveries. At least some mail carriers were photographed using roller skates, turning an ordinary route into something that looks remarkably precarious.
A Woman Wore a Portable Radio on Her Head
Inventors spent decades trying to make radios smaller and more portable. Some experiments went much further than a pocket radio, including wearable sets that effectively turned the listener’s hat into an antenna.
Children Went to School in an Open-Air Classroom
Open-air schools became popular in several countries during the early 20th century, particularly as a response to tuberculosis. Students sometimes attended lessons bundled in blankets while sitting in classrooms exposed to fresh air.
A Car Came With a Pedestrian Catcher
Early automobiles inspired some remarkably unusual safety experiments. One design placed a scoop-like device on the front of a car that was supposed to catch pedestrians rather than knock them beneath the vehicle.
Women Boxed on a Hollywood Rooftop
A group of chorus girls was photographed exercising on a Hollywood rooftop in 1938. The playful boxing match appears to have been staged, but it certainly made for a memorable picture.
A Photographer Took a Selfie With a Mirror in 1917
Australian soldier Thomas Baker photographed himself using a mirror during World War I. The century-old image looks remarkably similar to the mirror selfies that would fill social media generations later.
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