By 
Old photographs can look simple at first, especially when they show ordinary people going about their lives. But the smallest details can reveal things the photographer never intended to document, especially in the future. A newspaper headline, an object sitting on a table, a sign in the background, the way someone is dressed, or a building that no longer exists; any of these little clues can turn a casual snapshot into a fascinating record of its time. Sometimes they reveal a major historical event, while other times they simply show how dramatically everyday life has changed. The people in these photographs may have thought they were preserving an ordinary moment, but decades later, tiny details can make the images far more meaningful than anyone could have expected.
121clicks
A lamb approaches a Navajo baby in a traditional baby carrier, Wind Rock Navajo Reservation, Arizona, circa 1930. (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts)
121clicks
Portrait of an elegant lady in black in Queensland, Australia (1880s)
121clicks
Robin Williams and Shelly Duvall on the set of Popeye, 1980
121clicks
A mother and her 10 daughters, Boston, 1952
121clicks
A boy enjoys the simple pleasure of roasted sweet corn, which he’s roasted on top of a hot stove in Chamisal, New Mexico. (C. 1940)
121clicks
Young indigenous woman holding a baby a train station, circa 1930
121clicks
Winner Of The Most Scary Woman In The UK Award In 1883
121clicks
Two kids walking barefoot to school, Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1940
121clicks
A Great Depression Christmas dinner at the home of Earl Pauley near Smithfield, Iowa, 1936. The meal included potatoes, cabbage, and pie
121clicks
Milkman dropping off and picking up milk, 1939.
121clicks
SoCal surfers in the 1960’s
121clicks
On August 8, 1982, a line drive foul ball hit a 4 year old boy in the head at Fenway Park.
121clicks
A young couple took a “selfie” on a self-timer on their camera, 1959
121clicks
Pan Am’s First Class service aboard the 747, 1980s
121clicks
People watching coin operated TVs in a bus station in LA – 1969
The post 15 Tiny Details in Old Photos That Tell a Much Bigger Story appeared first on Den of Geek.
