50 Rare Historical Photos To Enlighten Your View Of The World (New Pics)

It’s one thing to read about years gone by between the pages of a fascinating history book. But nothing brings the past back to life more than beautiful historical photographs. These moments frozen in time can tell us so much, without saying a word. And you don’t have to be a history buff to appreciate many of them.

As the name suggests, r/RareHistoricalPhotos showcases the lesser-seen photographs taken throughout the ages. It has more than 162,000 members, and publisheshistorical photographs, stories and interesting news. The page aims to revive the past, noting that stunning historical photographs can bring bygone eras back to life. We’ve put together our personal favorite pics shared by the community. We also spoke to multi award-winning photographer Hollie Mateer about the role photography plays in preserving the past, and how she uses her unique storytelling style to document moments that can be appreciated for years to come.

#1 7 Oct 1943, Ottla Kafka, Beloved Sister Of Author Franz Kafka, Was Gassed On Arrival At Auschwitz After Volunteering To Escort A Group Of Orphans From The Terezin Ghetto So They Wouldn’t Be Afraid

#2 Sabina Chebichi, Kenyan Athlete Who Won A Race In 1973, Barefoot And Wearing A Dress

#3 Aboriginal Tasmanian Fanny Cochrane Smith Singing Into Her Phonograph In 1903. Without Her Efforts To Preserve Her Culture, We Would Have No Audio Traces Of The Tasmanian Language. Pretty OSC

It’s hard to list all of Holly Mateer’s accolades. As the co-founder of M&G Wedding Photography, she’s made a name for herself as a trailblazing creative and a leader in the photography industry. Mateer specializes in documentary wedding photography and family photography, and has won several awards for her work.

Among the most recent are the “This Is Reportage International Wedding Photographer Of The Year 2023 & 2024” award and the “UK Wedding Photographer Of The Year 2024,” awarded by Masters Of Wedding Photography.

The woman also known as The Wild Child Photographer racked up 14 awards from This Is Reportage last year alone, and was named Number 1 on their Top 100 Photographers in the World 2024 list. So it’s an understatement to say that We was thrilled to be able to chat to this phenomenal photographer.

#4 The First Interracial Marriage In Mississippi, 1970. 3 Years Earlier, The 1967 Loving V. Virginia Scotus Ruling Legalized Interracial Marriage In The US

#5 The Only Known Photograph Of An African American Union Soldier With His Family. Circa 1864

#6 Dance Teacher Patsy Swayze, Center, With Her Daughter-In-Law Lisa Niemi And Son Patrick Swayze, 1978

“Photography captures moments in our world and records them for history,” Mateer told us during an enlightening interview. “It may be an amazing event, a famous person, the people in the street or just yourself quietly at home. It may be an elaborately staged or an unposed image. The photograph – whether it’s a print or a digital image – will be looked back on and will keep memories alive. It’s a window on the world and there’s nothing else quite like it.”

“A photograph can also depict things that went unseen at the time: a gesture, an expression, the fall of shadows on a wall,” says Mateer, adding that through her unique storytelling approach, she can reveal something new and unexpected to the viewers of her work.

#7 Jane Russell Shows Her Co-Actress Marilyn Monroe (At The Time, Jane Was The Bigger Star) One Of Her Talents: Drawing. Here She Draws An Sketch Of Monroe. Result At The End. This Was During The Filming Of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” 1953

#8 Remembering The Father, 1925

#9 Rare Photograph Of Marilyn Monroe Without Makeup, 1955

We were curious to know how photography has evolved throughout history. “The norms of photographic portraiture stem from Victorian times when photography began. Then, over 150 years ago, due to the limitations of cameras, portrait subjects would have to sit very still, looking at the camera, for the long exposure time that was needed to capture the image. It was all very formal,” revealed Mateer.

“With the advent of small cameras and faster film from the 1930s onwards, another mode of photography, the informal, developed – families could take snapshots of their life. And of course, this also allowed photojournalists to capture images quickly and discreetly ‘out in the field.'”

#10 Beautiful Ukrainian Girl In National Costume, 1935. Photo Before And After Restoration

#11 Barack Obama Dressed As A Pirate With His Mother Stanley Ann, 1960s

#12 Lonnie Johnson, Inventor Of The Super Soaker, 1992

Mateer says that despite the advancement of photography, children are still often conditioned to respond in what she calls ‘a photo way’ – keep still, smile or don’t smile, look at the camera – in, for instance, school photographs. Family photos showing a group with two or three generations are still taken, she says, adding that the poses are usually a little more relaxed than in Victorian times.

She says these stoic, put-together poses don’t depict family life in a truly authentic way. And that’s why she’s made a name for herself as a wedding and family photographer who embraces the mess, so to speak…

“There is chaos, there is vibrancy, there is life and movement (a lot of movement – children rarely sit still!). So my photography reflects that and has more similarities to reportage and street photography – I’m not interested in portraits, or posing. For me, that doesn’t depict people as they really are.”

#13 New York In The 1960s

#14 Gertrude Ederle, First Woman To Cross The English Channel, 26 August 1926, Done In 14hr And 31 Min, Beating The Male Record Of 16hr And 33 Min. Photos Of The Day She Did The Record

#15 Luzon Woman, 1875

Mateer tells us that a huge part of what she documents at weddings is also about family. Unless the wedding is an elopement. “I’m always looking to capture those family moments at a wedding. Between parents, siblings, grandparents. I know those family moments are so important – the way I photograph a wedding isn’t all about the couple, it’s about the whole day and the interaction between people,” she says.

“The different sides of my photographic practice overlap – and more often than not, I’m documenting real, unscripted family moments. It’s an honor knowing those moments will be so important to my families, to my couples, to their families. They become a family heirloom.”

#16 London, 1940, A Girl Sitting In The Wreckage Of Her Bombed-Out Home With Her Doll

#17 Group Of Friends Enjoys The Beach And Sun In The 1940s

#18 In Arviat, Nunavut (Northern Canada), 1949, An Inuit Girl Descends Into Her Ice Igloo House

Mateer is a mom herself, so she’s fully aware of what daily life is like around children, and how to work with them. “When I photograph a family – my own, or someone else’s – I don’t pose people or stage an action,” she tells We. “I don’t take portraits. I never ask a child to look at the camera – it takes them out of the moment.”

The expert says her aim is to photograph life as it occurs around her and to freeze moments of real family life. “I don’t want to stop a child from playing, or stop a family being themselves,” said Mateer. “I think documenting real family moments is so important – I know that I want to look back on all those happy moments, fun moments. But the chaotic moments and even some of those sad moments too. It’s all part of being a family.”

#19 Dorothy Counts, The First Black Girl To Attend An All-White School In The U.S., Being Taunted By Her White Classmates At Harry Harding High School In Charlotte, 1957

#20 In The Middle Of A Celebration, A Young Woman From Oaxaca, Mexico, Notices She Is Being Photographed, And Gives A Look To The Camera, 1985

#21 A Sailor “Meets” His Baby For The First Time After Fourteen Months At Sea, 1940s

Mateer’s advice to everyone is to document it all. You can never take too many photographs. “Portraits definitely have their place – but capturing real moments, of your children playing, having fun, being themselves, interacting with each other and yourselves… You’ll love looking back on those moments even more – because those will be the moments you miss as they grow up,” she said.

However, she adds that it doesn’t hurt to hire a professional now and again. “When documenting your own family, the person behind the camera is always missing from the photo. Looking back at the images, the person holding the camera is erased from the moment, forever,” she told us.

“A skilled and empathic documentary photographer can document real moments of the whole family – however big or small – capturing everyone together. No one misses out on the memory, no one is cut out of the frame. And of course, there is a matter of quality of the output that allows detail to be seen and large prints to be made – and the style of compositions and choice of moments a professional will be able to capture for you.”

#22 Mother And Daughter Walking In New York, 1970

#23 A Mother Repairs The Family Car While Her Husband Is Away At War, 1944

#24 Faces Of Auschwitz, 1940

We asked Mateer what moments she looks out for when she’s photographing people. “I don’t approach a family with any preconceptions when I’m documenting them – every family is unique. I’m just looking to document them being themselves,” she replied.

“Funny things happen without planning – as do poignant things. I look for big moments – but also the little details, too. Those little hand holds, or quick hugs. Children are so unselfconscious if you don’t start posing them – beautiful or funny moments happen at every single family shoot I’m lucky enough to be invited to document.”

The award-winning photographer says that by not posing or staging things, she can concentrate fully on composition and positioning. “To make the most interesting images – taking shots at toddler level, close-ups, catching the moment a child jumps or falls – images that will bring those moments back alive to you, the viewer.”

#25 This Photo Shows Margaret Ann Neave, An American Woman Who Passed Away In 1902 After Reaching The Age Of 110. This Woman Was Born In 1792, Which Means She Lived In Three Centuries

#26 Princess Of Egypt And Iranian Queen Fawzia Fuad, C. 1939

#27 1968. My Grandfather In The Second Korean War

Mateer has personally reaped the benefits of having loads of family photos. “My own children love looking back at the photos of my own wedding – asking questions about the people within the images, about family,” she told us.

“Some of the people in my wedding photos aren’t here anymore, so the images from that day are so important to me, to my family. Those real moments of such an important day – I’m so glad I have those to look back on.”

#28 112-Year-Old Veteran Of WW1 And Russian Civil War (Teimruz Vanacha) And His Son (Ivan) A Veteran Of WW2 In 1980

#29 Wedding Rings Found By U.S. Army Soldiers Near The Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany, May 1945

#30 Sisters In Skirts, 1950s

#31 Blackfoot Chief Two Guns White Calf, Early 1900s

#32 A Mother And Daughter Hamming It Up For The Camera, Ca 1900

#33 Marcy Borders – “Dust Lady” After Escaping The North Tower Of The World Trade Center On 9/11. She Would Die Of Cancer At Age 42

#34 Republican Party Supporters And Democratic Party Supporters Fight With Snowballs In Front Of The Capitol. January 1921, Washington, USA

#35 Vintage Photograph Of A Kid Wearing A Monkey Mask, 1920s

#36 Couples In A Bar, 1959 Pittsburgh

#37 A Man Searches For Books In The Former Cincinnati Public Library. The Building Was Demolished In 1955. Today There Is An Office Building And Parking Lot Where It Used To Stand

#38 Barack Obama Visiting His Step-Grandmother Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama. Kenya, 1988. Sarah Obama, Affectionately Called Grandma Sarah By The Former U.S. President, Was The Third And Youngest Wife Of Obama’s Grandfather

#39 Photograph From The 1993 Great Flood, When James Scott Intentionally Sabotaged A Levee, Triggering A Massive Mississippi River Flood To Delay His Wife’s Return Home, Allowing Him To Keep Partying

His actions flooded 14,000 acres of farmland, destroyed numerous buildings, and led to the closure of a major bridge. Scott was convicted of “intentionally causing a catastrophe” and is serving a life sentence in prison.

#40 Until 1956, French Children Were Served Wine With Their School Lunch

#41 Titanic Orphans, Brothers Michel And Edmond Navratil, 1912. They Were The Only Children To Be Rescued From The Titanic Without A Parent Or Guardian

#42 Mixtec Woman From Oaxaca In Her Traditional Dress, 1970s. They Share Land With The Zapotecs, Which Is A Entirely Different Ethnic Group

#43 Lucky British Soldier Showing Off His Damaged Helmet, 1917

#44 Her Majesty Queen Marie Of Romania, 1896

#45 Mayan Women In The Yucatan Peninsula Around 1952. The Dress Is Called The Mayan Huipil

#46 Victorian Woman With A Very Intense Gaze, Circa 1850-60s

#47 Two Young Boys Standing Barefoot On Moving Electric Looms In Order To Reach The Top Shelf While At Work In A Cotton Mill In Georgia, 1910. Photos Of Child Laborers Working Long Hours In Dangerous Conditions Gradually Led To Child Labor Employment Laws

#48 This Photograph, Taken Over 100 Years Ago In Jerusalem (1920), Shows A Sign In The Background Reading “The Palestine German Bank.” Remarkable Window Into History And The Vibrant Multicultural Presence In The Region During That Era

#49 A Soviet Officer Sees And Tastes A Hot Dog And Coca-Cola For The First Time Aboard The U.S. Cruiser Thomas S. Gates, 1989

#50 Woman Inspecting This New Thing, The Security Belt In Her Car, Circa 1950s

#51 Mark Twain Lying In His Bed At Home In 1909, He Died The Year After. Not Colorized, This Is Autochrome Lumiere

#52 Goodyear Illuminated Tires, 1961

#53 “The Thousand Yard Stare”—USMC Private Theodore J. Miller Is Helped Aboard A Ship After Intense Combat On Eniwetok Atoll. Miller Was KIA A Month Later, 1944

#54 Police Image Of A Girl Detained For Unconventional Dress/Look, USA, 1940

#55 From 1890 To 1960, It Was Fashionable To Wear Black Wedding Dresses In Spain

#56 A Pneumatic Mail Service Covering 23 New York City Post Offices And Extending 27 Miles. Functioned Until 1957

#57 Cafe Life In Paris (1957)

#58 Nancy Reagan Sitting On Mr T’s Lap, The White House, December 1983

#59 My Italian Great Grandpa And Scottish Great Grandma, Taken After Returning From The Great War

#60 Carrie Fisher In A Vacation Thru Europe In 1971. Before Her Role In Star Wars When She Was Just The Daughter Of Debbie Reynolds

#61 An Overwhelmed US Marine Is Pictured While Weeping Among Ruins During The Battle Of Peleliu. September 26th, 1944

#62 Marilyn Monroe’s Last Photo Shoot. These Photos Were Taken On Santa Monica Beach By Photographer George Barris 3 Weeks Before His Death. USA. 1962

#63 78-Year-Old Robert T. Lincoln (Son Of Abraham Lincoln) Is Helped Up The Steps At The Dedication Of The Lincoln Memorial In Washington D.C., 1922

#64 In Just Four Years, Abraham Lincoln Seemingly Aged A Decade

#65 A Palestinian Teenager Gives A Souvenir To Female IDF Soldiers. Jerusalem, 1967

#66 This Is What The Empire State Building Looked Like Against The Background Of Other Buildings, 1941

#67 Robert De Niro With His Father (1946)

#68 The Final Photo Of Christopher Mccandless, Taken Before His Death In August 1992, Was Found On His Undeveloped Camera. After Venturing Into The Alaskan Wilderness, He Used An Abandoned Bus As Shelter Where He Starved To Death

A hunter discovered his body in September, weighing only 67 pounds.

#69 A Female Gas Station Attendant Working In Los Angeles, 1948

#70 William MckKinley, The 25th US President, Walking Into The Expo Where He Would Be Shot Twice And K**led

#71 This Is One Of The Last Known Photographs Of John Cooper (Front), Who Died Under Mysterious Circumstances In 1973 While Climbing Aconcagua, The Highest Mountain In The Americas. This Photo Wasn’t Found Until 2020

The woman behind John in the image is Janet Johnson, who also died while climbing the mountain.

This photo was found on her camera, which was discovered on the mountain nearly 50 years after her death, in 2020.

#72 The Crew Of Apollo 1 Relaxing During Training, 1966. Sadly, A Cabin Fire Would Later Claim The Lives Of All Three Crew Members

On January 27, 1967, during a launch rehearsal at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34, a fire broke out, claiming the lives of all three astronauts: Command Pilot Gus Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.

#73 John Kitts, 1870, Aged 108 Years, The Last Revolutionary War Soldier

#74 Muhammad Ali, 24, Flirts With Future Wife Belinda Boyd, 16, At A Bakery Shop In Chicago. They Married A Year Later In 1967

#75 Kids Dressed For Halloween On A School Bus, 1980s

#76 The Women Demonstrate What Could Be Purchased For $1.34 In 1918 And 1945

#77 This Is Ash From The Erupting Mt. St. Helens Raining Down On Robert Landsburg. He Took This Photo, Rewound The Film, Tucked The Camera In A Backpack And Laid Over It While Being Buried In The Ash. His Body Was Found 17 Days Later

The thermal energy released during the eruption was equal to 26 megatons of TNT.

Hundreds of square miles were reduced to wasteland, causing over $1 billion in damage (equivalent to $3.4 billion in 2023).

In total, 57 people died and thousands of animals also perished.

#78 Young Lady In London, 1969

#79 Martin Luther King Jr. Removes A Burned Cross From His Yard In 1960. The Boy Is His Son

#80 View Of Boston, The Oldest Surviving Aerial Photograph Ever Taken. October 13th, 1860

#81 Copacabana Beach, Rio, 1985

#82 A Gentleman Tips His Hat To A Group Of Ladies, 1920s

#83 Nebraska Girl, Audra Thomas, Photographed In Front Of A Tornado, 1989

#84 John F. Kennedy In A Selfie-Style Picture In Front Of The White House In 1962

#85 Arnold Schwarzenegger In A Lesson In Secondary School, 1958

#86 Different Shots Of The Sophia Loren, Jayne Mansfield Encounter In 1957

#87 An Actual Photo Of Theodore Roosevelt And John Muir At Yosemite, 1903

#88 An Italian-American Cafe, Little Italy, New York City, 1942

#89 Passengers Aboard The Staten Island Ferry. New York, USA. 1895

#90 US President Lyndon Johnson Listens To A Tape Sent By Captain Chuck Robb (His Son-In-Law) From Vietnam, 1968

#91 In Bertha Hill, West Virginia, A Coal Miner’s Child Is Seen Holding A Smoking Pipe In One Hand And A Gun In The Other, Using A Hole In The Door To Enter A Bedroom. Captured By Marion Post Wolcott In 1938

#92 Two Kids Walking Barefoot To School, Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1940

#93 In 1979, 16-Year-Old Brenda Ann Spencer Was Arrested After Ki**ing Two People In San Diego, California. When Asked Why She Did It, She Replied, “I Just Don’t Like Mondays”