Traveling back to the distant past isn’t possible and likely won’t be anytime soon. The closest thing we have to turning back the clock are vintage photographs that give us a glimpse of how life was back in the day.
The “Historical Snapshots” Instagram account is one of the many excellent resources for these pictures. It’s an homage to those who’ve lived their lives without many of the luxuries and societal changes we get to enjoy and experience today. The concise profile bio sums it up nicely: “Honor people. Understand the past.”
These are some of the standout images from the page. Enjoy today’s travel back in time!
#1 Marine Sergeant Frank Praytor Feeds A Two Week Old Orphan Kitten
Frank, a marine during the Korean War, found the kitten and named her Miss Hap because “she was born at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#2 Portrait Of A Woman And Baby, Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico In 1914
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#3 American Soldiers Pay Tribute To The Fallen Animals, 1918
Horses, mules and donkeys were used during WWI to transport ammunition and supplies to the front. They did so through the horrors of shellfire and appalling conditions. Eight million of them died during the war.
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
The invention of photography in 1839 changed the way people lived. All of a sudden, humans had the ability to capture a single moment through a still image and immortalize it for future generations.
As the Modern Museum of Art points out, photographs can help shape our understanding of different cultures, their history, and, most importantly, the people who appear in them.
#4 Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner And Blanche Osborn, Women Airforce Service Pilots During Wwii, Pictured Here As They Leave Their Airplane,
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#5 Ah-Weh-Eyu (Pretty Flower), From The Seneca Nation, 190
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#6 Portrait Of Two Women. Zanzibar, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
Since we’re on the topic of attention-grabbing vintage photographs, the iconic “Migrant Mother” is a stellar example. Taken in 1936 during the Great Depression, it features an impoverished woman in a pea-pickers camp in California, alongside her children hiding their faces.
It was such a moving photograph that it urged the federal government to send 20,000 pounds of food to the camp.
#7 Portrait Of A Navajo Native American. Taken By Carl Moon, Circa 1906
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#8 “Love Came To Me, And I Was Not Afraid To Marry The Man I Loved Because Of His Color.” – Helen Pitts Douglass
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#9 Red Cross Nurse And Rescue Dog, Wwi
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
“Man on the Moon” is another well-known snapshot that captures one of the most significant human accomplishments in history. It’s a photograph of astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the moon’s surface by the great Neil Armstrong.
This 1969 picture shows the lone Aldrin standing with the vast expanse of space as his backdrop. Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t deter today’s skeptics who doubt that the event ever happened.
#10 Portrait Of An Inuit Woman And Child, Circa 1912
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#11 London, 1899. Photo By Leonard Misonne
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#12 Roger Williams University In Nashville, Tennessee, 1899
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
The 1945 flag-raising photo on Iwo Jima will always be legendary, especially for military veterans, historians, and loyal Americans. Photographed by Joe Rosenthal, it shows a group of US Marines planting the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi to mark its capture and signify America’s victory in World War II.
Despite doubts about its authenticity, the picture never fails to spark feelings of patriotism, especially among those who served during the war.
#13 Sergeant Karen Hermiston, Or “Hermie” As People Called Her, Was Courageous And Determined, Earning A Place In Canadian History As The Only Official Female Photographer For The Armed Forces To Work Amidst Combat During World War II
#14 O-O-Be, A Kiowa Native American, Circa 1895
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#15 Portrait Of Selika Lazevski, Believed To Be A Horsewoman Who Rode At Nouveau Cirque In Paris
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
We’d also like to hear from you, readers. Which of these photos stood out to you the most? How do they make you feel? Let us know in the comments below!
#16 Portrait Of The Fisk University Class Of 1888
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#17 Portrait Of Flora Stewart. She Was Said To Be Vivacious With A “Remarkably Retentive Memory.”
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#18 Portrait Of Billie Holiday And Her Dog Mister, NYC, Circa 1947
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#19 Before She Became Famous As An Actress In All In The Family, Maude, And Golden Girls, Bea Arthur Worked As A Truck Driver And Typist In The United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve During Wwii
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#20 Portrait Of A Sami Family, Norway, Circa 1890
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#21 Portrait Of A Navajo Woman, Circa 1904
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#22 An Unidentified Soldier, Australia, Ww1
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#23 Liberated Survivors Of Auschwitz, 1945
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#24 Portrait Of A Family. Manzanar Relocation Center, 1943
Image credits: Portrait of a family. Manzanar Relocation Center, 1943
#25 Portrait Of Lillian, Cora And Luvenia Ward. Taken In Worcester, Massachusetts, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#26 Iron Thunder, Crow Eagle, Fool Thunder, Slow White Buffalo, All Holding Peace Pipes, Dakota, Circa 1880s
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#27 Portrait Of Chaiwa, A Tewa Native American, Circa 1906
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#28 Paris, 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#29 Portrait Of Hattie Tom, An Apache Native American, 1899
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#30 Portrait Of Nora Oo-Teen’a, An Inuit Woman. Alaska, 1903
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#31 “Jitterbugging On A Saturday Evening,” Mississippi, 1939
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#32 Elizabeth L. Gardner Of Rockford, Illinois, A Wasp (Women’s Airforce Service Pilot) Pilot, Circa 1940s
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#33 Kaw-U-Tz, A Caddo Native American, 1906
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#34 Edward Bouchet Became The First African American To Earn A Phd In The U.S. When He Completed His Dissertation In Physics At Yale In 1876
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#35 Five Year Old Warren Bernard Runs Out Of His Mother’s Grasp To His Father, A Soldier From New Westminster, Canada Who Was Going To Fight For Canada In Wwii
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#36 Mother & Son, Ireland, Circa 1890
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#37 A Spinner And Her Spinning Wheel. County Galway, Ireland, Circa 1890
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#38 Portrait Of A Woman. Ontario, Canada, Circa 1890
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#39 An Apache Woman, 1888
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#40 Women Making Fun Of Sign At Beach Requiring Full Bathing Suits. Miami, Florida, 1934
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#41 A Snapshot Of Life From Nebraska, 1910
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#42 Portrait Of A Family. Florida, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#43 Portrait Of A Young Girl And Child. Japan, Circa 1908
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#44 Photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston In An 1896 Self-Portrait Of A “New Woman,” Taken In Her Washington, Dc Studio
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#45 A Snapshot Of Historical Fashion From Japan, 1910s
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#46 Portrait Of Iron White Man, A Sioux Native American, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#47 Warsaw Ghetto, 1943
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#48 Chief Bone Necklace Of The Oglala Lakota, 1899
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#49 Portrait Of Cotton Mill Workers In Georgia, U.S., 1909
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#50 Florence Was Thirty-Two Years Old, A Mother Of Seven Children, Living In Nipomo, California With Her Children And Partner, Jim Hill, 1936
"I worked in hospitals. I tended bar. I cooked. I worked in the fields. I done a little bit of everything to make a living for my kids."
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#51 Tattoo Artist Maud Wagner, U.S., 1907
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#52 Wedding Rings Of Concentration Camp Victims. They Were Found Near Buchenwald By U.S. Army Soldiers In 1945
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#53 Portrait Of John Smith, A Chippewa Native American. He Was Also Known As Gaa-Binagwiiyaas, Amongst Other Names
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#54 Portrait Of A Union Army Soldier From The U.S. Civil War And His Family, Circa 1864
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#55 Portrait Of An Inupiat Family From Noatak, Alaska. Circa 1929
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#56 Portrait Of Ute Chief Severo And His Family, Circa 1885
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#57 Portrait Of Martha Perkins, 1901
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#58 Jewish People From Subcarpathian Rus Await Selection At Auschwitz-Birkenau, May 1944
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#59 Portrait Of A Girl From The Jicarilla Apache Nation, Circa 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#60 Women In Chicago Being Arrested For Wearing One Piece Bathing Suits Without The Required Leg Coverings, 1922
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#61 A Few Miss Europe Candidates, 1930
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#62 Josie, Six Years Old, Bertha, Six Years Old, And Sophie, 10 Years Old. All Shuckers At Maggioni Canning Co. Location: Port Royal, South Carolina. Circa 1911
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#63 Children Of Miners. Scott’s Run, West Virginia, 1937
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#64 Portrait Of Kikisoblu, Also Known As Princess Angeline. Born Sometime In The 1820s, Kikisoblu Was The Daughter Of Chief Seattle Of The Duwamish Tribe
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#65 An Albanian Woman From Italy At Ellis Island, Circa 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#66 Black Otter, An Arapahoe Native American
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#67 Portrait Of A Family, 1890
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#68 Riding A New Tricycle, 1882. Photo By Chas. W Oldrieve
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#69 A Snapshot Of Life, Circa 1910
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#70 Photograph Of 1924 Miss America Winner, Ruth Malcolmson
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#71 The World Knew Him As “Blind Tom” Wiggins, A Musical Prodigy, One Of The Best-Known American Performing Pianists Of The 19th Century
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#72 A Snapshot Of Life From New York, Circa 1910
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#73 Elvin Harley Of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Of The 3rd Armored Division, Gets A Peck On The Cheek From A French Girl While Listening To The 9th Armored Division Band Near Aboncourt, France. February 14, 1945
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#74 Portrait Of Angeline Perkins With Her Children, Nellie And William. Worcester, Massachusetts, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#75 Central Park, NYC, Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#76 An Italian Mother And Child Who Just Arrived At Ellis Island, Circa 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#77 Portrait Of A Family, Beaufort, South Carolina, 1862
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#78 A Snapshot Of Life From Washington Dc, Circa 1920
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#79 Mulberry St., NYC, 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#80 A Snapshot Of Life From Denver, 1907
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#81 A Snapshot Of Life, 1940s
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#82 NYC, 1888
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#83 An Immigrant Family At Ellis Island, Circa 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#84 Hans Langseth, A Norwegian-American, Holds The Record For Longest Beard In History. His Beard Measured 17 Ft 6 In At The Time Of His Death In Wyndmere, North Dakota
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#85 Taking A Selfie, NYC, 1920
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#86 Portrait Of A Family In Gainesville, Florida. Circa 1900
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#87 Charlie Chaplin And Helen Keller On The Set Of Chaplin’s Film “Sunnyside”, 1919
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#88 Portrait Of Charlie Chaplin, Circa 1920
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#89 Asbury Park, New Jersey, 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots
#90 Italian Immigrants Arrive At Ellis Island, 1905
Image credits: historicalsnapshots