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It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words. And while history books are filled with words, it’s images that really bring the past back to life. One powerful photograph can sometimes tell a better story than the most eloquently written essay. They make us think, feel, and can sometimes even spur the world into action.
Some photos awaken us to the true horrors of war; others shine a spotlight on hunger and starvation or drive home the impact of discrimination. Then there are those that stir up nostalgia, warm our hearts, or give us a glimpse into the trends and lifestyles of those who came before us.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of truly fascinating historical photographs. Each tells a different story. And while they're completely unrelated, they provide a picture-perfect journey through days gone by.
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#1
How It Was Done Before There Was Fast Food On Every Corner
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
OH! I love old station wagons! I wish they still made wagons. Now everything is a crossover SUV.
RELATED:
#2
The Paramount Pictures Logo On The Day It Was Originally Painted. [1965]
#3
My Grandparents' Wedding, 100 Years Ago Today
On October 2, 1932, The New York Herald-Tribune published an image that captured the curious eyes of millions of people. Many years later, that vintage black-and-white photograph remains a talking point. And you might recognize it… Or you might even have had a poster version of it at some point in your life.
It features 11 ironworkers perched precariously on a steel beam, hundreds of feet up in the sky. But what’s really fascinating is how they are casually eating their lunch, not a care in the world. And seemingly unaware of the dangers of great heights.
The photograph has since become known as “Lunch Atop A Skyscraper.” But it’s held different names over the years as people tried to figure out exactly what was going on, where the men were, and the true story behind the pic.
#4
The World's Last Commercial Ocean-Going Sailing Ship - The Pamir - Rounding Cape Horn, 1949
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
Last so far. There's been a lot of research into using sails to assist cargo ships to save fuel. Wouldn't it be ironic to see oil shipped by sail?
#5
1950s Necklines
Richard Graham 1 day ago
Every model in the 1950s tried to look like Grace Kelly - a cool detached blond.
#6
"Happiest Man In China"
Taken In 1901 By British Anthropologists After Deciding To Document The Chinese. The Chinese Didn't Know Photos Were A "Serious Matter" And Decided To Be Goofy, Hence The Pose And Smile.
Among the different titles it's held are “Builders of The City Enjoy Luncheon,” “Lunch on a Beam” and simply, “Men on a Beam.” As the iconic photograph piqued the interest of people worldwide, many tried to guess the location. Some thought it was the Empire State Building but they were wrong...
#7
A French Woman With Her Baguette And Six Bottles Of Wine, Paris, 1945
#8
Atelier Photo: "A Lesbian Couple In Semi Drag Wedding Attire"; Kingdom Of Hungary - Budapest, 1920
#9
The Dressing Room At The Moulin Rouge, 1924
What seemed like a candid shot of a group of workers eating, chatting and smoking nonchalantly turned out to be a cleverly staged publicity photograph for the Rockefeller Center's RCA building. According to the Rockefeller's website, it was taken during the construction of the building, now known as 30 Rock.
But we might never have known that were it not for two Irish filmmakers who were hell-bent on finding out the origins of the iconic photo. And the names of the men featured in it.
#10
My Dad And Friends Look Like The Cast Of Stranger Things (1982)
#11
Google In The 1970s
#12
Old School Public Shaming In Times Square, 1955
It was by chance that Seán Ó Cualáín and his brother Éamonn began their journey to uncover the truth behind "Lunch Atop A Skyscraper." The two were at a tiny pub in Ireland in 2010 when they spotted a copy of the photograph on the wall.
"Next to the photo was a note from a Pat Glynn, the son of a local emigrant, who claimed his father and uncle-in-law were on the beam," Seán told the Rockefeller Center Magazine years later.
"I knew very little of the picture other than growing up with the myth that all the men in it were Irish. So we were intrigued. By the time we left the pub, the owner had given us Pat's number and we went from there."
#13
Building Of The Atomium In Brussels For The World's Fair 1958
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
Why don't we have World's Fairs anymore? They seem pretty cool.
#14
My Dad In 1984 Trying To Transfer Files From His Commodore 64 To His First Apple Computer
Janissary35680 1 day ago
That's a Macintosh. I remember transferring my AppleWriter files from an Apple ][ to my first Windows 3.0 PC a couple of years later using a cable connection of some kind. It took a couple of days IIRC. I called it "Dunkirking" because I was bailing out of Apple by that point.
#15
Incredibly Sharp Looking Kids In Harlem, 1970
The men tracked down Pat Glynn, the guy who'd left the mysterious note in the pub. They met up and compared old family photos to the now-iconic image. While they couldn't find conclusive evidence that Glynn's dad was featured, he was convinced the man at the right end holding a bottle was his father, Sonny.
Around 40,000 workers helped build 30 Rock, and not many work records were kept, so whether or not Pat Glynn's dad truly did pose 850 feet in the air remains a mystery.
#16
My American Grandmother Visiting Athens In The 1960s
#17
A Policeman In San Francisco Scolds A Man For Not Wearing A Mask During The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, 1918
#18
John F. Kennedy Campaigning Door-To-Door In West Virginia In 1960
Just me, Happy Flower 1 day ago
Wow! I have photo negatives when he did the speech at the Berlin Wall. They have never been developed. It’s weird to see a soldier just starting to build the wall
In their quest to uncover the identities of the other workers, the brothers also approached the Rockefeller's archivist. Together, they painstakingly went through dozens of photographs taken during the construction of the Rockefeller Building. But in the end, they were only able to positively identify two of the workers perched on the beam.
The duo turned their search into a documentary aptly titled "Men at Lunch," and while they didn't solve the whole mystery, they did manage to bag an award for their work...
#19
Forced Perspective On The Beach, Circa 1943
#20
My Dad Taking A Selfie, Using A Piece Of Wood To Activate The Shutter, Circa 1957
Janissary35680 1 day ago
Selfie stick prototype. It would be more than 4 decades before the technology was perfected.
#21
A Man Browses For Books In The Old Public Library Of Cincinnati. The Building Was Demolished In 1955. Today An Office Building And A Parking Lot Stand Where It Used To Be
Kira Okah 1 day ago
We're going to get the questions and lamentations again so let's clear stuff up before it gets crazy. This building was dangerous, dirty, and unfit for purpose. Books fell on people, people fell over railings, the place had no ventilation, was full of coal dust from the coal fires, and was much too small for the collection. The building's replacement was the new library, wth no coal fires, good lighting and ventilation, muh safer stacks, much more room, and the collection could expand.
A narrator is heard in the trailer of the film as vintage choppy black-and-white visuals take the viewer on a journey through old New York and the construction of the 30 Rock building.
"Like any great photograph, it sparks wonder," he says. "What kind of men would do this? What the heck is going on here? Who are they?"
#22
The 9 Kings Of Europe Gather For The First And Only Time For A Photograph At The Funeral Of King Edward Vii In London. May 20th, 1910
#23
Woman In Vultee-Nashville, Tennessee Operating An Air Drill For A Dive Bomber, 1942. Not Colorized, Kodachrome
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
That war gave so many women their first taste of good jobs and proved they were more than capable of doing them and they are NOT going back to the kitchen.
#24
A Group Of Gents Enjoy An Impromptu Snowball Fight In The Serene And Stately Setting Of Trafalgar Square, London, Circa 1931
The narrator's words drive home the point that one powerful historical photograph can indeed tell a story of a thousand words. While it captures a minuscule moment in time, one well-taken image has the ability to live on forever...
#25
My Mom As A Teenager With A Moose Calf In Alaska, 1952
#26
Grand Central Terminal, NYC, The Sun Can't Shine Through Like That Now Due To The Surrounding Tall Buildings. 1929
#27
Buzz Aldrin -- Did You Know I Took The First Space Selfie During Gemini 12 Mission In 1966?
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
On a spacewalk when it was super dodgy. The first Russian to do it almost died a couple times. First his suit failed and then he was almost attacked by wolves. Long story but the early spacemen were crazy brave. Now some billionaire can just buy a ticket.
#28
Portable Beach Changing Rooms, 1930's
#29
Naughty Cats (Late 1950s)
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago (edited)
They're Siamese so of course they're evil. Didn't Lady and the Tramp teach us anything?
#30
A Group Of Frontiersmen With An Advertisement. United States, Montana, 1901
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
I'll take the one who's holding a cat. He seems cool. He likes cats.
#31
The Wives Of The Astronauts On The Apollo 8 Mission At The Moment They Heard Their Husbands Voices From Orbit, 1968
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago (edited)
1968 was a rough year. MLK was assassinated. There were riots everywhere. The DNC had teh riots in Chicago. RFK Sr. was assassinated. The whole year was a shitshow. Except for this. We went to the moon that year. Didn't land but at least we went there and proved it could be done.
#32
Anti British Propaganda, Japan 1941
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
LOL I was wondering why they were saying W.C. Fields was stinky and then I realized it's Winston Churchill.
#33
In My Research, I Came Across This Rare And Beautiful Photo Of A Jewish Jewelry Seller In Sana’a, Yemen. Probably Mid 1900s
#34
The "Hasanlu Lovers" Died Around 800 B.c. And Were Discovered In 1972. They Died In What Seems To Be An Embrace Or Kiss, And Remained That Way For 2800 Years
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
I do believe more recent studies/DNA analysis has indicated that both skeletons are the skeletons of biologically male humans. :)
#35
An Undercover Police Officer On Duty. New York, Brooklyn, 1 July 1969
#36
A Businessman And Secretary Working In A Pool During A Heatwave In Berlin, Germany 1926
#37
Woman Inspecting This New Thing, The Security Belt In Her Car, Circa 1950s
#38
President Harry Truman Shakes Hands With Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France, 1958
#39
Mobsters Hide Their Faces At Al Capone's Trial 1931
#40
A Boy Between Two Mounted Lobsters Caught Off The New Jersey Coast. 1916
#41
Workers Heading Out Through Gates Of A Shipyard For Lunchtime Break
Behind Them A Ship Under Construction Surrounded By Timber Scaffolding And Cranes - Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, C. 1944
#42
New Yorkers Stop To Watch The "Seinfeld" Finale In Times Square, 1998
#43
Christmas Celebration, 1905
#44
Free Lunch Distributed To Schoolchildren In Ahvaz. Iran, 1970s
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 day ago
1970s Iran was more progressive than 2020s USA. I'm so getting downvoted for that but it's true but at least they FED CHILDREN.
#45
Man Looking At Other Posters Looking For Missing Families With One Of His Own
In Front Of The Kbs Building Before A Historical 138 Day Long Live Family-Seeking Broadcast. Seoul, 1983.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
This was for families who had been separated due to the Korean War (1950-1953) and were separated by being in North and South Korea. Reunions were held sporadically for a while, then (mostly) annually starting in 2000, but stopped in 2019 and haven't happened since.
#46
College Guys Circa 1910 (Info In Comments)
This is believed to be from the University of Illinois. Photo restored by Paul Holbrook.
#47
The Statue Of Liberty Under Construction In The Workshop Of French Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, Paris, 1882
#48
McDonald's Crew Poses For A Photo, Circa 1970, In Staten Island, N.y. Fast Food Venue
#49
Check Out The Gnarly Insect Screen Covering The Grill! 1957
#50
Opening Day Of The First McDonald's Restaurant In Poland. Warsaw, June 17, 1992
Richard Graham 1 day ago (edited)
We, in the U.S., condemn fast-food capitalism. However, when the iron-curtain fell, many of the formerly oppressed people in these formerly Communist countries saw fast-food restaurants as a breath of freedom. YOU could choose what you wanted, not controlled by the Government.
Note: this post originally had 65 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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What do you think ?
Paul Sloan 20 hours ago
This sure beats the hell out of all the celebrity c**p we've been seeing.
Paul Sloan 20 hours ago
This sure beats the hell out of all the celebrity c**p we've been seeing.
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