49 Rare Photos Of Victorians Proving They Weren’t As Serious As You Thought

The Victorian era gave us many great inventions that we still use today - bicycles, Morse code, ice cream as we know it, and even the telephone. The era of Queen Victoria's reign, though, had some pretty bizarre happenings too. Such as ladies getting stuck in doorways because of their extra big dress skirts and constantly fainting as a result of very tight corsets. Also, the London fog did exist, and it comprised of nothing else than heavy pollution from coal mines and the city being in regular fires. Victorians were oddly obsessed with Egyptology and makeup, especially lipstick, which was compared to witchcraft. To add even more fun to the mix, the social rules and behavior codes were amazingly strict.

With life this pleasant, it's no wonder that nobody was smiling in the creepy pictures taken in the Victorian era. Everybody looks so severe that it seems as if people in the 1800s just didn't have the time, or strength to have fun. But as these rare vintage photos prove, that wasn't always the case.

There are many theories as to why Victorians always look so dour in pictures. Long exposure times made smiling difficult (and by long we mean several hours. Seriously. Ever tried smiling for several hours? It hurts) and the high cost of portraits gave people very little to smile about. Poor dental hygiene made people reluctant to show their teeth (or whatever teeth they had left), and let's not forget that many Victorians simply had it too rough a life to take funny pictures. But as you can see from the vintage photography exemplars below, some still found something to smile about. From gentlemen cross-dressing as fair ladies of the times, to probably the first awkward family photos in history, the few Victorians, who managed to have some fun, are all here. (h/t: whizzpast)

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A Victorian Couple Trying Not To Laugh While Getting Their Portraits Done, 1890s

Final score:

350points

49 Rare Photos Of Victorians Proving They Weren’t As Serious As You Thought

A Victorian Couple Trying Not To Laugh While Getting Their Portraits Done, 1890s

Cakewalk Dance

A Unique Tea Setting For Two

A Snow Lady, 1892

Unusual Portrait Of A Victorian Lady, 1840

Three Fashionable Young Men At Yale, 1883

Awkward Family Photo, Victorian Edition

Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899

Vintage Humor

Piggy Nose

Men And Women Cross Dress In This Silly Victorian Snap, 1880-1900

Say That Again, And I'll Dip You In, 1897

Unknown Victorian In Mid-jump

Vacation Sports At The Seaside

Richard Freiherr Von Krafft-Ebing

The Victorians From France

Courting In The 1800s Never Looked Better

This Is As Close To A Victorian Selfie As It's Going To Get

Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899

Smiling Victorians

Smiling Little Girls

Victorians Pulling Face, 1900

Smiling Victorians, 1900s

Victorians, 1800s

Tsar Nicholas II, 1899

Men Dressed In Drag In The Victorian Era

Fashion Victorians Women, 19th Century

A Smiling Queen Victoria In An Open Coach, 1892

Smiling Victorian, 1800s

Miss Barton Dressed In A Late Victorian Tennis Outfit

Man Pulling A Funny Face

A Woman Riding A 'scorcher', A Victorian Bicycle, In St James' Park, London

Smiling Victorian Servants

Kid Pulling A Funny Face

A Group Of Smiling Edwardians

Man Pulling A Comical Face, 1900

A Group Of Women To Celebrate The Centenary Of The London Bus

Gibson Girls

Evelyn Winchester

The 20th Century Victorian Man With Banishing Woman

The Smiling Victorians

Smiling 1850s Lady

Smiling Victorians, 1900s

Victorians Pulling Face, 1900

Smiling Victorian, 1800s

A Family In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900

A Young Couple A Photographed In Fancy Dress, 1880-1900

Slicker-Looking Guy

Young Ladies

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