Our history as humans is as long and complex as math felt back in 10th grade. I passed by the skin of my teeth if you’re curious. Sadly, we only discovered the magic of photography in the 1800s, the first photo ever dating back to 1827. Can you imagine how incredible it would have been to see moments from the 1500s or 900s? 

We’ll just have to settle for pictures from the past couple of centuries, which is still longer than any human would have survived. The members of the “Historical Pictures” Facebook group have been sharing their finds, be it pictures of family moments, portraits, or well-beloved celebrities, bringing us all closer to the past.  

A natural question comes up—why are we so drawn to old photographs, regardless of the fact that we’ve most likely never met the people, known the places, or experienced anything close to what their lives were like. Well, it’s for all those reasons, ironically enough! It’s a learning opportunity, a true touch upon history, and the fleeting moments of time. 

As someone wrote on The School Of Life, it’s kind of a bittersweet discovery. “We realize that we want to live inside photographs, not the life they purport to tell us about,” they said. An intriguing kind of nostalgia, a craving to have been there to witness the events, to see that one special person again, to be a child without worries all over again. 

Each picture tells a story of the moment it was taken. The people, the location, the fashion sense, the actions, the pose, the grimace. All of it builds a picture, yet it is only speculation what happened to those people before or after the event of the photo being taken. Those gaps are then filled with stories and photographs before and after the initial one, but nothing really paints a full picture. 

Maureen A. Taylor, when speaking on the importance of photography as a whole, notes 3 points. The first one was conveniently made at the very beginning of this section—every picture tells a story. Each one is a time portal. And each one is an artifact. Your old photos are ancestral artifacts just like furniture and silver, and they’re worth just as much if not more. 

But why do we feel a sense of happiness when looking at these pictures? According to multiple bits of research, it has to do with happy chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin. A new study from CEWE has found that people find looking back at old photos even more relaxing than meditating. The activity triggers feelings of primary and positive emotions such as joy and love, but it also strengthens our memory and relationships. 

Leading UK behavioral psychologist Jo Hemmings says: “Taking the time to look back on our treasured memories can be truly beneficial for our wellbeing as it can help to evoke feelings of positivity and happiness. Because of this, and especially at times like this, we should take more time to appreciate and look back on them.” 

Our mantelpieces, windowsills, shelves and sideboards, where many of us display our treasured photos in frames, have been shown to be among the most peaceful places in our homes. As explained by Louise Carey, this is because of the immediate sense of well-being that we get by looking at photos of our loved ones at various stages in their developing lives.

Research has also shown that having ‘real’ photos in our homes provides regular psychological positive reinforcement by reminding us of what and who are important to us. This emotional bubble then fuses with our wider memories of the occasion that we might not have photographed and transports us back to a happier place.

We’re all here for a limited time, so we might as well capture as much of it as possible so that future generations have some semblance of our existence, at least for a little while. Take those photos, print your favorites, deck out your whole home, and enjoy! 

As you continue to scroll through this list, make sure you’re upvoting your favorites and leaving comments along the way, and I shall see you all in the next one! Bye-bye for now!