The perfect "time machines"? Old photographs! :)
With the advent of smartphones and cameras that are affordable for almost everyone, we have become accustomed to the fact that every single moment of our lives can be documented with images or videos.
The habit of capturing images or filming our activities has become a real obsession and does not even spare delicate situations that chronicle intimate family events.
In the past, obviously, this was not the case! The remembrance of events was mostly entrusted to the oral or written accounts of those who had participated in them, and for this reason, the few and very rare images circulating today have even more precious and irreplaceable charm for us today. Here are some examples.
1. The first photographed image of a human being in 1938.
The pioneer of photography Luis Daguerre took this daguerreotype of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. Due to the long exposure time, only the people who were standing still were impressed, namely, a shoemaker and his customer.
2. A white woman with an Indian tattoo in 1863.
Olive Oatman, at the age of 14, was captured by Native Americans after they had killed her parents and she managed to escape only five years later. In the meantime, the Indians treated her as a member of their tribe.
3. The first picture of an "obscene hand gesture" in 1886.
Baseball player and pitcher Charles Redbourn expresses his dislike of the photographer, for reasons unknown!
4. The aftermath of a fight with snowballs in 1893.
These students from Princeton University came home for vacation, looking like they had been in a war, after a tremendous snowball fight!
5. A worker refuses to make the Nazi salute in 1936.
The laws of the Third Reich prevented August Landmesser from marrying Irma Eckler who was of Jewish origin, and he did not hide his disappointment. Unfortunately, she later died in a Nazi concentration camp, while all traces of him were lost ...
6. Sophia Loren e Jayne Mansfield in 1957.
The picture was taken during a Paramount gala event in honor of Sophia Loren. As the Sophia Loren, herself, reports, Jayne Mansfield came to her table to greet her, which attracted the attention of the photographers, and Loren takes an almost frightened glance at the Mansfield's revealing bosom neckline .... that seems to be on the verge of exploding right there on the table!
7. The Beatles cross Abbey Road ... in the opposite direction (counterclockwise) in 1969.
One of the variations (which was later discarded) of the famous cover of the album "Abbey Road".
8. One of the models that gave birth to famous " Uncle Sam Wants You" poster in 1970.
The facial iconography of the famous Uncle Sam was obtained by mixing many different faces, but the resemblance to one of the real models, Walter Botts, is amazing!
9. A family portrait on the surface of the Moon in 1972.
In 1972, while participating in the Apollo 16 expedition as a Lunar Module Pilot, the American astronaut Charles Duke left a photo of his wife and children on the surface of the Moon.
10. Iranian pop singers before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Few people know that in 1972, Iran, before the Islamic Revolution, was a country at the avant-garde from a cultural point of view --- pop music and fashion were flourishing, and women were wearing bikini's on the beach without any problems!
11. Here we see Kurt Cobain as he plays his imaginary guitar in 1993.
A photo posted on Instagram by Lenny Kravitz. It was 2 September 1993, and Lenny was playing "Are You Gonna Go My Way" on the stage of the MTV Music Awards and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana band) was "accompanying" Kravitz from behind the scenes.
