History,CuriositiesJAN 12, 2026

113 Photographs Every History Enthusiast Should See

Photos have a quiet magic to them… they can pull us out of the present and drop us into another moment in an instant.

This feeling is even stronger when we look at historic pictures taken across different eras and places.

Some of the moments feel so familiar — for example, we all can relate to a mirror selfie that was taken by a couple in the 1920s in Japan. But at the same time, some moments remind us of such strange times — for example, we will never fully understand what a soldier felt while embracing his baby after returning from World War 2.

Let’s travel back in time a bit, and check out this treasure trove from the Hatcher History Instagram page that reveals glimpses from the past.

#21 Anne Frank’s Father Otto, Revists The Attic Entrance Where He And His Family Hid For Two Long Years, Before They’re Betrayal, Amsterdam, In The Netherlands, May 1960

#22 This Footprint Captures The Moment, Over 4,000 Years Ago, When Someone Stepped Barefoot On A Mud Brick Left To Dry In The Sun, 2000bc, In The City Of Ur, Mesopotamia

#23 A Very Unique Photo Of The Regional Dress For Ladies In Navarre, Spain, And Particularly From The Town Of Ochagavía, Deep In The Basque Region, On The French Border

#24 Recycling In London, During The War, Out Of Necessity, Hornsey, London, England, 1943

#25 A Little Boy All Dressed Up, New York City, USA, 1949

#26 A Pensive American Soldier Cradles A Puppy, Vietnam War, 1965

#27 A Little Girl Collecting Water, Sardinia, Italy, 1954

#28 An Elderly Italian Lady Takes A Rest, In An Alley In Her Village, Italy, 1960s

#29 After The Berlin Wall Was Put Up By The Communists, A Family In West Berlin Show Their Children To Their Grandparents Stuck In East Berlin, 1961

#30 A Young Girl Looks After Her Baby Sister, In The Poverty Of Cholera Ravaged Streets Of Spitalfields, In The East End Of London, 1886

#31 A Portrait Shot Of An Athletic Couple Called Jura And Vera, Photographed In The 1930s Yugoslavia

#32 Two Fisherman Knit Their Winter Woolies, Ramsgate, Kent, England, 1940s

#33 A Little Girl With A Grizzly Bear, Location Unknown, Mid 20th Century

#34 Ava Gardner, At The Age Of 19, In 1942

#35 A Woman Selling Fish Door-To-Door, On The Streets Of London, 1910

#36 A Pair Of Roman Shoes Discovered During The Excavation Of A Maritime Site At Thérouanne, Pas-De-Calais, Northern France, 2023

#37 A Dutch Family Pose Infront Of Their Sod House, Drenthe, The Netherlands, 1936

#38 Italians Queue To View The Nemi Ships Of Emperor Caligula’s, Which Were Elaborate Floating Palaces Containing Quantities Of Marble, Mosaic Floors, Heating, And Plumbing

#39 Hms Vidal Riding The Crest Of A Wave, Durian The Second World War, 1940

#40 Marilyn Monroe Visiting An Injured American Soldier, Evacuated To Japan From Operations On The Korean War, 1954

Poll Question

Which emotion do you most often feel when viewing these historical photographs?

Poll Question

Which emotion do you most often feel when viewing these historical photographs?