90 Rare Historical Photos You’ve Never Seen

From business to pleasure and everything in between, these rare historical photos depict a world that, for better or worse, no longer exists. 

While some show moments from important historical events, like the Spanish Flu or the resignation of Richard Nixon, others show a slice of everyday life. Travel back more than 150 years through this collection of images.

Robert Cornelius Takes the First-Ever Selfie, 1839

Pilot Ejected from Plane, 1962

Abe Lincoln Looking Away from the Camera, 1861

New York's Times Square, 1903

Mama Cat and Kittens Cross a New York Street, 1925

Conrad Veidt, the Inspiration for the Joker, 1928

Men in Traditional Dutch Dress, 1900

Waiting in the Greyhound Bus Terminal, 1969

A Young George Clooney and Family, 1968

Futuristic Baby Stroller, West Germany, 1950s

Woodward and Bernstein Watching Nixon Resign, 1974

Early 'Food Truck,' 1918

Buying a TV, 1965

Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club, Scotland, 1908

A Serious Harvey Ross Ball and His Creation, 1960s

Baby Elon Musk, 1970s

WWII Combat Vet and Entertainer, Smoky, 1940s

Dolly Parton and Husband Carl Dean, 1960s

Demonstrating an Early Computer Mouse, 1968

'American Gothic' Models, 1935

Los Angeles Burger Stand, 1930s

Young Notorious B.I.G., 1978

The Carousel Bar in Circus Circus, Las Vegas, 1970s

Car Hop Service in 1940s Dallas

A Simple 1950s Kitchen

Drug Lord Pablo Escobar on Vacation, 1981

Lipstick Tester, 1960

An Early Blockbuster, 1911

A Picnic with Koalas, Circa 1950s

Victorian Spirits, 1880

A Game of Marbles, 1905

Tap-Dancing Class, Circa 1950s

Tuskegee Airmen Adjusting a Bomber's Tank, 1945

1930s Roadside Stand in Alabama

Wilbur's Watches, Circa 1950s

Not Wearing a Mask During the Spanish Flu Pandemic, 1918

Testing a Football Helmet, 1912

Helen Keller Meets Charlie Chaplin, 1919

'1984' Author George Orwell During the Spanish Civil War, 1937

Chess Prodigy Samuel Reshevsky, 1920

'Golden Girl' Bea Arthur Was Once a Marine, 1943

Child Laborer, 1910

Beatles Fans, 1960s

Chief John Smith, 1920s

Woman Posing as Humpty Dumpty

Peter's Hardware Valentine, New Hampshire

Pope John Paul II Meets Man who Attempted to Assassinate Him, 1983

Swedish Bride, c.1880

Freddie Mercury and His Mother, 1947

Building the Hoover Dam, 1934

Early Vacuum Cleaner, 1906

Princeton Snowball Fight, 1890

David Beckham Signing His First Contract

The Video Store, Early 1980s

Cat Taking Photo, 1909

Al Capone's Soup Kitchen, 1930s

Einstein Playing Violin, 1933

Family Dinner During the 1950s

Bobbing for Apples, 1920s

Felled Giant Redwood, 1892

Lincoln Assassination Conspirator Lewis Powell, 1865

Children’s Playground, 1900

Suffragette, 1917

Italian Garden, 1952

The Kennedy Family, Halloween 1963

New York Tunnel Police, 1950s

Kabul, Afghanistan, Early 1970s

Bride and Groom Costume, 1930s

The Follyphone, 1912

American Soldier in Vietnam, 1965

Las Vegas, 1947

Showing Family Members New Babies Over the Berlin Wall, 1961

The Michelin Man, 1898

Bookmobile, 1920s

Tesla in His Lab, 1899

Beauty Lecture in Los Angeles, 1950s

Detroit, 1940s

The Spruce Goose in Long Beach, 1947

Evacuation of Art at the Louvre Grande Gallerie, 1939

Cooking During the Great Depression, 1930s

Thomas Edison and Electric Car, 1913

Child Bike Messenger, 1913

Motorcycle Club, 1941

Inuit Woman and Baby, 1912

Homeschooling, 1937

The Propellers of the Titanic, 1911

Queen Elizabeth II, 1944

Rowan Atkinson at Oxford, 1975

Stray Dog Caretaker, 1962

Meeting the Triplets, 1946