30 interesting photos that shed light on the Victorian and Edwardian eras (36 photos)

The Victorian and Edwardian eras are considered the two most revolutionary periods in British history: it was the time cultural richness and diversity, flourishing art, literature and music. The Victorian Chronicle project on Instagram is a treasure trove interesting photos and even facts about those times in the UK and the world history in general.





1. Two ladies are making a snow lady. This photograph was published in the Strand magazine in 1892.



2. Portrait of Ah-Weh-Eyu (Beautiful Flower) from the Seneca tribe, 1908. Photo by J.L. Blessing



3. A kitten hides in the beard of Louis Coulomb, a French metallurgist, photo 1890



4. A rare photo of a black female soldier in the Civil War in USA, 1862. Her name was Cathy Williams and she had to impersonate man



5. Debutantes in Washington, 1910 Colorization by Olga Shirniba



6. American prairie settlers in the 1880s



7. A young mother exhausted by long hours of making matchboxes. A baby is sleeping at her feet, covered with a blanket. Whitechapel, London, circa 1890



Matchbox making was one of the most low paying jobs. They were mostly women and children, who could work an average of 16 hours a day. For every 144 a box they got 2p.

8. Portrait of Hattie Tom, an Apache Native American, 1899



9. A young Victorian Englishwoman poses with her cat, 1890s



10. Portrait of a cat named "Pussy", photographed around 1869-1875



11. Amelia Van Buren with a friend. Photo by Thomas Eakins, late 1880s, Metropolitan Museum of Art



12. An unknown Victorian lady fools around while posing for a photo.



13. Vintage studio portrait of a girl with a cat, circa 1913



14. Alice Doherty - "wool girl from Minnesota" - posing with his family in a typically sombre Victorian portrait from the early 1900s years



She suffered from "dog snout" or hypertrichosis, a rare a disease that was not so rare in the world of "freak circus" Victorian era. Alice has been touring with her mother since the age of five, posed in shop windows and small halls. Other patients hypertrichosis earned fortunes touring Europe, but Alice never reached the pinnacle of fame. In 1915, at the age of 28, she She retired in Dallas, Texas, where she died in 1933.

15. Portrait of actresses Maud Adams and Ethel Barrymore (great aunt of Drew Barrymore), taken in New York in 1897



16. A young Victorian lady takes a mirror selfie. Around 1900



17. Woman mason high above Berlin, 1910



With the growth of industrialization, the number of German women working outside at home, also grew. Usually it was a job in a factory, but in some families owning their own business, the daughters also learned the craft, to help:Above we see the daughter of a master mason during the repair works on the tower of the old town hall in Berlin.

18. Portrait of the Victorian "Batwoman", Marie Schleinzer. Vienna, 1890



19. Blackbirds, photo by Louis Milton Thiers, 1910



20. An unknown Victorian lady fools around on camera



21. Woman dressed as Batgirl in 1904, 35 years before the creation of Batman in 1939 and 57 years before the creation of Batgirl in 1961



22. A Wonderful Day in London, photograph by Hector Colard, 1898



23. Victorian girl with very long hair in a fashion photo from the 1890s



24. Blanche Allarty delighted audiences at the circus in the late 1890s with her superb riding skills.



In an occupation hitherto dominated only by men, Blanche Allarty became famous for her graceful execution of deadly stunts. According to Hilda Nelson, author of The Great 19th Century Circus Horsewomen, Allarty became one of the "most famous and revered riders of the highest class" in France. She was one of the first women in history who performed a virtuoso dressage, thanks to which she enjoyed a huge respect.

25. A couple of Victorian travelers, photo from the 1890s



26. Mother and daughter watch as a tall ship floats down the Thames with the help of a steam tug, London, 1880



27. Touching and last photo of a girl who was terminally ill and died soon after. circa 1850s



This daguerreotype was made at the request of her family, who wanted to keep her memory alive. However, it remains a mystery not only by whom and where this photo was taken, but also whether she was dying or was already dead when photo was taken.

28. Portrait of actress Evelyn Nesbit, photographed by Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr., 1901



29. Japanese schoolgirls in the uniform of the Edo period, consisting from hakama and kimono furisode. Tokyo Prefecture, Meiji era, 1910s



30. Portrait of a Victorian man with birds in Norway, Robert Collett (1842-1913). Photo from around 1910



31. Self-portrait of Frances Benjamin Johnston "The New Woman", 1896



32. Autre magazine, 1890s. Inuit warms his wife's feet, Greenland



33. The smallest shop in London, occupied by a shoemaker, at 4 Bateman Street, Soho. 1910



The store is 180 cm long, 150 cm high and 60 centimeters deep. The rent was three pounds a week, he has been busy for more than twenty years.

34. Street vendor selling mummies in Egypt, 1875



35. Rather creepy Victorian adaptation of Humpty Dumpty, circa 1873