18 rare historical photos that outlived their time (20 photos)

This day in history, what was it like in a particular year?





Archival historical photographs provide visual evidence, allowing us to peer behind the curtain of years gone by and sense the breath of life from bygone eras. History is more than just dry dates and meager facts. These are moments frozen on film: a handshake capable of changing the world, a sealed door holding a secret for three millennia, and a rare smile where it's least expected. These images are the key to understanding bygone eras.

1. Communists march on New York City, May 1, 1935



2. "Golden Lotuses"





For a thousand years, China had a monstrous tradition of footbinding, designed to make women weak, fragile, and attractive to men. The ideal was considered a "golden lotus"—a foot no longer than 7 centimeters.



The process began at 5-6 years old: girls' feet were tightly bound, breaking their toes and forcing them toward the heel, causing excruciating pain and often leading to infections. The result was lifelong disability: the woman was unable to move normally, which completely subordinated her to her husband and symbolized his status. Despite early prohibitions, it was only with the communists' rise to power in 1949 that it was finally eradicated.

3. A married couple at a fair in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico, 1940



It's Holy Week. This is how they depict the suffering of Christ. These crowns of thorns are worn not only by women, but also by many particularly devout men. The scarf on the face is supposed to be scarlet, "from the blood." The cactus, piercing the chest with its needles, symbolizes the torture to which Jesus was subjected.

4. "The Old Wellington," a historic British pub in Manchester



It was built in 1552 and moved 100 meters to Cateton Street in 1998 due to construction work.

5. Stalin accepts from Churchill the award sword presented by King George VI to the defenders of Stalingrad. Tehran, 1943



6. New York City during the garbage strike, USA, 1968



7. Nikola Tesla converses with the young King of Yugoslavia, Peter II, at the New Yorker Hotel in 1942 year



8. Ballerina. Paris Opera, 1950s



9. Bomb disposal experts defuse a bomb, New York City, December 1956



An explosive device was discovered at the Paramount Theater in Times Square. It was planted by the infamous George Metesky, the "Mad Bomber," who terrorized New York City for nearly twenty years. His homemade bombs appeared in movie theaters, train stations, and public places. This incident was one of the last before the terrorist's capture in January 1957.

10. North Koreans react to the film "Mr. Bin" at the Pyongyang International Film Festival



11. Indigenous rights activist and environmentalist Tuira Kayapo brandishes a machete in the face of a Brazilian government official



He tried to persuade indigenous leaders to accept a project to build a giant dam in the Amazon in 1989.

"Electricity won't give us food. We need the rivers to flow freely. Don't talk to us about how to rid us of 'poverty'—we are the richest people in Brazil. We are Indians," from a Kayapo speech on this day.

12. A blimp destroyed by the shock wave of a nuclear explosion, Nevada, 1957



13. An American blacksmith with a hammer attached to his amputated arm, late 1800s



14. Jolly Marie, weighing 280 kilograms, won the Big Girls competition in Luna Park



She received a $25 prize and a season pass to the park on August 24, 1925. A photograph shows her using the pass and riding the rides.

15. An Inuit man warms his wife's feet, circa 1880-1890, Greenland



16. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife moments before the assassination attempt that led to World War I, 1914



17. Fidel Castro lights a cigar during a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev, 1963. He wears two Rolex watches on his left wrist.



Castro didn't need the two watches for show. One watch showed local time, the other Cuban time. Incidentally, he was discussing with Khrushchev at the time the supply of Soviet military equipment in exchange for cane sugar.

18. The sealed door of Tutankhamun's tomb before Howard Carter opened it in 1922



It remained sealed for over 3,000 years.