Photos Of Victorians Proving They Weren’t As Serious As You Thought

By | January 11, 2017

A lot of Victorian era photos we've seen are always serious, so we have this prejudiced notion that people in the 1800s simply didn't blend well with fun. Well, these pictures will show that it wasn't always the case.

Theories arise as to why Victorians constantly have dour-looking photos: 1) Lengthy exposure times made smiling difficult, 2) The expensive portraits gave people very little reason to smile about, 3) Poor dental hygiene made people hesitant to show their teeth, and let's not fail to remember that 4) Back then, many Victorians simply had it pretty rough. But some, as shown from the pictures below, still found reasons to smile about.

A Victorian Couple Trying Not To Laugh While Getting Their Photos Done, 1890s
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The Cakewalk Dance
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A Unique Tea Setting For Two
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Atypical Portrait Of A Victorian Lady, 1840
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An Image Of Three Fashionable Young Men At Yale, 1883
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Awkward Family Photo, Victorian Edition
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Tsar Nicholas II Just Goofing Around, 1899
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Vintage Humor
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The Piggy Nose
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Victorian Men And Women Cross Dress In This Silly Snap, 1880-1900
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"Say That Again, And I'll Dip You In", 1897
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Victorian Lady In Mid-jump
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Lively Vacation Sports At The Seaside
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Richard Freiherr Von Krafft-Ebing
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The Victorians From France
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Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899
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Smiling Victorians
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Victorians Pulling Face, 1900
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Tsar Nicholas II, 1899
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A Smiling Queen Victoria In An Open Coach, 1892
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Smiling Victorian, 1800s
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Man Pulling A Funny Face
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Man Pulling A Comical Face, 1900
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H/T Whizzpast