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

The Cakewalk Dance

A Unique Tea Setting For Two

Atypical Portrait Of A Victorian Lady, 1840

An Image Of Three Fashionable Young Men At Yale, 1883

Awkward Family Photo, Victorian Edition

Tsar Nicholas II Just Goofing Around, 1899

Vintage Humor

The Piggy Nose

Victorian Men And Women Cross Dress In This Silly Snap, 1880-1900

"Say That Again, And I'll Dip You In", 1897

Victorian Lady In Mid-jump

Lively Vacation Sports At The Seaside

Richard Freiherr Von Krafft-Ebing

The Victorians From France

Tsar Nicholas II Goofing Around, 1899

Smiling Victorians

Victorians Pulling Face, 1900

Tsar Nicholas II, 1899

A Smiling Queen Victoria In An Open Coach, 1892

Smiling Victorian, 1800s

Man Pulling A Funny Face

Man Pulling A Comical Face, 1900

H/T Whizzpast