These Rare Photos Are Over 100 Years Old
Now that it's 2020, we've found ourselves re-entering the so-called "roaring '20s" yet again. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if a person from the 1920s were to be suddenly transported to life today? How would you even begin to describe what a smart house is, let alone explain to them the concept of the internet? How about getting them to wrap their heads around the idea of a self-driving car? Not to mention, they would certainly have their opinions on the evolution of fashion. It would be a mind-boggling scenario, to say the least.
Now imagine that the situation was reversed, and you were transported to the year 1920. How long do you think you'd be able to last? If there is anything that these photos from 100 years ago show us, it's that even with all of the cultural progression and technological advancements that have been made over the course of the past century, we still do much of the same. From taking our morning commute and visiting the grocery store, to hanging out at the beach and celebrating the love of two people, perhaps things weren't so different after all.
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A railcar makes the morning commute in New York City, as passengers read newspapers and gaze out the window.
(Heritage Images - Getty Images)
A musical instrument seemingly levitates during a spiritual seance to connect with the dead.
Related: Can You Spot the Ghost in This Old Black and White Photo?
(Hulton Deutsch - Getty Images)
Tourists soak up the view of the Sahara Desert atop a Great Pyramid in Egypt.
(George Rinhart - Getty Images)
Fashionably dressed triplets pose for a photo as they enjoy frozen treats.
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A young boy looks at the movie posters outside a Minneapolis movie theater.
(Minnesota Historical Society - Getty Images)
Rows of well-behaved schoolchildren, seated neatly at their desks, pose for a photo in their classroom.
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A group of ladies play a card game while they simultaneously cool off in a community swimming pool. It's the best of both worlds.
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British golfer, Cecil Leitch, plays the English Ladies Golf tournament in Sheringham. Leitch won 12 national titles over the course of her career.
(Hulton Archive - Getty Images)
Construction workmen cling to chains as they dangle in mid-air off the side of a skyscraper.
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A group of Sennett Bathing Beauties show off their swimwear on a Californian beach. The performing beauts were rallied together by film producer Mack Sennett.
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A photographer captures a shopper in London, England, as she fetches a snack from a street-side vending machine.
(Hulton Deutsch - Getty Images)
Two women enjoy a luxe lifestyle, donning fur coats while posing next to a new car.
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Anna Elisabeth, a French poet and novelist, poses next to a large flower arrangement.
(Henri Martinne - Getty Images)
A young girl holding her toy sailboat stands with her feet in the ocean.
(The Montifraulo Collection - Getty Images)
A line of Rocky Mountain tour cars take the scenic route around a Colorado lake.
(Underwood Archives - Getty Images)
Silent-era comedian, Harold Lloyd (star of Safety Last!), poses as a wheelbarrow on the edge of a construction beam.
(John Kobal Foundation - Getty Images)
A group of Manhattan department store employees hitch a ride on the back of the company's delivery truck.
(George Rinhart - Getty Images)
Two women hold hands and kick their legs back as they strike a pose while ice skating in Berlin, Germany.
(Hulton Archive - Getty Images)
A young boy walks his dog on a leash, as the pooch helps by carrying baskets filled with groceries on its back.
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A Hollywood film crew prepares to shoot a scene for a movie in a studio backlot.
(SeM - Getty Images)
English commuters sit in their bunks while on-board an overnight train.
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A group of dapper young people enjoy the sunny weather while on a promenade in Calvados, France.
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Two teenage boys play with a shortwave radio as they attempt to listen to a broadcast.
(FPG - Getty Images)
Rowing champion M.K. Morris and his wife, Marguerite, pose together on their wedding day in New York.
(General Photographic Agency - Getty Images)
The now bustling Fremont Street in Las Vegas sits eerily bare of traffic on a sunny day in 1920.
Related: What Las Vegas Looked Like the Year You Were Born
(Donaldson Collection - Getty Images)
A long-haired lingerie model poses with a bottle in her hand for a shampoo ad.
(PhotoQuest - Getty Images)
A class of boys watch closely as their instructor teaches them how to create a model airplane.
(Paul Thompson/FPG - Getty Images)
Two women and a smiling pooch sit in the front of a truck.
(FPG - Getty Images)
Three grocery shop assistants stand behind the counter and in front of a tall shelf full of canned goods, as they wait for the next customer.
(Paul Thompson/FPG - Getty Images)
English travel photographer, Herbert Ponting, poses next to his camera while on a remote winter shoot in the United Kingdom.
(Science & Society Picture Library - Getty Images)
A chemist tests bootleggers' booze. Prohibition on alcohol began in January 1920 and lasted until 1933.
(PhotoQuest - Getty Images)
A group of Slovakian men, all donning traditional garb, gather in Spis County in north-eastern Slovakia.
(Hulton Archive - Getty Images)
Newlyweds, (soon-to-be) British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and his wife Dorothy Cavendish, walk through the streets on their wedding day in April 1920.
(Topical Press Agency - Getty Images)Take a trip back to 1920. These historic photos give you a glimpse of what life was like a century ago.