These 30 fascinating photos, taken between 50 and 100 years ago, offer a captivating glimpse into the past and reveal just how dramatically the world has changed over time. From vintage fashion and transportation to everyday life and iconic landmarks, these images highlight the evolution of technology, culture, and society.

They showcase the transformation of cities, the progress of innovations, and the shifts in lifestyles that have shaped the world we live in today. Each photo is a time capsule, inviting us to reflect on the past while marveling at the rapid pace of change over the decades.

The online community is called The Way We Were and its 529k members regularly share vintage pictures showing what normal everyday life was like back in the day, giving us a unique glimpse at just how much some things changed throughout history. All photos are linked and lead to the sources from which they were taken. Please feel free to explore further works of these photographers on their collections or their personal sites.

#1 My Ridiculously Attractive Grandparents Sitting For A Portrait In The Early 1940s

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: reddit.com

#2 Cats Blackie & Brownie Catching Squirts Of Milk During Milking At Arch Badertscher’s Dairy Farm In Fresno, California, 1954

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: SamoF82M4

#3 My Great-Great-Grandmother Sometime In The 1890s

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: hey123456789123

#4 Gay Men Pose For A Photo While Being Detained At A Police Station For Being Homosexuals In Mexico, 1935

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: monderigon

#5 Mary Wallace: First Female Bus Driver For Chicago Transit Authority (1974)

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: AxlCobainVedder

#6 A Native American Girl Of The Kiowa Tribe, Oklahoma, 1894

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: froggysaysno

#7 This 1955 Photo Is One Of Walter Chandoha’s Most Famous Shots. “My Daughter Paula And The Kitten Both ‘Smiled’ For The Camera At The Same Time. …but The Cat’s Not Smiling, He’s Meowing”

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: panuchazo

#8 Protesting The High School Dress Code That Banned Slacks For Girls, Brooklyn C.1940

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: closecaxton

#9 A Sailor “Meets” His Baby For The First Time After Fourteen Months At Sea, 1940s

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: Anyoldcrap

#10 Sisters In Skirts, 1950s

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: Str33twise84

#11 Two Pals (1920)

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: suzuki_hayabusa

#12 My Mom On Her Wedding Day November 1951

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: YCVick

#13 1945: The Day Daddy Came Home. Gunner Hector Murdoch Had Been Gone Over Four Years, Most Of It As A Prisoner Of War In Singapore. His Wife Rosina And Son John Hadn’t Known If He Was Dead Or Alive. He Got Home On His Birthday

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: GaGator43

#14 My Great-Grandfather That Was Too Poor To Afford A Suit In Sicily, So He Had To Pose In Front Of A Cardboard Cut-Out, 1930s~

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: HappyyItalian

#15 My Grandmother And Mom Circa 1974. My Grandmother Took My Mother To National Parks Over The Course Of A Few Months, Just The Two Of Them

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: mghobby68

#16 “Our Michael”, 1938

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: ufooooh

#17 Dad Showing Off His Skill To The Surprise Of His Little Daughter In Melbourne, Australia, Ca. 1940s

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: TynShouldHaveLived

#18 London’s First Black Police Officer, PC Norwell Roberts, On Point Duty Near Charing Cross Station, 1968

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: Manipulatrix

#19 My Parents’ Wedding Photo, Okinawa, 1964

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: reed555

#20 My Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Great-Great-Grandfather, And Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Ca 1918

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: RckLbstr

#21 Saw This Photo Posted Here.. Noticed I Have The Photo The Grandmother Took That Day. (Bought At An Antique Shop Years Ago In Phx)

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: KSD4

#22 My Great Grandmother In The Early 1900’s. Thought She Looked Too Awesome Not To Share

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: allerena85

#23 This Is My Grandma Dorothy. She Was A Dress Designer In The 50s Which Always Made This Photo More Funny To Me. She Passed Away Today At Age 89. A Life Well Lived

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: crapidrawatwork

#24 My Grandpa (Left) And His Best Friend Willie Hall During The Korean War. Those Smiles Say It All

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: lowrider4488

#25 My Mother Made Us Matching Dresses For A Fancy Party Back In 1954

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: dittidot

#26 Grandma And Papa In 1937. She Passed Away Today At 100 Years Old

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: nosoup4me

#27 This Is Hazel, My Grandmother-In-Law. 1916

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: Booboogirl53

#28 Last Picture Of My Great Uncle Kennith, Before He Drowned In The Buffalo River, 1940’s. He Gave His Life Saving My Grandpa

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: teenietina182

#29 Me And My Best Friend Rocky Watching TV, 1959

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: marbleriver

#30 Caught On The Firescape, 1946

30 Pics Taken 50-100 Years Ago Showing Just How Much Things Changed Over Time

Image source: froggysaysno


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