Old photographs have a peculiar ability to transport you back through time; at one moment you’re looking at a blurry street scene, and the next thing you know you’re noticing the old cars, the sharp suits, the odd hairstyles and then you’re wondering what it would have been like to have walked around there. But then an animal appears and from that point on that’s all you can see.
It is for this reason that these historic photographs of animals are so enjoyable. Although the people might have been dressed up for the occasion, the photographer could have carefully arranged the scene, and the camera might have been directed at something entirely else, the dog gazing straight into the lens, the cat showing curiosity and sitting in the wrong place, or the horse refusing to cooperate still ends up being the real highlight.
The Instagram page Old School Cool has shared a set of vintage photographs which show animals carrying out the things that animals have always been best at doing, namely being unpredictable. The photographs show the animals in family portraits, on city streets, on farms, in zoos, at workplaces and in ordinary everyday situations.
To be honest, isn’t that what magic is? People change, fashion changes, and technology changes too. Yet animals always manage to take the spotlight when no one is expecting them to.
#1. Nothing cooler than meeting a penguin for the first time, 1950s.
#2. A great dane riding shotgun in a sports car. Hollywood, California 1961.
#3. Photographer John Drysdale gets punched by kangaroo, 1962.
#4. A boy and his turtle,1937.
#5. Spanish Flu, 1918. Family Portrait.
#6. A boy and his chicken. 1910.
When the Family Portrait Got a Furry Upgrade
When it came to family portraits it was a serious matter. People were required to remain still, look their finest and stare straight into the camera. But then the family dog, cat, or some other four-legged nuisance turns up and completely alters the atmosphere.
Until you notice the animal carrying out some really random actions, certain of these old photographs of animals seem as though they have been staged. One example is a dog leaning towards the edge of the frame. There’s also a cat sitting there with the kind of confidence that suggests it clearly owns the house. And then there’s a pet which looks more ready for the camera than everyone else.
It is for that reason that old photographs seem so relatable; everyone has at some point tried to take a decent group photograph while a pet decides it wants to play. It seems that this kind of disorder isn’t new.
These animals were more than just companions; they were members of the family, and at times they were obviously the most photogenic of the members.
#7. A dog listens to the radio while enjoying a pipe in June 1929.
#8. A boy and his rooster, Columbia, South Carolina, early 1920s.
#9. Thanksgiving, 1940.
#10. A girl and her cat, 1955.
#11. The marine and the kitten. Korean War, 1952.
#12. Giving a pal a boost on a hot day, August 28, 1938.
Animals Had Their Own Place in Everyday History
What first struck me about these historic photographs is the way in which animals seem to be a natural part of everyday life. They are not always posed for a sweet portrait; at times they are working, travelling, performing, or just hanging around while people are carrying out their own activities.
Horses can be seen on busy streets and on farms, dogs are with workers and families, and birds and other animals turn up in places you wouldn’t expect to find them. Out of these situations we get more than just a laugh; they provide us with small fragments of social history.
If you look carefully you will see that daily life was very different in the past. Transportation, clothing, building styles, and work have all changed. Nevertheless animals are still part of the picture.
The interesting thing is that a photograph can record an entire era, while a single unusual animal can make that history feel personal.
#13. A boy and his dog share a laugh, 1930s.
#14. Back in 1904, Louis Coulon made headlines with his extraordinary 11-foot-long beard (3.35 meters), which he even used as a cozy resting spot for his beloved cats.
#15. Little girl and her pet toad at a pet show at a Venice Beach, California, 1936.
#16. Animal therapy for a young girl in the hospital, 1956.
#17. A young girl and her cat, 1910
#18. Danish zookeeper watering the emperor penguins on a hot summer day, 1957.
The Unplanned Moments Are Often the Best
No matter how carefully you plan a photograph, animals won’t care about your plans; for that reason, some of the most memorable historical photographs show an animal doing its own thing.
It’s possible that a horse turns its head at the exact right moment, that a dog looks straight into the lens, and that a cat wanders into a carefully arranged scene as if it owned the place; no one could have made those moments seem so natural.
That’s the place where the charm is.
Photography has always loved this lovely connection with surprise; when you press the shutter, you capture something no one anticipated, and years later that little accident becomes the reason everyone remembers the photograph.
What do you need with a perfect pose when real life is already so entertaining?
#19. Sergeant stubby, a decorated dog war hero of WW1, photo taken in 1920.
#20. A little girl with three owls, 1925.
#21. James "Bucky" Allen Welch, a seven years old kid who became known internationally in 1964 after he lost both his arms while trying to save his four month-old puppy, Smoky from being hit by a train.
#22. Henry Behrens, once recognized as the world’s smallest man at just 30 inches (76 cm) tall and weighing 32 pounds (14.5 kg), dances with his cat in the doorway of his home in Worthing, England, 1956.
#23. Woman’s best friend, 1890s.
#24. A young boy rescuing his pet canary from the ruins of his home following a German air raid – Warsaw, September 1939.
From Photobombers to Unexpected Stars
What makes these photographs so good is not merely that they are old; it is that the animals make them seem alive, since their expressions, movements, and sudden appearances overcome the distance of time.
Even after a span of one hundred years, we may still laugh at a mischievous dog gazing into the camera, the curious cat can still appear entirely unconcerned, and a horse caught in a funny situation can still take over the whole picture.
The collection Old School Cool shared reminds us that animals have always been more than background characters. They’ve been companions, workers, performers, helpers, and occasionally the absolute star. That may be why these photographs connect so strongly. History can often seem remote and stiff. When you include an animal in the picture, it suddenly seems like ordinary life once more. Like real life again.
#25. French troops march past a dog sporting goggles and a pipe, 1915.
#26. Brooklyn Supreme, the biggest horse ever – 7 feet tall and 3200 pounds, 1930.
#27. Zookeeper pouring water over penguins to keep them cool, 1930.
#28. A parrot seller teaches his parrots to talk by playing them gramophone records, 1930s.
Editor’s Summary
In the view of an editor, it is precisely this honesty that makes these historic photographs of animals so special; they are not carefully polished and perfectly controlled pictures but rather short fragments of everyday life in which the animals suddenly take charge of the narrative. I enjoy the way they reduce the gap between us and the past.
Although the fashions might appear strange, the streets could seem unfamiliar and the technology might sound old, the animals still make these photographs seem relatable.
Their curiosity, manner, and unpredictable behaviour have not changed all that much at all. To me, that is what makes things so charming: sometimes the most memorable photographs in history have nothing to do with the people and instead are about the animal which wandered into the frame.
