Different periods of history attract people for different reasons. People might become obsessed with Ancient Egypt for its distinct culture, inventions, and mysticism. Others may find colonial America fascinating since it marked the beginning of what we now know as the United States. If we were to believe the Internet, men tend to think about the Roman Empire a lot.

But the folks over at “Random Victorian Stuff” have a fascination with England during the 19th century. Some historians call it the peak of the British Empire, others just love it for the aesthetic and the vibes. Yet, we can’t deny that there’s something about it that draws people in. Here is the newest collection of photographs from the community dedicated to bringing you “a dose of informed distraction.”

More info: Reddit

#1 The Graduate, CA. 1880

#2 Father Posing With His Daughter For A Photo. Child Is Looking At Something Out Of Scene And Looks Scared. Circa 1870s, Maybe Late 1860s. Daguerrotype

#3 Actress Maude Fealy Who I Think Has One Of The Biggest Most Expressive Eyes I Have Ever Seen. Early 1900s

#4 Tabby And Dixie, The Two Kittens Gifted By Secretary Of State William Steward To Abraham Lincoln, Newly Elected President At The Time, In August Of 1861

#5 Miriam Kate Williams, AKA Vulcana, Welsh Strongwoman And Bodybuilder C. 1900

#6 A Few Photographs Taken By Carl Størmer As A Young Man In The 1890s In Norway With A Hidden Camera. The Images He Captured Offer A Glimpse Into The Day To Day Lives Of People Living At The Turn Of The Century

#7 The Seven Sutherland Sisters, C 1890s-1900. They Had Floor Length Hair And Were Celebrity Singers. At The End Of Concerts They Would Let Their Hair Down

#8 Ella Harper, Born 1870 In Tennessee. She Had “Curved Knees” And Was A Circus Exhibit From Age 12. She Was Called “Camel Girl” And The “Most Wonderful Freak Of Nature.” She Was Paid The Equivalent Of $6300 A Week

#9 Mothers Holding Their Babies Still For Photographs. They Were Trying To Blend In. 1850s-80s

#10 Photographs Of A Trio Of Women Frolicking, C. 1905

#11 Woman Poses In What Looks Is A Riding Outfit. Like The Double Breasted Low Cut Jacket. Late XIX Century

#12 Got The Opportunity To See A Load Of 1880s/1890s Garments Up Close. Gorgeous

#13 Some Finds Of Women In Very Beautiful Dresses, Circa 1880s And 1890s

#14 Theater/Film Actress Ethel Barrymore, Grand Aunt Of Drew Berrymore, Circa 1890s

#15 Young Woman With Jewels On Her Hair, Circa 1860s

#16 Some African American Couples In The 1880s To 1890s

#17 Alphonse Bertillon, The French Detective Who Invented The Mugshot, Tried The Technique Out In His Young Daughter, 23-Month-Old François, In October Of 1893

#18 French Actress Sarah Bernhardt Who Was Know For Her Peculiar Tastes, Like Having Her Own Luxury Coffin Were She Sleep (Picture 2) And Her Favorite Hat With A Real Bat. Photos Circa 1860s-80s

#19 Ladies From Zanzibar, Tanzania, Dressed On Their Best, Some Have Gold Chains And Bright Smiles, Circa 1890s And 1900s

#20 Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter

#21 Portrait Of An Unidentified Young Woman, Circa 1890

#22 Myrtle Corbin, Born 1868 In Tennessee. She Had Four Legs And Two Pelvises But Was Healthy

#23 One Of The Most Controversial Photographs Of The Period: ‘Fading Away’, 1858

#24 1877. ‘The Crawlers’ Were The Lowest Of The British Poor. This Elderly Widow Is Sitting Outside A Tailors Shop, Holding A Baby While Its Mother Works. She Was Given A Cup Of Tea And A Slice Of Bread Daily In Return

#25 “How Can She Vote When The Fashions Are So Wide, And The Voting Booths Are So Narrow?”, Us, 1894

#26 Before Sequins, There Were Beetle Wings. Fabric From 1858 Embellished With Bug Wings

#27 Queen Victoria’s Bedroom At Buckingham Palace, 1848

#28 Photographs Of Cats With Silly Descriptions, Taken By Henry Pointer, Part Of A Series Of Around 200 Cat Photos From The 1870s-1880s, Known As The Brighton Cats ✨

#29 Three Women Dressed In Their Sunday Best, Marshall, Texas, 1900

#30 The Armour–Stiner House Is An Octagon-Shaped And Domed Victorian-Style House Located At 45 West Clinton Avenue In Irvington, In Westchester County, New York. The House Was Built In 1859–1860

#31 Coal Miners Returning From The Depths After A Day’s Work, Belgium, C. 1900

#32 The All-Female Fire Brigade At Girton College, Cambridge, 1877-1878

#33 Portraits Of Young African American Ladies, Really Like Those Gilded Frames, Circa 1850s-60s. Some Have Tint Work For Their Jewels

#34 British Actress Maud Branscombe In 1883, Posing For Some Photos In Black Dress. Considered One Of The Beauties Of Her Time

#35 A Couple Poses For Their Portrait, Looks Really Young, 1890s

#36 Girls With Down’s Syndrome At The Institution For Feeble-Minded Children, New York , 1902

#37 Photograph By Lady Hawarden, Showing Her Husband And Daughter Bathed In Sunlight. The Moment Is Open To Interpretation. 1858-61

#38 Dress, Circa 1885. Silk. Félix, France

#39 The San Francisco Cliff House In 1900-1901. Right On The Edge Of A Cliff

#40 Emile Joachim Constant Puyo, Chant Sacrè, 1899

#41 Inside An Oregon Store In 1898

#42 The First X-Ray Image, “Hand Mit Ringen” By Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, 1895

#43 Beautiful Blue Silk Brocade Dress With A 24 Inch Waist. Us, C.1850

#44 “Niagara Falls In Winter”, Photograph By George Barker, C. 1890

#45 Julia Margaret Cameron-Parting Of Sir Lancelot And Queen Guinevere, 1874

#46 “The Irritating Gentleman” By Berthold Woltze, 1874. The Girl Has A Tear Near Her Eye And Behind The Man Is An Older Man Ignoring The Scene

#47 Oak Cradle, Designed By Richard Norman Shaw, English, 1861

#48 Women’s Dress, Mechanical Lace Ribbons, Velvet, Silk Taffeta And Velvet, Silk Ribbed Ribbon, Mechanical Lace. Barcelona Design Museum, 1885

#49 Bright Swatches Of Fabric For Clothing, 1842. Pick One!

#50 Lovers Oscar Wilde And Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas At Oxford In 1893

#51 Sophie, Queen Of Greece (Née Princess Sophie Of Prussia) On Her Official Portrait, Glass Negative By Alexander Bassano, 1887

#52 Swain House (1893) Of Spring Lake, New Jersey

#53 The Reluctant Bride, 1866, Bu Auguste Toulmouche

#54 Glass Negative Of A Young Girl With A Intense Stare, Mabel Scott, Circa 1890s

#55 Satin, Lace, And Tassel Embellished Dress, CA. 1865-1869 (Museo Del Traje)

#56 Glass Negative Of Bertha Barber With Her Pet Parrot, Circa 1890s. Cm Bell Estudio

#57 Miss Gabrielle Ray And Miss Dorothy Craske

#58 Two Women In A Photography Studio, Seated Apart. The Woman On The Right Isn’t Looking At The Camera. Perhaps The Photo Would Have Been Cropped And Only The Woman In The Lighter Dress Would Have Been Shown? What Do You Think?

#59 Daguerreotype Of A Lady Wearing A Jester Costume, Taken By Victor Plumier, C. 1850

#60 An Interesting Hair Style, Looks Like A Braid Wrapped In Fabric? Mrs Peterson And Her Baby, Taken By William James Harding, Whanganui (New Zealand)

#61 Photograph Of Eliza Blesina, A Burlesque Performer, Wearing A Horse-Head Headdress, And A Short Costume With An Attached Horsetail In “The Devil’s Auction”, 1867

#62 Dinner Dress, Mrs. Arnold (American), 1894–96

#63 Daguerreotype Portrait Of A Young Woman Holding An Accordion, C 1850

#64 Man Being Posed For A Photo Using A Clamp, 1892, Berlin

#65 Mr. And Mrs. Abraham Lincoln Taken Prior To Their Move To Washington In 1847. Source Library Of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Photograph By Nicholas H. Shepherd

#66 Victorian Crossdressers Frederick Park And Ernest Boulton! They Wore Such Beautiful Dresses!

#67 Purple Silk 1860s Day Dress! Its Absolutely Stunning And I Think I Would Nearly Faint If I Saw It In The Museum! A Beautiful Colour With Lovely Details And A Very Full Skirt! 😍💗

#68 Red Shoes With Bow And Low Heel, C 1900. These Were More Practical Than Earlier Styles

#69 Fancy Dress Outfit, Possibly For Worth, 1860s. There Are Silver Alphabet Cards Along The Hem

#70 Mourning Bracelet With 5 Lockets. With Motifs Of A Cross, An Anchor, And A Heart, To Represent Christian Virtues Of Faith, Hope And Love. Set With Diamonds And Pearls. Paris, C. 1860

#71 Celestial Blue Ball Gown, New York, 1867. What Kind Of Shoes Would Be Worn With This?

#72 Women’s Half-Mourning Jacket. British,1880s. Made With Midnight Blue Velvet And Ermine Fur

#73 Duchess Of Portland Dressed As The 16th/17th Century ‘Duchess Of Savoy’ At The Devonshire Ball, 1897

#74 ‘Woman’s Mission: Companion Of Manhood’ Shows A Wife Comforting Her Husband After He Receives News Of A Death (See The Black Edges On The Letter). Breakfast Is On The Table And Fresh Flowers On The Mantlepiece

#75 Walter Granville-Smith, Ladies Ice Skating In Central Park, (1892)

#76 Men And Children Gather On The Platform Beside Prince Edward Island Railway Locomotive No. 5 At The Train Station In Souris, Prince Edward Island, In 1895

#77 Glass Negative Photo Co-Workers Of The Telephone Switchboard Of Junction City, Kansas 1900

#78 Emperor Napoleon III And The Empress Eugenie, C. 1865

#79 Miss Trott And Miss Moore Posing Thogether, Junction City, Kansas, 1898. Glass Negative

#80 Women In Matching Dotted Dresses With Lace Trim Sleeves, C 1875

#81 Alice Austen And Gertrude Tate, 1903. They Were Partners For Over 50 Years

81 Victorian Era Photos That Might Change How You See The Period (New Pics)