Last Updated on July 30, 2025 by Colby Droscher
Step right into a bygone era when daguerreotypes were truly cutting-edge and steam locomotives smelled like fresh progress. This collection of 19 vintage photos from the early to mid-1850s can serve as a highly effective time capsule. Enjoy the ride.
1. Daguerrotype of a young man holding it down back in the 1850s
2. A hand-colored daguerrotype of an unidentified Victorian family back in the early 1850s
3. A daguerrotype of a young girl back in 1850
4. The styles of the 1850s were no joke
5. The excavation of the sphinx, 1850
6. Now that’s got to be the most stunning dress we’ve seen yet from the 1850s
7. A patient at the Surrey County Asylum, 1852
8. Those eyes are just a tad bit haunting, circa early 1850s
9. A very striking anonymous young lady in the early 1850s
10. This woman was born all the way back in the 1700s
11. Aw, this kid isn’t looking particularly thrilled about things
12. One wonders what could’ve been going through her mind
13. This daguerrotype was captured all the way back in the mid-1850s
14. A shot of Brunel and company taken back in the mid-1850s
15. Two women all dressed up for wintertime
16. This little girl seems like she’s full of life
17. The main street of Agra in the mid-1850s
18. Gentlemen at a local expo in Galicia, mid-1850s
19. The equestrian statue of Frederick the Great out in Berlin, circa mid-1850s
Explore more vintage content:
Hungry for an even earlier glimpse of pre-industrial life? Cruise over to our companion gallery of 25 Vintage Photos Of The Mid-1840s and watch the world on the cusp of change. Then contrast today’s quieter scenes with the roaring progress chronicled in 44 Photos That Bring the 1860s to Life.
