The late 1890s were years on the brink of a new century. They were filled with industrial growth and new inventions that would reshape life as we knew it. It was still an era of horse-drawn transportation, crowded street markets, and formal fashion, yet signs of the modern world were beginning to appear almost anywhere. Looking back now, the decade feels both distant and strangely recognizable at the same time.
The color added to these photos makes the faces feel more immediate, cities seem more alive, and ordinary moments from the past easier to connect with. Together, these photos offer a real look into daily life at the end of the nineteenth century. Let’s take a look at 25 colorized images from the late 1890s.
1. Repairing a locomotive, 1897

2. A late 1890s wedding party

3. Three siblings photographed in Maine, 1897

4. Stage actress Minnie Ashley, 1897

5. Below the deck of the U.S.S. Brooklyn, 1897

Trending on The Scroller
6. Clancy’s Saloon in Skagway, Alaska, 1897

7. Queen Victoria, 1897

8. The Hatfield Family, West Virginia, 1897

Sign up for our newsletter
9. Faroese fisherman onboard a steamer on their way home from Iceland, 1898

10. Harry Truman in 1897, age 13

11. A London electric cab, 1898

12. General Samuel Young at Montauk Point, 1898

13. American soldiers before leaving to fight the Spanish-American War, 1898

14. A Boat Crew Rows Out From Syðrugøta, Faroe Islands, 1898

15. Theodore Roosevelt at the Spanish-American War, 1898

16. Ice cream vendor on the streets of Old Istanbul, 1898

17. Lady Clementine Hay wearing her court presentation gown, May 10, 1898

18. Paris, 1898

19. Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel, 1898

20. Tsar Nicholas II on Horseback, late 1890s

21. An old London bar, 1898

22. European tourists enjoying a meal inside a temple with a backdrop of hieroglyphics, 1898

23. Hunters in Tierra del Fuego, 1898

24. Garrison train station, New York, 1899

25. A Swedish couple by the lake, 1899

Want to see more vintage 19th-century content?
Check out 17 Early Images From The 1800s, or take a look at 25 Vintage Photos from the Mid-1890s. Finally, if you want to see what life was like in Atlanta in the 1800s, take a look at 20 Vintage Photos of Everyday Life in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1800s.
