When paying for photographs became more affordable in the early 1900s, it seems that the first thing many people wanted a picture of was their own house. And they wanted to be seen standing outside it too. Some of the better off even managed to buy their own cameras, and took similar photos of their families outside the house.
On the Internet, there are literally thousands of such photos, and I have selected just a few, all taken in Britain, from 1899-1902. I think these are a fascinating part of social history, and I hope you will think so too.
I lived in a house just like this one, from 1978-1985. It was built in 1901
This couple lived in a rather sloping house, which seems to have been built on a steep hill. They were sure to get their little dog included in the photo.
The family members outside this house appear to have worn their best clothes for the occasion of the photograph.
Or perhaps they were just back from Church?
The two women look uncomfortable, posing for the photograph. But the baby doesn’t mind too much.
The man appears to be more proud of his bicycle, than his wife and children. He has ensured that the bicycle is prominent in the photo.
A large family, standing proudly outside their house. At that time, many women had a child every year!
In the countryside, we see two ladies outside a substantial country house. No doubt they were proud of the topiary that had been done on the hedges.
Another country home, with the man of the house wearing his Navy uniform for the occasion.
Perhaps we should revitalise this tradition? All have a family photo taken outside our houses.
In another 120 years, someone somewhere will be fascinated by the images, just as I was.
I love these photos. One of my favorite things is to browse old photos and imagine things about the people in them. Thanks so much for sharing.
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Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Sorry to see you have deleted your site though.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It’s not deleted.
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Good to see. I clicked on a different link in the email notification, and that came back to a different blog. WP said that one was deleted. Sorry about the confusion. 🙂
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That’s OK. I changed the name and I contacted them today to fix it because it did say it was deleted but it was still available from outside searches. Thanks for alerting me.
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It was dalegreenarts.wordpress.com, and it still shows on your comment notifications. 🙂
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A wonderful little slice of life depicted in your beautifully shot photos. This post is wonderful. Thanks for sharing them. Also visit our profile for some beautiful pictures here: Rabi S Saha & Rabi Shankar Saha Photography I hope you would like my pictures also ☺.
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Thanks, Rabi.
You have some great photos on your site.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love these photographs, Pete. Old photographs completely fascinate me.
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Me too, Robbie. Especially ‘ordinary’ people, and their everyday lives. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wonderful photographs, Pete. I like the idea of taking a family photo in front of the house!
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If we all did it again now, it would be a delight for someone in 120 years time! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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It certainly would, Pete!
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Funnily enough, there are a few photos of my family growing up taken outside our house… my mum was clearly a fan of these kind of photos then haha 🙂
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I wonder when it fell out of fashion? It should be trending again, for the 21st century! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Lovely! My great grandparents in Germany have similar photos.
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I have always loved those old ‘social history’ photos. Glad to hear you enjoyed them too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great photos. Got a kick out of your descriptions.
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Thanks, Peggy. I really do love this social history stuff! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great pics Pete, I found myself trying to work out where they might be. Sloping house reminded me of Yorkshire, lots of sloping terranes like that made with sandstone blocks, followed by one that looks very much like a house in Manchester that my Aunty lived in. I’m wondering if bicycle man might be the post master, or even station master as thats quite a big house (and detached) The bike was surely provided with such a job of importance 🙂
The last pic could well be in the ’70s, the styling of the house is very different, must be down south 🙂
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The last house has wooden weatherboarding. That’s typical of some coastal towns in Kent, so you could be right about it being in the South. Unfortunately, the photos come with no location information, just a general time period.
Glad you liked them. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Your British chimney’s have a very funny shape. I love these old buildings so much. Built for eternity, even wars destroy. Thank you for sharing, Pete! Have a nice start into the weekend! Michael
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Thanks, Michael. I could do a whole other blog about all these old photos. I love them! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Love them too, Pete! Thank you! As sad the life must be this time, i think it was more worst than the things we will get in future. Michael
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This is my favorite of your historical posts Pete. What a great idea. And bicycle man has my vote too!😁
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I think this trend has to go viral in the 21st century! Glad you enjoyed it, Kim. 🙂
(I just got a notification that you are following my blog?)
Best wishes , Pete.
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Every time I log back on to WP I have to refollow you, Fraggle, and a bunch of other blogs.🤷🏻♀️
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That’s very strange. 😕 I hadn’t heard about that before, Kim.
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As you probably saw in the comments to my post, I’m apparently not the only one.🙇🏻♀️
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And as I was fascinated. Thank you for sharing your choices. Warmest regards, Theo
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Thanks, Theo. I hope this will start a new trend! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on Wilfred Books and commented:
Lovely selection of photographs here, which is a good lesson in social history for the different house styles, as much as the outfits!
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Lovely selection of photographs here, which is a good lesson in social history for the different house styles, as much as the outfits!
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Thanks, WB. And for the reblog too. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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what a great idea, Pete! though i doubt it very much if i can gather my family pose in front of the house. 🙂 🙂 gone were the days, i think 🙂
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Same here, Wilma. But I am tempted to try! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Second one down is insanely spooky! Especially as you slowly scroll! Arggggh
I love stuff like this. I had a little phase of taking photos of shop fronts as they are always changing. Unfortunately I got bored but you’re right we should take photos like this as they are proper time capsules and wonderful to see.
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I also love this social history, despite the occasional spookiness. 🙂 These days, people are camera-friendly, and modern photos taken in the same situations might appear to be very different. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I prefer the very first photo. Of course, by 1900, photography had been around for over half a century. I particularly enjoy seeing photos of the Wild West, the Civil War, and U.S. presidents. The first U.S. president to be photographed was President William Henry Harrison (“Tippecanoe”). His photo was taken on March 4, 1841, the day of his Inauguration.
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Yes, photography had already been around a long time. But in England then it was relatively expensive for most people to pay for photos. It became a lot cheaper by 1914, when most soldiers had photos taken before leaving for the war.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Bicycle man is funny–and a bit alarming. Imagine what it was like to be married to this guy…Anyway, cool post. Reminds me of the great song by Madness. “Our mum she’s so house-proud. Nothing ever slows her down and a mess is not allowed.”
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Thanks, Pam. Yes, bicycle man is funny, also rather scary, I thought. His wife looks a little ‘cowed’ to me. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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These are fantastic photos. I love them all. Having your picture taken in front of your house was very popular in the first half of the 20th Century here in Canada too. Our family has many of them. None with a bicycle though! (maybe a horse)
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Thanks, Darlene. I think it is a trend that should be brought back. Imagine how much fun our descendants could have, looking at them in 120 years! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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These photos are so charming! I’m encouraged to do a photo like this now. Funny how traditions fade, eh?
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Perhaps you could start a social media trend? Your family, outside your house. I’m not on Facebook, but I am sure it would take off. 🙂
Glad you liked them.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes! That’s a great idea! I’ll let you know how it goes 😉
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I love these. Interesting to see all of the iron railings … I know they were out to good use, but it’s a shame so many have not been replaced over the years. I guess it’s expensive too. I love seeing what they were all wearing – no throwing on a tee-shirt and pair of shorts for them. I wonder what they’d think if they could see us all now. They might be horrified!
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I’m sure they would have all put on their best available clothes for such an important photo, Katie. 🙂
Many of the iron railings were taken down, during both world wars. People donated the metal to be used in the manufacture of ammunition and weapons.
http://www.londongardenstrust.org/features/railings3.htm
After that, it was much cheaper to replace them with fencing, hedges, and wooden gates.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Really interesting article … thank you so much! I wonder if the Thames really does have huge piles of it – what a thought.
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I suspect it is all still lying at the bottom of the river. 🙂
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Haha, bicycle man is definitely my favorite as well. Just way too funny, even though the picture might not have intended to be funny😊
Seriously though, where do you keep finding all these amazing pictures. So cool 😊
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I get them ‘suggested’ to me, by Pinterest, based on the fact that I keep looking for similar ones! 🙂
Glad you liked bicycle man, Michel. I just had to have him in this post! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I just read a whole post on Pininterest by Irina ( I honestly and red faced have to admit I never quite knew what that was) But well her post pretty much cleared some things up (and of course is quite the coincidence 😊).
Haha…yeah, the bicycle man was awesome 😊😊
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I also use Pinterest for those maps that I frequently post. It has pretty much anything on there! 🙂
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Cool! Well, I might go ahead and check that out, if only if it’s to find out if it’s something for me 😊
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Haha, they have their own poses. Their clothes are opulent.
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I have no doubt that they all wore their very best clothes for the photos, Arlene. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Bicycle man is my fave! 😀
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He obviously loved that bike! 🙂
(I liked the sloping house, and the couple with the little dog)
Best wishes, Pete.
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Looks like not everyone knew the prompt “smile” or say “cheese”…LOL great pics chuq
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Thanks, chuq. I am guessing that they were quite long exposures, and smiling might have blurred the shot. Or maybe they just felt awkward? 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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The man with the bicycle made me laugh a lot!
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It was a big deal to own a bicycle in 1900, Sam. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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