Holiday Time: Old Photos

~ beetleypete

As it is August, and the peak time for summer holidays, I thought these might be seasonally appropriate.

Taken between 1902 and 1907, these delightful old photos show people enjoying a variety of holiday activities.
And almost all of them did them wearing their best clothes!

In 1902, ladies did not get changed by holding a towel in front of them. They got ready in mobile ‘bathing machines’, which were then wheeled into the sea so they could get straight into the water without being ‘ogled at’ 🙂

Some didn’t bother to wear any swimming attire at all, but went in wearing their street clothes.

This attractive elegant lady is posing on the deck of a cruise ship.
Her outfit is beautiful. Different times indeed.

Sometimes, just standing on a jetty above the lake was close enough!
I’m guessing the lady in the middle was either expecting a baby, or the wind had billowed out her dress. 🙂

The braver ones might hire a rowing boat, and venture out onto the lake.
But they made sure to wear their best hats for the occasion.

This lady was photographed in Long Island, USA. She was admiring the waves of The Atlantic Ocean, and turned to pose for the shot.

Shell-seekers on a New Zealand beach, in 1904. Ten years before WW1.

Well-dressed holidaymakers thinking about taking a trip along the beach in a horse-drawn carriage. USA, 1907.

I was wondering what they would make of topless sunbathers, thong bikini-bottoms, jet-skis, and Kindle e-readers. 🙂

57 thoughts on “Holiday Time: Old Photos”

  2. Yeah! Very good! We should not forget the bathing habits of the time when we criticise the customs of people from other religious regions of the world. Let us remember how long the Roman Catholic Church determined every little thing of daily life. Michael

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  3. It’s history…too me it’s not a better time or worse time. It’s just the times.

    What worried people then is the same as now. The world situation, money, jobs, health etc.

    In 100 years people (I hope, because that’s why I take them) will look at my photographs and point out the same differences we have just done. Probably bemoaning happier less worried Times lol.

    But..notwithstanding that..a great set of images. Thank you for finding and posting them. Are they from your family?

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    1. No, not my family, John. From Britain, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA. All ‘discovered’ online. 🙂
      I know what you mean about your own photos, in another 100 years. The cycle continues…
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. A time when social pressure meant that you had to tolerate discomfort, to look ‘respectable’. Now it has gone in the other direction, and people have ‘butt-implants’, to look sexy at the beach!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  5. I love black and white photography. As someone has said, they were times when the women, and men, cared about how they looked. The girl on the ship, is just beautiful.

    Sadly, modesty and decorum let us a few decades ago, when it became fashionable to have “casual Fridays” at work. Down hill from there.

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  9. Pete, there have been many articles in the past decade about how the formality of air travel has devolved into a “bus ride”…I see men show up at airports in tank tops and flip flops…your pictures capture a time when people dressed up…those days are sadly long gone for almost ALL activities…love the “roll it into the sea” dressing rooms!

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    1. Those ‘bathing machines’ date back to 1750, John. First used at the seaside in Kent, UK, to ‘preserve the modesty’ of both men and women. Once in the sea, they stayed close to the machine so that they could not be observed by anyone standing on the beach.
      The first time I flew abroad on holiday, (1975) I arrived at the airport wearing a formal suit, shirt and tie. I had just presumed that everyone dressed smartly when travelling! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. Some different times indeed Pete. But once again terrific photographs. I especially love the attractive elegant lady (third picture from above). She is not only very beautiful, but her outfit makes her even more so. Truly a timeless picture so to speak.
    As for your question, lol that would be one thing to see wouldn’t it? Ah…If only we had a timemachine 😊

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    1. Thanks, Darlene. Both my grandmothers were born in 1900. They would have been small children when these photos were taken. I can still remember my grandfather sitting on a deck chair at the beach, around 1958. (he was born in 1899) He was wearing a suit, with a shirt and tie, but had rolled the legs of his trousers up around his knees! Even though I was so young, I found that funny. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  17. I love these atmospheric seaside photos! I wouldn’t have liked to be around then, when people had such strange ideas about women, but I would love to go back to the days when August was still summer. For over ten years now autumnal weather has started in August – so depressing, especially when summer starts as late as it did this year. It feels like we’ve hardly had a summer at all.

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    1. Thanks, Annabelle. At least the men had to dress up back then too. I wouldn’t have enjoyed spending a week at the seaside wearing a three-piece suit, stiff-collar shirt and tie, and a heavy hat.
      Though I do think that the lady on the ship looks comfortable, as well as elegant. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Ladies in those days (and the men who fancied them) used to prize a ‘pale complexion’. A suntan was an indication of working outside, so it was a ‘social class’ thing to be pale. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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