50 Iconic and Rare Historical Photographs

We at HistoryColored have decided to curate 50 interesting, rare and iconic photos from history. There are many reasons why a photograph may be featured on this list. Some of the reasons include: it was the first time something was ever captured on camera, it shows a famous figure from history, the image depicts an important historical event, it is a “rare” photo that does not get shared as much as it should, or it is an “iconic” historical photo. It may not fall under any of these categories but can still be featured in this list for a different reason.

These photographs are in no particular order. They have been curated and added to the list over a long period of time, so no decision was taken on how they should be ordered. Be sure to take the time to check out every historical photograph featured on this list!

As well as this list, be sure to check out the other photos featured on HistoryColored!

1. The First Photograph Ever Taken, 1826 or 1827

The first photograph in history, the view from a window at Le Gras in 1826 or 1827.
The oldest surviving photograph to exist. It was taken by pioneer photographer, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The scene depicts a view from a window in Nicéphore Niépce’s estate known as Le Gras in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, Bourgogne, France in 1826 or 1827. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

2. General William Tecumseh Sherman, circa 1865

Side profile photograph of General William Tecumseh Sherman in his Union Army military uniform in c. 1865
Side profile of Union Army Major General, and the Commanding General of the US Army, William Tecumseh Sherman, in his Union Army military uniform in circa 1865. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

3. Dali Atomicus, 1948

Salvador Dali suspended in mid air along with other objects within the iconic photograph Dali Atomicus taken in 1948
The photographic artwork by Philippe Halsman called “Dali Atomicus” showing three cats water, an easel, a chair, and Salvador Dalí all frozen in mid-air, 1948. This was the 28th attempt at taking this photograph. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

4. The Solvay Conference on Quantum Mechanics, 1927

Key attendees of the 1927 Solvay conference photographed sitting down and in suits. The names are Auguste Piccard, Émile Henriot, Paul Ehrenfest, Édouard Herzen, Théophile de Donder, Erwin Schrödinger, Jules-Émile Verschaffelt, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Ralph Howard Fowler, Léon Brillouin,
Peter Debye, Martin Knudsen, William Lawrence Bragg, Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Paul Dirac, Arthur Compton, Louis de Broglie, Max Born, Niels Bohr,
Irving Langmuir, Max Planck, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Hendrik Lorentz, Albert Einstein, Paul Langevin, Charles Eugène Guye, Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Owen Willans Richardson
The 1927 Solvay Conference on Quantum Mechanics at the Institut International de Physique Solvay in Brussels, Belgium. This image features many of the greatest scientists in modern history. Some of those that you may recognize are: Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, and Auguste Piccard. See the full list of names here. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

5. King George V & Tsar Nicholas II Together, 1913

Nicholas II of Russia photographed alongside similar looking and cousin King George V of the United Kingdom, while wearing military uniform.
First cousins and royals Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (left) & King George V of the United Kingdom (right) photographed together wearing military uniforms in Berlin, Germany, 1913. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

6. The Manhattan Bridge Under Construction, 1909

Photographs of the Manhattan Bridge under construction. You can see the layout of the bridge but there is still a lot to build. March 23 1909.
The construction of the Manhattan Bridge on the East River in New York City. This photograph was taken on March 23, 1909. The bridge finished construction in 1909 and first opened up on the 31st of December 1909. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

7. Soviet Prisoner of War, 1940

An injured Prisoner of War from the Soviet Union with a bandage around his bloody head, with clothing wrapped around his body. He looks cold as he is near the Arctic Circle where temperatures can get to -43 degrees Celsius
An injured Soviet Prisoner of War (POW) dressed in new clothes near the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finland, during the Winter War on the 6th of January 1940. Credit: Military Museum of Finland // CC BY 4.0

8. Dr. Wernher von Braun with 5 F-1 Engines

Aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun standing next to five F-1 rocket engines in 1969.
Dr. Wernher von Braun, an aerospace engineer that was a leading figure in Nazi German rocket technology, and then United States rocket technology, photographed standing in front of five F-1 rocket engines in circa 1969. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domains

Elderly Woman Spots Her Late Mother’s Pendant at a Flea Market, Then Suddenly Hears, ‘I’ll Pay Twice the Asking Price’

An 80-year-old woman unexpectedly found her late mother’s treasured pendant in an antique store. She decided to buy it but was interrupted by a stranger offering to pay double its price. She burst into tears after recognizing who it was.

80-year-old Samantha was a regular shopper at the thrift store. She loved buying antique showpieces and furniture to adorn the little home she lived in alone.

One day, she went shopping, assuming it would be just an ordinary day at the flea market.

“I hope I find a nice shelf to go under Paul’s photo. The old one is broken,” she mumbled.

Paul was her late husband, who had died just a year after their wedding in 1963. Since then, Samantha refused to move on and chose to live with his memories, and his photo was one among her treasured items…

“Hello there, how can I help you, Mrs. Drake?” the vendor in the furniture store asked.

“Well, I want a nice shelf. Not a grand one, but something small with elegant cuts and durable wood.”

“Alright! Why don’t you sit down while I bring a few pieces?”

“Why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?” Samantha asked the stranger who offered to pay double the price for it.
Samantha sat in the store, looking around. Moments later, the antique shop across the road opposite the furniture store drew her attention.

“I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll just go check out the store across for a candle stand,” she said.

“Alright, Mrs. Drake. I’ll be ready with the shelves by then.”

Shortly after Samantha entered the antique shop, she was startled by what she saw there.

“Oh my God! This can’t be it. Where did you get this?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with tears as she pointed to a classic red pendant on the mannequin.

“Hey, Mrs. Drake! Did you mean this one?” The seller brought down the beautiful chain with the pendant from the display.

“Yes, please…can I see it?”

“Sure, here you go… That’s $40, but I’ll give it to you for $5 less…” The vendor smiled.

Samantha flipped the pendant several times and could no longer hold back her tears.

“I found it…This belonged to my mother!” she exclaimed, tears endlessly streaming down her face. “From where did you get it?”

“I don’t know, but my dad told me that someone sold it to him several years ago… It had not gone on display because my dad kept it at home. After he died last year, I cleared the attic and found it there. So I put it up here for sale.”

Samantha could not believe her eyes. “I’m getting it!” she said, and just as she dug her bag for the money, she heard someone enter, followed by a loud voice:

“I’ll pay double its price…Please give it to me…I want it at any cost!”

Samantha was startled. She turned around, only to gasp in astonishment after seeing a woman who looked like her.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this! Am I looking at myself in the mirror?” panted the other woman.

“Oh, dear! What’s happening? And how come you look exactly like me?” shrieked Samantha.

The two women stared at each other for quite some time, unable to fathom their uncanny resemblance.

“Wha—What’s your name? I’m Samantha…And you?”

“I’m Doris!”

“And why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?”

“Your mom’s pendant?”

“Yes, this is my mom Dorothy’s pendant… We became very poor after my dad left my mom, so she sold everything we had to make ends meet, and this pendant was among the heirlooms she sold. She sold it to a man, but I don’t know how it reached here.”

“So that makes you my sister?!” Doris shrieked, hugging a confused Samantha, who could not understand what was happening.

“Sister??? What do you mean?” she exclaimed, pushing Doris back for an explanation.

“Let me show you,” replied Doris, who took out an old, torn photo of Dorothy wearing the pendant with a little girl on her lap.

“Jesus Christ! This is unbelievable! This is my mother, and this is me with her,” exclaimed Samantha.

“No, that’s not you…THAT’S ME! We’re twins!” replied Doris, stunning Samantha.

“What? How could that be? Oh my God…I never knew I had a sister!” cried Samantha.

As it turned out, Doris was indeed Samantha’s twin. Their parents, Dorothy and Michael, went through a rough patch in their marriage and divorced when Samantha and Doris were just a year old. They parted ways, each taking one child to raise independently.

Samantha was raised by Dorothy, while Doris was taken by her dad. They were separated right from childhood and never got a chance to see each other again.

“….And when my granny died 40 years ago, she revealed the secret when I asked her about the other half of this torn photo,” cried Doris.

“Dad had passed a year before her, so I could not confront him. He never left anything else of you that could help me track you. I lost my husband several years ago and have no children. I kept looking for you but in vain… I think it was God’s will for us to meet like this today, thanks to mom’s pendant!”

“I came here to buy a candle stand, and right now, I am baffled!” Samantha cried like a kid in Doris’s arms. “You can have the pendant! I had seen mom wear it, but you never got a chance to even be with her. It should belong to you now!”

Doris was touched and moved to tears. Samantha bought the pendant and placed it around Doris’s neck.

“You remind me of our mother! I’m glad to meet you. Let’s go home!” she said as an excited antique store owner saw the silhouette of Samantha and Doris exit his store, holding each other!

What can we learn from this story?

You may never know about the history an old piece of artifact might have. When Samantha saw the pendant in the antique store, she immediately recognized it as her late mother’s. She would soon learn that the pendant would reunite her with the twin sister she never knew.
Sometimes, children suffer fateful consequences from the decisions their parents make. After their divorce, Michael and Dorothy separated their twin daughters, each taking one. The sisters never knew about each other for several decades until they accidentally met at the antique store and recognized each other.

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