Comments on: Smiling Victorians

Smiling Victorians

ocherdraco — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:23:41 -0800

Smiling Victorians is a collection of photos of smiling Victorian (and Edwardian!) people. And one photo of the Victorianest smile of all!

By: fairmettle

fairmettle — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:25:29 -0800

Steamshopped.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:27:51 -0800

They're smiling because they're all wearing sexy, sexy underwear.

By: cazoo

cazoo — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:29:42 -0800

...And they are all DEAD!

By: hippybear

hippybear — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:43:32 -0800

Smiles were so rare in photographs and other such processes when it took as much as 3 minutes to expose the plate. It's really really difficult to hold a smile in place for that long. Even small twitches in lip or face muscles will result in smeared features in the final picture. It's fascinating that these even happened at all. Fascinating post. Thanks much!

By: special-k

special-k — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:46:43 -0800

They're smiling because they're all wearing sexy, sexy ~~underwear.~~ knickers.

By: ocherdraco

ocherdraco — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:51:49 -0800

Apropos of that: my favorite smiling Victorian.

By: clearlydemon

clearlydemon — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:46:48 -0800

I love this girl. Her smile, her hair, and the way her body just dissappears. I'll save this post for after work, because I could spend hours browsing these photos.

By: SLC Mom

SLC Mom — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:58:42 -0800

I agree with your assessment Clearlydemon. She is my favorite of the bunch. Although many of these people barely qualify as 'smiing,' (really?) the group is lovely in its portrayal of people looking more relaxed, and engaged in activity. They feel more like snapshots than portraits.

By: unknowncommand

unknowncommand — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:27:04 -0800

These make me smile, thanks!

By: Serene Empress Dork

Serene Empress Dork — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:11:33 -0800

I love these. I always like to imagine how those people would have looked if they'd been born in the modern age. Also, these photos makes me miss some of my dearly departed elderly relatives.

By: amethysts

amethysts — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:12:29 -0800

It's interesting how it makes them easier to picture as current-day people.

By: missrachael

missrachael — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:17:12 -0800

Love this. Smiling Victorians make me smile.

By: mkim

mkim — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:48:59 -0800

This is great. So different from most portraits of the time. It so makes history come alive - people were people are people. I love looking at old photographs like this and imagining the lives of those pictured. Also, who wouldn't want this girl as your new BFF? Hijinks would ensue.

By: kozad

kozad — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:17:07 -0800

Somehow, viewing a photograph of Queen Victoria smiling was the perfect ending to a day of skiing in the Colorado Rockies.

By: plastic_animals

plastic_animals — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:17:37 -0800

We are amused.

By: flyingsquirrel

flyingsquirrel — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:46:02 -0800

this is by far my favorite in the set. the look on the woman's newlywed face is beyond fabulous -- not to mention revealing. excellent post.

By: a non e mouse

a non e mouse — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:09:29 -0800

If anyone knows of a set for tongues out - I found one in my grand-parents' negatives.

By: condour75

condour75 — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:33:08 -0800

These are amazing. Hippybear - I think by the time these were made, shutter speeds would be a lot faster. Emulsion photography (versus daguerrotypes) was common by 1870 and used shutter speeds of a few seconds, and Muybridge's motion studies are around 1890, the speeds of which which are fast enough to capture a horse's gallop. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little smiling renaissance once the technology allowed it.

By: ryanshepard

ryanshepard — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:27:25 -0800

Thanks very much for these - reminded me of an old Flickr favorite (from the "smiling Edwardians" category): "Banana Standoff".

By: jquinby

jquinby — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:26:32 -0800

This one is just beautiful. Great stuff, and thanks for posting it.

By: dlugoczaj

dlugoczaj — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:02:04 -0800

I remember seeing that picture of Queen Victoria years ago in one of the Books of Lists, accompanying a brief list of people who took Mariani wine. Implication, of course, was that the wine brought on the smile.