The Reconstruction-era America was a true, visceral canvas filled with its stark contrasts. It had its share of utterly ruined battlefields alongside sprawling reborn main streets. This collection of 20 colorized photos aims to breathe newfound, vivid life into the bygone era of the late 1860s. Let it transport you back in time and enjoy the ride.
1. Charles Dickens, circa 1867
2. A striking expression here, 1867
3. Victorian tourists climbing the pyramids, 1867
4. Waipi’o Valley, Hawaii, 1867
5. A group of Sami fishermen and women, 1867
6. Sir John Herschel, English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, 1867
7. Chaldean man in traditional Turkish costume late 1860s
8. Charles Darwin as seen in his later years, 1869
9. Hong Kong painter, 1869
10. Hans Christian Andersen, 1869
11. “The Lady of the Lake”, 1869
12. Cantonese woman with jade earring, 1869
13. East Point, Hong Kong, 1868
14. Two gentlemen admire the statue of Edmund Burke, 1868
15. Fanny and Stella, 1868
16. Taken in Argentina, circa 1868
17. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, circa 1889
18. Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, 1869
19. American poet and essayist, Walt Whitman, late 1860s
20. A group of local Sámi people in Nesseby, in the Arctic region of Norway
Explore more vintage content:
These restored images prove that even in the wake of war, color and optimism rushed back into everyday life. If you’d like to see where the story began, step into 25 Vintage Photos Of The Mid-1850s
and witness the first sparks of modernity. Then fast-forward to the boom years in 35 Vintage Photos Of The Mid-1870s.