We might be fans of big and dusty books, but there’s nothing quite like a high-quality photograph to capture the spirit of times past. And a good picture, we feel, can act as a catalyst for the curious, inspiring them to delve deeper and learn more about history.

That’s where the ‘Historical Pictures’ Twitter account, @Besthistorical, comes in. It’s a popular social media page that finds, shares, and describes powerful and interesting historical photos—not just in black–and–white, but in color, too! We’ve collected the best of the best to give a fresh glimpse into the past. Scroll down to see our top pics and upvote the ones that appealed to you the most.

#1 George Lucas Before Cgi, 1984

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#2 Best Friends Since Ww2

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#3 A Young Boy Playing The Banjo With His Dog, Circa Early 1900s

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The @Besthistorical Twitter page is fairly new. It was founded just over a year ago, in May 2022. However, in that single year, the curators of the page have already carved out a snug niche for themselves and their growing community: 102.2k internet users follow the account on the social media network. The page posts lots of quality photos very consistently, so there are often fresh old pics to enjoy.

#4 1957. Three Workers Having Breakfast In An Open Manhole, Berlin. Photo By Konrad Giehr

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#5 Coca-Cola Bottle, 1906

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#6 1944. Us Marine First Sergeant Neil Shober Shares A Banana With A Goat As He Keeps Cover In His Bunker During The Battle Of Saipan

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The project appeals to a very wide range of internet users. First of all, you’ve got your history buffs who probably enjoy many of these photos because they’re from a time period that they know plenty about, whether it’s the American Civil War or the Second World War. Next, you’ve got your photography fans—professional and amateur alike—who have an interest in seeing how the artistic medium developed as the decades and centuries rolled by.

#7 Helmet With A Built - In Communication Device So That The Motorcycle Rider Can Talk With The Passenger In The Backseat , 1960s

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#8 Delivering Ice During World War I From An Ice Wagon, 1918

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#9 1967-2018 Same Bike, Same Couple

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It’s not just history and photography lovers who enjoy powerful photographs from the past, though. You can also learn a lot about a particular time period’s fashion and architectural styles by analyzing the pictures. These photographs act as gateways that offer us glimpses into what life was actually like back then. Plenty of internet users also enjoy the photos shared by @Besthistorical for the simple reason that they look neat: they then reshare them and gain meme status as they go viral.

#10 Elephant's Mountain

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#11 Injured Dog In An Animal Ambulance Used During Wwii

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#12 French Mans Reactions To Tasting Coca Cola For The First Time, 1950

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Many of the photos that the Twitter page shares are, in fact, black-and-white images that have been colorized. You can colorize images either with the help of digital software or this can be done entirely by hand—that’s something that used to happen in the past, before the invention and rise of computers and software.

#13 A Boy Crossing A London Street With A Toy Double Decker, 1960s

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#14 Downtown Los Angeles Photographed In 1901, And Again In 2001, Exactly 100 Years Later

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#15 A Man Recording A Cassette Tape At A Music Festival In Poland, 1980s

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Meanwhile, the spread of AI also means that the process can be done quicker than ever before. Though there are fans of photography who love taking their time and embrace doing things more slowly. One of the pros of colorizing old photos from the past is that they come even more alive, as the colors add more depth.

#16 A Soldier Tests His Gas Mask While Peeling Onions. Camp Kearny, San Diego, USA, 1918. (World War One)

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#17 1914. Painters On The Brooklyn Bridge Suspender Cables, New York City. Photo By Eugene De Salignac

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#18 1947. Girl In Car, New York City, By Fred Stein

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Another upside of adding (at least some) colors to a traditional black-and-white photo is that this can make it far easier for the audience to connect with the time period. If they’re seeing the sights and people in color, as though they were there themselves, the past is going to resonate so much more powerfully. Imagine if you could add some sounds and even smells to that experience—you’d probably create a new generation of interactive photographers and history lovers.

#19 The Interior Of The Orient Express , Built In 1883

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#20 A Man Feeds Pete The Squirrel Outside The White House In 1922

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#21 Miners On An Aerial Tram Used To Descend Into The Kimberley Diamond Mines In South Africa, Ca 1885

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However, no amount of digital manipulation is going to turn a boring photo into an interesting one. If a pic is iconic, dynamic, and depicts an interesting event or people brimming with character, Photoshop can help amplify those effects. But if there’s nothing to polish, it’s best to save your colorizing skills for a series of pics that are truly worth the effort.

#22 A View Of Mt. Fuji From The Streets Of Fujinomiya, Japan

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#23 Please Don't Kiss Me!" - Mom Asks Not To Kiss Her Baby To Avoid Catching The Flu In The 1930s

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#24 Polish Resistance Veterans Of The Warsaw Uprising ( 1944 ) , Pictures Then And Now

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A huge upside of living in the present is that photography has become far more accessible: anyone who can afford even the cheapest flip phone or smartphone essentially has a camera in their pocket. In a sense, technological developments have democratized photography as an art form and a way to capture information: it used to be very expensive to practice the craft in the past.

#25 A Boy Stares At A TV Screen For The First Time In 1948

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#26 A Motor Home In 1922

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#27 1943 , UK . The Weekly Food Ration For Two People

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On the one hand, it’s fantastic that so many more people are taking pictures—it’s easy to get into photography as a hobby or professionally. On the other hand, with so much content being shared on social media, it becomes necessary to find ways to stand out from the crowd. For instance, by making sure that your photos are always of higher quality than your competition, or by focusing on more niche subjects. It also helps if you know how to promote yourself online, post new content regularly, and have a unique style that isn’t simply a copy of a copy of a copy…

#28 Aerial View Over Edinburgh , C . 1920 , By Alfred G. Buckham

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#29 Detroit , Michigan In 1882 And 2017

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#30 1924. A Game Of Human Chess At Dvortsovaya Square In Leningrad ( Now Saint Petersburg ) , Ussr

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Which of these fantastic historical photos impressed you the most? Did you find yourself curious to learn more about the past after you saw these images? How do you think photography is going to change in the near future? We would love to hear your opinions, so feel free to scroll down to the comment section and tell us what you thought. 

#31 The Goatmobile , Early 1900s

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#32 The 12 Russian Snipers Responsible For The Deaths Of 775 German Soldiers During World War II, 1945

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#33 "No Dog Biscuits To-Day" A Sad Dog With Its Owner In London, 1939

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#34 Chichén Itzá When It Was Discovered In 1892 vs. Present Day

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#35 Life In Chicago In The 1950s

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#36 1934. Acrobats Perform A Balancing Act On A Ledge Of The Empire State Building

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#37 Photos Taken From The Same Location In The Arctic 100 Years Apart

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#38 A Family Posing For A Street Photographer , London , 1870s

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#39 Titanic Dry Dock 1912 And History Season 2015

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#40 1930. Two Workers Resting During The Construction Of The Empire State Building

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#41 Colorised Photograph Of The Art Deco Style "Mercury" Train, Originally Taken In Chicago, 1936

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#42 Father , Son , Grandfather And Great Grandfather , New Guinea , 1970 , By Irving Penn

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#43 Lincoln Memorial 1922-2016

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#44 Empire State Building In 1941 And Now

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#45 Athens, Greece 1862 And Now

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#46 The Before And After Of The Excavation Of The Ancient Greek Stadium Of Magnesia Ad Maeandrum , Located In Modern Day Aydin , Turkey

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#47 Brookfield Farmhouse , Weston Road , England . In 1900 And 2021

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#48 An Ironworker Poses For The Camera During Construction Of The Columbia Tower , Seattle , 1984

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#49 Omaha Beach On D - Day 1944 And 2021

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#50 Pictured Above Are Michelin Men In The 1920s

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#51 Tourism At Egyptian Pyramids During The Early 20th Century

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#52 Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)

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#53 Home Prices In 1950s

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#54 Eiffeltower Under Construction For The 1889 World Fair In Paris, France

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#55 A Mom Uses A Trash Can To Contain Her Baby While She Crochets In The Park, 1969

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#56 The Opening Ceremony Of The 1980 Moscow Olympic Games

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#57 Mount Fuji Seen From Adove

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#58 1962 An Italian Magazine Published An Article Of How Life Would Be Protrayed In The Year 2022

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#59 Anti Electricity Propaganda From 1900s

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#60 A California Teacher Teaches The Physics Of Surfing, 1970

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#61 1937. Pedestrians Swarm Across Golden Gate Bridge Immediately After Its Opening

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#62 1954. Cats Catching Squirts Of Milk During Milking At A Dairy Farm. Photo By Nat Farbman

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#63 News Paper Article From 1963

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#64 Manhattan In 1851 And Today

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#65 A Young Woman Who Survived The Atomic Bombing Of Nagasaki , August 1945

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#66 Serving A Snack On Scandinavian Airlines Flight, 1969

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#67 1895. Train Wreck At Montparnasse Station , Paris

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#68 Woman Cutting Her Birthday Cake In Iran 1973, 5 Years Before The Islamic Revolution

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#69 1900s. Florida Governor W. S. Jennings (Right) In An Alligator Cart By The St. Augustine City Gates

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#70 Stonehenge : 1877 And 2019

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#71 A Group Of People Pose For A Photo Whilst Wearing Face Masks During The Second Wave Of The Spanish Flu In California, 1918

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#72 Man Sits At The Same Spot His Grandfather Did In 1944 During Ww2 In Florence , Italy

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#73 Ww1 Then And Now

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#74 1941 Packard 8 - Door Open Top Tour Bus

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#75 World's First Ever Ambulance Service In 1830

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#76 Father Faints When He Meets His Triplet Babies For The First Time In 1946. This Was Before Ultrasound Was Invented

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