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Anna Randal for Art-Sheep

What if I were to tell you that the infamous “duckface” was actually invented long before our times’ selfie-frenzy? And what if I were to tell you that people in the 1900s could master that particular expression?

From the pictures we have all seen on history books and on the internet, the Victorian era looks like a very serious and strict period in history. Humor was definitely not one of the traits of the Victorian people judging  by their looks on archived photos. Or so it seems.

Rare photos that show the exact opposite have been published. Taken from a family collection held at Northumberland Archives the photographs portray men, women and children in the most hilarious poses. Even though the need to keep the appearances would allow the “models” to show a more vain and modest attitude, this series of images provides an insight to the fun and self-sarcastic side of our ancestors.

The photos below are an interesting and amusing view on an era in which photography was a slow and delicate process and people were constricted into looking socially appropriate.

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