The Funniest Vintage Selfies

Selfies aren't just of the MySpace and Instagram age.

February 27, 2014

Image via Complex Original

These days, there are many types of selfies one can take, but that's mainly thanks to the wide array of apps and cameras with reversible phones that the average person has access to (or rather, a wide distribution of thirst to and from men and women everywhere). Sure, the word "selfie" is closely tied to its originator, the "self portrait," but the terms are even less interchangeable when we take it back to the old days...and we mean the OLD days, like the 1830s, not five minutes ago.

Whether dabbling in daguerreotypes or stunting with a pinhole camera that could be mistaken for a large clock, these ladies and bros are the reason the selfie has flourished ever since back in the day. Respect the originators, including this man Rob Cornelius, who supposedly took the first selfie ever.

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Robert Cornelius

Year: 1839

In 1839, Robert Cornelius took the first self-portrait in history. From his expression, it's clear what was going through his head at this momentous occasion: "Damn, I look good."

Year: c. 1913

A Redditor posted this image of his grandfather on Twitter who he claims was a "mentor, electrician, diesel mechanic, roof repairman, bulldozer operator, and more." He was also a master of the sexy eyes selfie.

Gordon Parks

Year: 1948

We're pretty sure that this was the first attempt at a #WDYWT selfie but Gordon Parks accidentally tilted the camera too high. He would have killed Instagram back in '48!

Paul Stang

Year: c. 1900

Photographer Paul Stang took this self-portrait sometime around 1990. One question: how did he get a mirror up that mountain?

Brooklyn

Year: 1948

This Brooklyn girl used selfies to work on her sex appeal, but we're not sure if she's doing it right.

Anita Conti

Year: c. 1941-1945

Anita Conti, a French explorer and photographer, never quite mastered the hold-the-camera-away-from-your-body-and-make-a-sexy-face technique.

Ilse Bing

Year: 1913

Avant-garde German photographer Ilse Bing was no stranger to selfies. Like Miley Cyrus showing off her body, Bing got scandalous 100 years ago with a shot of her stockings.

Gustave Le Gray

Year: 1848

Let legendary French photographer Gustave Le Gray show you how to take a selfie #oohkillem.

Stanley Kubrick

Year: 1945

All this time we thought Stanley Kubrick's uni-brow was something he cultivated later in life, but this photo is proof that he had the same creepy stare at age 17.

Emile Zola

Year: c.1900

Even French writer Émile Zola couldn't resist the power of selfies.

Félix Nadar

Year: 1854

Félix Nadar, a French artist, definitely took this selfie to show off his all white everything getup. Sometimes with selfies, the outfit speaks louder than even the sexiest stare.

Michael Ward

Year: 1959

British actor and photographer Michael Ward took the ultimate hipster selfie with a Leica M3 camera in a thrift store mirror.

Anastasia Nikolaevna

Year: 1914

Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna took this selfie with a Kodak Brownie box camera, and likely she was trying to terrify us with her creepy expression. Or she was really, really high.

Bustle

Year: c. 1900

This unidentified woman used a box camera and a mirror to show off her sexy bustle (the turn of the century's version of Kim K's booty shots).

Old Lady

Year: 1947

In the '40s, selfies were classy affairs. This lady got dolled up in her Sunday best for the shot. So did the guy in the back who photobombed her.

Buzz Aldrin

Year: 1966

Buzz Aldrin signed up for this voyage just so he could take this selfie on the moon (and by moon, we mean a back lot in Hollywood).

Fox Photos

Year: 1948

A Fox Photos photographer took this shot, proving that, in 1948, there were selfies. And there was sass.

Marceau's Studio

Year: 1920

This group selfie was taken on the roof of Marceau's Studio on Fifth Ave. opposite of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Instead of duckfaces and an iPhone, these bros rock mustaches and a giant box camera.