The invention of the camera and of photography, in general, changed the way we see history forever. In centuries past, history as we know it was recorded by the diarists, the writers, the painters and chroniclers who captured the great moments of their age. The everyday details of real life were lost between the cracks of time, and became unknowable mysteries, fleeting experiences which disappeared as soon as they occurred. Photography transformed everything: suddenly, we have those moments in time captured on film, and we are able to return to them again and again, and gaze in wonder at the happenings of many years ago.

Let’s step into a time machine of imagery, and take a look at an amazing collection of the rare photos you’d never come across in your history books!

1. A Royal Faint

It must be incredibly hard being a royal guardsman. Those hot uniforms, heavy helmets, and the need to stand still for long periods of time must be utterly exhausting. As this photo shows, for one guardsman it all became too much one sunny day, and he simply keeled over in front of The Queen as she passed by on horseback to inspect the troops.

Actually, this is by no means a rare occurrence. Guardsmen often faint at such parades, and in 2017, seven individual soldiers passed out during the ceremony which was held on a particularly hot day.

2. A Truly Epic Movie

The Ten Commandments was a movie of truly Biblical proportions. Released in 1956, it told the epic story of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt and was the most successful and lavish of all of Cecil B. DeMille’s movies. Even today, it still manages to massively impress us with its scale and use of color.

In this photo, we can see actress Anne Baxter, who played Queen Nefretiri. Her costumes caused gasps of amazement on the film’s release, due to their stunning design (although not for their historical accuracy!).

3. A WWII Stunner

This incredibly beautiful woman was photographed during WWII (although the exact date is not known) wearing a uniform and sat on the wing of a VMTB-234 aircraft. Nobody really knows who she was, but her stunning beauty looks utterly timeless and strangely modern – she could appear in a magazine today, and people would still surely swoon!

Her sullen look, wild blonde hair and attractive uniform surely gave the airmen a thrill when this photograph was released. Such stunts were fairly commonplace in WWII, and photos were shared among soldiers to raise morale.