6 This unidentified woman’s “mirror selfie” was attributed to be taken in 1900. She used a box camera to take the selfie. This photo was scanned from the original 4×5 inch glass negative.
Unidentified woman taking a mirror selfie using a Kodak box camera dating back to 1900. Image Credit: Wikipedia
This mirror selfie does not feel like it’s been taken in 1900. After all, isn’t a mirror selfie a recent and hip thing? Well, history says otherwise. Although there seems to be no record of who this woman is in the photograph, her mirror selfie is one of the most significant historical photographs.
She is seen using a Kodak Brownie camera to take the mirror selfie. This line of box cameras was first launched in 1900. They were sold for the price of one dollar when they hit the market. The design was simple – point and shoot. This was a stepping stone in the history of photography as it made photography available to the masses.
The woman in the photo must have been a photography enthusiast considering that the shelf to the right is stacked with numerous photos. (source)
7 Harold Cazneaux, an Australian photographer, is known to have created some of the most memorable images of the 20th-century. He was a master of self-portraits too.
Self-portrait of Harold Cazneaux (1904). Image Credit: Art Gallery NSW
Harold Cazneaux was a pioneer in the history of Australian photography. He studied at the School of Design, Painting and Technical Arts and worked at Freeman & Co., one of Sydney’s oldest photography studios. He was the first man to organize a one-man exhibition in Australia in 1909.
The picture above was taken by the photographer in 1904. This might not look like a conventional self-portrait since it is being shot outdoors. In the photo, it is quite evident that Cazneaux is staring dead ahead at his own reflection. In one hand, he is holding a standard box camera, prevalent during that time, and a shutter release cable on the other hand to click the image. Below are a few more of his self-portraits clicked in the subsequent years.
8 Joseph Byron was a British photographer. His selfie dates back to the 1900s.
Joseph Byron’s self-portrait that dates back to 1910-1920. Image Credit: Wikipedia
An English photographer, Joseph Byron, is also the founder of the Byron Company established in 1892. The Byron Company operates as a New York City photography studio. The son of the founder, Percy Byron, is known in history as “the premier maritime photographer of his generation.”
Although Joseph Byron was more keen on photographing Broadway shows and stage productions, he also experimented with self-portraits. The one above was taken by him between 1910 and 1915. (1, 2)
9 Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna in 1914 took a photographic self-portrait using a mirror and Kodak Brownie box camera. She must have been the first teen to take a selfie!
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna mirror-selfies. On the right, she is with her sister Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. (1914 and 1915) Image Credit: Wikipedia,Facebook
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. We all know the fate of the Tsar’s family. The Grand Duchess had the same fate.
When she was young, Anastasia was quite cheerful and energetic. She was the youngest of the four duchesses and the elder sister to Alexei Nikolaevich, the youngest child and only son of the Tsar. Margaretta Eagar who used to be the governess to the four sisters said that Anastasia was described by people as having the greatest personal charm of any child.
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The Duchess was quite friendly with her camera. There are numerous photographs of her and her sisters either making faces at the camera or taking mirror selfies. In the above picture, the Duchess is seen self-photographing herself with the help of a mirror and a Kodak Brownie box camera. The photo was taken on October 1914.
The keen young Duchess used to put her photos in a scrapbook. Her pictures helped the world know a lot about the Tsar’s family later. (source)
10 This is a photograph probably taken between 1913 and 1918. The photo was taken by a crewman of the German DFW C.V aircraft, the one in the picture, with the help of a camera attached to the wing strut.
A crewman of a German DFW C.V aircraft takes a picture with a camera attached to a wing strut during World War I. (1913-1918) Image Credit: Wikipedia
It is not specifically known when this photo was taken or by whom. The only available details are the ones that are in the picture itself. The photo shows a DFW C.V (Aviatik) aircraft high up in the air. The Aviatik trademark, a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I, can be seen on the strut. This places the origin of the image between 1913-1918.
One of the crewmen must have attached the camera on the wing strut to take this daredevil selfie. (source)
