i saw these pictures today and from what i think is the original source (just so i had more certainty they are actual old photos), they’re of a man who took his german shepherd into a photo booth at new york city’s grand central station in the winter of 1943.

obviously my immediate intrigue was just that they’re pretty sweet pictures, a man having a laugh trying to get his dog to pose for the camera, and the dog looks very distinguished with the glasses and pipe.

but i think what struck me about them is that it kinda feels as if it sorta reminds us that the people of the past were not that different from us. i think its easy to see the past as just the things we learn in history, wars, politics, conflicts. don’t get me wrong, they matter, those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it. but something we don’t see much is just people of older eras being distinctly human. most photos we see from the earlier days of photography are of historic moments, like pictures of world leaders, etc.

these kinds of photos show that people of the past also loved their pets, and found it funny to have them wear human items like glasses. i think it shows that we all have a shared humanity across borders and time.

and yes i somehow made some old pictures of a dude and his dog into some kind of existential thing about the human condition or something, lmao.

photos from barbara levine, a collector of vernacular photography, link to more pics of this man and his dog in the comments.