These timeless postcards offer an eye-opening glimpse into life in Japan in the early 20th century. Taken from hand-colored photographs, the postcards showcase the still beauty of the country, depicting a nation on the cusp of modernization. The images feature solemn fishermen, bustling streets, temples and shrines: a country yet to be influenced by Western culture. The tinting effect brings out the rich colors of the natural surroundings, with trees, flowers and cherry blossoms jumping from the original black-and-white images. Here: Toyokuni Shrine Nakanoshima, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by New York Public Library/Caters News)

A deserted alley in the ghost town of Apice, in the province of Benevento, southern Italy, 22 November 2016. After the Irpinia earthquake that took place in southern Italy on 23 November 1980, leaving at least 2,500 people dead, 8,000 injured and 250,000 homeless, the town in the heart of the Sannio area was evacuated and its residents moved into what has become the new Apice. Only recently the narrow streets and the tragically abandoned buildings have started, slowly, to repopulate. (Photo by Cesare Abbate/EPA)

Ucil, a trained monkey, takes part in a street performance on June 1, 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The street performances usually involve the monkeys wearing masks, such as dolls' heads or attire to mimic humans, with the monkeys trained to act out human activities such as shopping, riding bicycles or other simulations of human behaviour. Poverty drives the handlers to exploit the monkeys in the hope of earning small change, but the effect and cruelty to the monkeys is a cause that charities such as the Jakarta Animal Aid Network are increasingly taking up. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A local youth, front right, scares pupils on a street as he takes part in a ceremony to exorcize evil spirits and pray for rain amid the rice planting season at Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 22, 2015. Cambodia is a country which heavily relies on agriculture as over 80 percent of its 14 million people are farmers, growing rice as their main crop. (Photo by Heng Sinith/AP Photo)

A protester is taken to hospital after he was wounded by birdshot during a street protest after it was announced that the runoff Jan. 24, presidential election had been postponed, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, January 22, 2016. The Provisional Electoral Council in Haiti has postponed the election amid escalating protests by the opposition, which claims the first round was marred by fraud in favor of a government-backed candidate. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

A woman wearing leggings with the colours of the US flag walks along a street of Havana on February 18, 2015. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he will make a landmark visit to Cuba on March 21-22, pledging to address human rights as America pursues a historic thaw with its former Cold War foe. (Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP Photo)

English TV personality Chloe Ferry joins friends Kimberly Hart-Simpson (Coronation Street) Sophie Kasaei, Abbie Holborn, Bethan Kershaw and Tahlia Chung (Geordie Shore) to LooseFest 22 on July 30, 2022. LooseFest is one of the largest music festivals ever to take place in the North of England and is located on the city of Newcastle's famous Town Moor. Pictured: Chloe Ferry, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, Sophie Kasaei. (Photo by Terry Blackburn/Backgrid UK)

A ballet student from the Kibera based Project Elimu poses ahead of a public show in Kibera on August 14, 2024. Project Elimu, a community driven non profit organization, provides afterschool art, sport education programs for young people age 3 to 22. During school holidays the center holds street perfomances to encourage more students to join the dance center. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, one of the largest in Africa. (Photo by Gordwin Odhiambo/AFP Photo)