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 man lights up his cigarette with the flames of a bus burned by anti-government demonstrators during a protest against the constitutional amendment PEC 55, which limits public spending, in front of Brazil's National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 13, 2016. (Photo by Adriano Machado/Reuters)

People enjoy skating at the open air Christmas ice rink on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower after its reopening on December 19, 2016 in Paris The ice rink of about 200 square metres and on the first floor of the tower (57 metres above the ground) is open to the public until February 19, 2017. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

A child puts his swimming goggles on before jumping in a public pool of spring water in Japakeh, Indonesia's Aceh province on March 22, 2024, during the World Water Day. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

A male Sumatran elephant calf named Rocky Balboa, born on May 25, 2024, stands next to its mother, a 40-year-old elephant named Lembang, at the Surabaya Zoo during the introduction of the 3-month-old calf to the public in Surabaya on August 31, 2024. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

From hookers, sеx toys & heartbreak – how Lily Allen’s open marriage imploded, as her ex David Harbour’s lover is named . English singer-songwriter and actress Lily Allen in the last decade of October 2025 put her spectacular marriage breakdown into the public domain. (Photo by Morgan Maher/Perfect Magazine)

To draw the public's attention to a new line of bathing suits, a Tokyo department store used live models to show off the suits on June 5, 1950. The rain didn't bother the curious, and both the girls and the crowd seemed to like the idea of staring at each other through the glass. (Photo by AP Photo via The Atlantic)

A competitor participates at the World Pole Dancing Championship 2012 held at the Volkshaus on November 10, 2012 in Zurich, Switzerland. The public's perception of pole dancing has recently changed to become a popular sport combining physical strength, technique and choreography. (Photo by Harold Cunningham)