Fascinating Photographs of a Family’s Adventures Provide a Rare Look Into What Holidays Were Like For the Privileged and Rich From the Early 20th Century

Friedrich Adolf Paneth was born in Austria in 1887 to Jewish parents and went on to receive a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Vienna in 1910. From there, he naturally taught himself photography, including the new and complex color process known as Autochrome.

In 1913, Paneth married Else Hartmann, the pair set out for a four-month honeymoon in Cairo, where they saw sights like the Pyramid of Menkaure and the Temple of Deir el-Medina, and rode camels in the desert.

In 1914 Else gave birth to a daughter, Eva, followed by a son, Heinz, in 1918, and Friedrich's lecturing job allowed them to start travelling as a family to exotic locations around Europe, Scotland, Italy, Austria, France, Moscow and other locales.

The explorers occupied their time by climbing trees, swimming in crystal-clear lakes, taking boat rides and perching on the tops of spectacular mountains.

In 1978, his daughter Eva donated 2,000 of his photographs to the Royal Photographic Society, including many pictures of their travels as a family.

1912. Otztal, Austria.

1912. Skiing across ice in Otztal, Austria.

1913. At the entrance to the Pyramid of Menkare.

1913. Else at the flooded Trajan's Kiosk.

Dec. 23, 1913. Else reading by the Nile, Luxor, Egypt.

1913. The Temple of Dor el-Medine.

1913. Friedrich Paneth's wife during honeymoon in Egypt.

1913. Karnak, Egypt.

1913. Sphinx and camel.

1913. Market stalls outside an Egyptian ruin.

1915. Snowy mountains.

c. 1920. Boy in a tree.

c. 1920. Highland Castle, Scotland.

1924. Eva, Heinz and Elsa.

c. 1925. Heinz and Else looking out to sea.

c. 1925. Mountain peaks.

c. 1925. Children on a rooftop.

c. 1925. Eva doing a handstand.

1925. Eva at Mount Spinale.

c. 1925. Eva poses after a successful hunt in Scotland.

c. 1925. People watching a yachting race.

1925. Beach scene with flag.

c. 1925. The family at the lake."

1925. St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice.

1925. St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice.

c. 1925. Heinz and Eva on the hillside.

c. 1925

c. 1927. Eva climbing a rock face, Lake Luzern, Switzerland.

c. 1927. Eva and Heinz on the shore of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.

c. 1929. Heinz on the beach.

c. 1930. Stilvie Pass, Italy.

c. 1930. Children at sunset.

c. 1930. Eva Paneth at Lake Garda, Italy.

c. 1930. Meran, Italy.

1930. The Paneth family on a boat in Lake Garda, Italy.

c. 1933. Relatives of the Paneths in Scotland.

1934. St Vasily's Cathedral, Moscow.

c. 1934. Quay market, Finland.

1938 Heinz, Eva, Dora Hartmann, cousin Peter Paneth, and Else Paneth in Brittany, France. The Kodak film advertised ultimately replaced Lumiere's Autochrome.

(Images: Friedrich Paneth/Royal Photographic Society/SSPL/Getty Images)