Fun and Interesting Snapshots of New Yorkers From the Late 19th Century

These candid snapshots show what life was like in New York in the late 19th century.

A man at the beach in push-up position with a barrel around his waist, September 8, 1897

A fully-dressed couple sitting back-to-back while reading on beach; low wooden pier spans ocean in background, Manhattan Beach, New York, August 30, 1884

A fully-dressed woman wading at the shore of the beach in Sag Harbor, LI, New York, August 31, 1889

A man in a suit and bowler hat jumping in the air in a backyard in Brooklyn, New York, 1890

A man standing at the edge of a dock, casting his fishing line, 1890

Bathers splashing in the surf as people stroll along the sand w. the enormous Lefferts pier looming in the bkgrd. at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, July 17, 1886

Edgar J. Taylor caught in mid-air jumping off a barrel, Canarsie, New York, June 24, 1887

Four well-dressed women meeting at the net after a game of lawn tennis, 1890

Gertrude Hubbell, Ruth Peters and Mildred Grimwood, hiking their skirts at the shoreline, Averne, Queens, New York, September 8, 1897

Isabel and Nellie Harter jumping rope that is being turned by Edie Dwight (L) and Zelma Levison (R) as Nellie Dwight (on the bench) and Edie Swan (on the cannon) wait their turns, at Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, May 22, 1886

J.M. Cornell (of 33 Monroe Place) jumping in the backyard at 314 Livingston St., Brooklyn, New York, May 28, 1886

Maggie Ward standing on the end of a diving board at Coney Island, Brooklyn, July 24, 1888

Mrs. Freed swimming on her back, splashing up a storm, Ft Hamilton, New York, September 2, 1886

Six interesting looking men wearing assorted styles of bathing suits as they hang around a large puddle on the beach near the Narragansett Pier, New York, August 13, 1889

Three boys walking near an elephant from the Barnes Circus which is walking down the middle of Atlantic St. near Nevins, Brooklyn, June 1891

Three sweetly dressed girls jumping rope together, as nearby toddler with parasol looks on, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, May 29, 1886

Three young girls in bathing suits wading in the shore, Sag Harbor, New York, August 27, 1889

Wallace G. Levison's mother sitting in a special ice-skating chair as a young boy skates near her on the Prospect Park Skating Lake, Brooklyn, New York, February 13, 1888

Young Edith Poey jumping off a wooden pole onto the sand at Coney Island, Brooklyn, May 15, 1887

Young Ethel Merritt jumping in the air at Coney Island, Brooklyn, July 11, 1886

Young Isabel Harter riding a tricycle while her sister Nellie rolls a hoop, w. other children and adults in background, Ft. Greene, May 22, 1886

Young Mildred Grimwood (C) eyeing the candles atop her birthday cake while surrounded by her family at the dining room table, Brooklyn, New York, February 5, 1888

Young Miss Hall, w. very long hair, standing on a springboard and contemplating whether to jump, Ft Hamilton, New York, September 2, 1886

Young Zelma Levison and her aunt, Jo Grimwood (dressed all in black, complete w. elaborate hat w. feathers and looking very much like Margaret Hamilton) throwing a ball back and forth on a lawn in Prospect park, Brooklyn, July 20, 1886

Young girls wearing dresses and bathing outfits by the shore, May 30, 1889

Zelma Levison jumping in the backyard of her home at 314 Livingston St., Brooklyn, June 19, 1886

(Images by Wallace G. Levison/ LIFE Archive)