When you think about America's Gilded Age, what do you imagine?
Perhaps you see images of “Little House on the Prairie”? Or photos of dapper gentlemen and women dressed in frilly lace, riding steam engine trains across the country?
Most of us equate the fashion and social norms of that time period with the latter Victorian era that occurred in the U.K. around the same time. And that’s not in-accurate, per se ... except for the part where we tend to assume that everyone was white.
Yes, Jim Crow laws were in effect. But there were still plenty of black Americans rockin' those cravats and wide-brimmed hats, too. You just don't see them in most history books.
So I dug up 17 of my favorite historical photos of black people in Gilded Age fashions. Believe it or not, they were easily accessible through public archives — which means they've been there all along, waiting to show us what history really looked like.
Jeff Bridges at Comic Con.Photo by Gage Skidmore via 
Whitney Carpenter with a patient in one of her custom port shirtsAtrium Health 
People at a public library.Image via 
Father and child making origami together.Image via 
Woman takes a bath.Image via 
Older man solving newspaper crossword on a street table.Image via asdf - Photo by Mathias Reding
Happy seniors ride bikes.Image via sdf - Photo by Syda Productions
Men practice mindfulness overlooking the cliffs and ocean.Image via 
Man smiles at dusk.Image via sss - Photo by ridofranz
People chat on a video callCanva
A parked school busCanva