Stunning Aerial Photography From the Early 1900s

Man has always been fascinated with the idea of flight, not only as a means of travel but also for obtaining a glimpse of the world from above. During the early 1900s, while some brilliant minds were experimenting with controlled flights, some photography pioneers were also busy finding ways to hoist their cameras up in the air for a snap of the landscapes below.

There was the German apothecary turned photography pioneer Julius Neubronner, who invented a device for strapping small wooden cameras on pigeons in 1907. Then, there’s also American commercial photographer George Lawrence, who became famous for his amazing photos taken using a system which he called the Lawrence Captive Airship.

San Francisco in ruins after the 1906 earthquake

Detail of George Lawrence’s famed aerial shot from the previous century

View of New York City from the Times Building, 1906

Kansas City stock yards, Oct. 15, 1907

Atlantic City, N.J. from Lawrence Captive Airship, 800 feet above boardwalk, 1909

(Photos by George Lawrence)